Airline Tickets

[Felya and Olya 3]

I am looking for tickets for my girl and the difference in price for direct vs. 1 stop in Washington is almost $400..... She is flying from Moscow to Los-Angeles... So here is my question: If the flight is from Moscow to Washington-Dulles to Los Aneles, will she have to go through customs in Washington? If she does, is two hours enough to get everything done? She is really worried that this is going to mess things up for her and she will miss the connecting flight..... Any thoughts, suggestions? Thank you !!!!

[cmoore25 4]

Is she just visiting or is it POE?

I went through customs at Dulles and two hours was plenty of time (I think I actually made it through in a little under 1 hour). However, I think it depends on the time of day, weather etc. They could be very busy or very slow depending on the day and what's happening. If she misses her connecting flight b/c of customs they will just put her on the next flight - it's not like she'd be stuck there.

If she is coming in and that is her POE and she has to go through customs with a K1 visa - i'm not sure.

[FoundNanning 0]

Not to worry. If she is held up by Government "Processing" they will book her on a late flight at no charge.

Is she just visiting or is it POE?

I went through customs at Dulles and two hours was plenty of time (I think I actually made it through in a little under 1 hour). However, I think it depends on the time of day, weather etc. They could be very busy or very slow depending on the day and what's happening. If she misses her connecting flight b/c of customs they will just put her on the next flight - it's not like she'd be stuck there.

If she is coming in and that is her POE and she has to go through customs with a K1 visa - i'm not sure.

[Shawna and James 4]

Im not sure if it is the same for Russia, but when I came to visit the US from Canada, my customs experience was actually right at the airport in Calgary... which in some ways is nice actually because god forbid they DO deny you entry, at least you are already in your own country.

[Felya and Olya 3]

POE

Thanks for the info..... I think I am just going to do direct flight.... I dont want her to worry

[Dave&Roza 748]

POE

Thanks for the info..... I think I am just going to do direct flight.... I dont want her to worry

IMHO I think you are doing the best thing. She won't have to worry and you won't have to worry.

At this point in the process $400 is cheap for the comfort of knowing that she will go thru customs and you are in the same city. For Roza, my choices was for direct to Denver or thru Chicago. Both times when she was just visiting and went thru Chicago she missed the flight or her bags missed the flight. So we decided to do direct from Frankfurt to Denver. It cost an extra $600, but to me it was worth it. When you are spending $2000 for a round trip ticket and the one-way is $3000 and extra $600 is still cheaper, so I was able to rationalize the costs. Plus the AOS is $1070 and the cost of the wedding so this entire process is definitely not cheap.

Congrats on getting the Visa--the journey is almost over for you.

Good luck.

Dave

[Saddle Bronc 124]

POE

Thanks for the info..... I think I am just going to do direct flight.... I dont want her to worry

Yeah, I remember checking into the options of flight through JFK and BWI; eventually, Pras took Hyderabad->Frankfurt->Detroit booking. Edited July 20, 2011 by Saddle Bronc

[Saddle Bronc 124]

Im not sure if it is the same for Russia, but when I came to visit the US from Canada, my customs experience was actually right at the airport in Calgary... which in some ways is nice actually because god forbid they DO deny you entry, at least you are already in your own country.

Partly true. This is why (when I was on TN-1) I always made sure to land straight-in to Calgary (where I had lived 1971-1993) and then leave for US through its PFI--any pitfalls, I could go home and retry, as opposed to being stranded at another PFI (such as Dorval or Pearson).

Unfortunately, Russia doesn't have PFI arrangements with the US. Ireland does (immigration-only--meaning passengers have to clear US Customs after landing here).

Edited July 20, 2011 by Saddle Bronc

[P.A.T 1]

I am looking for tickets for my girl and the difference in price for direct vs. 1 stop in Washington is almost $400..... She is flying from Moscow to Los-Angeles... So here is my question: If the flight is from Moscow to Washington-Dulles to Los Aneles, will she have to go through customs in Washington? If she does, is two hours enough to get everything done? She is really worried that this is going to mess things up for her and she will miss the connecting flight..... Any thoughts, suggestions? Thank you !!!!

She can fly from Domodedovo airport in Moscow to JFK with TransAero (Russian airline, no frills, very good price) and then from JFK to LAX with whatever airline. She'll have to go through customs/immigration at JFK, then check in her baggage for the flight to LAX.

For example, using www.cheapoair.com for a one-way ticket on August 12:

Transaero Airlines

Flight 1111 744

Moscow Domodedovo (DME) 10:40am -12Aug, Fri

New York Kennedy (JFK) 12:15pm -12Aug, Fri Nonstop Coach

Connecting flight wait time 8 hours 14 minutes

United Airlines

Flight 255 757

New York Kennedy (JFK) 08:29pm -12Aug, Fri

Los Angeles (LAX) 11:30pm -12Aug, Fri Nonstop Coach

Flight Duration : 15hr 36min Layover Time : 8hr 14min Total Trip Time: 23hr 50min

Total cost: $903 (includes all taxes, fees, etc).

[san diego 407]

2 hrs may not be enough. I highly recommend booking non-stop flight to LAX. I took this one. Aeroflot may not be the best airline (BTW, I took both United from DC and Aeroflot) but it avoids potential problems at POE other than you home town.. No question.

[Ellie-n-Vladimir 3]

2 hrs may not be enough. I highly recommend booking non-stop flight to LAX. I took this one. Aeroflot may not be the best airline (BTW, I took both United from DC and Aeroflot) but it avoids potential problems at POE other than you home town.. No question.

I would suggest having one stop in Europe and then getting straight to LAX. The AMS is just perfect - flat, not crazy busy, easy to orient, the CDG (France) might be a bit complected for Olya. Why dont you check out the KLM? That's how he'll go (Kiev-AMS-SFO.) It's ~$900-1000, if buy a direct ticket in UA, not here.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

cheapest

[Ellie-n-Vladimir 3]

2 hrs may not be enough. I highly recommend booking non-stop flight to LAX. I took this one. Aeroflot may not be the best airline (BTW, I took both United from DC and Aeroflot) but it avoids potential problems at POE other than you home town.. No question.

:-) Sorry, Sergey. Meant to reply to Felya's mgs, but accidentally selected yours. jeje

[SupastarsaM 7]

Hello friend. Check out Kayak. I just did a search and found this.

Air Berlin – Flight 8415 3h 20m

Take-off Mon 6:10a DME Moscow, Russia

Landing Mon 7:30a DUS Duesseldorf, Germany

Economy | Airbus A320-100/200 (Narrow-body Jet) | 3h 20m | Fare code: KAB2 | 9+ seats remain

Connection DUS Duesseldorf, Germany

5h 55m

Air Berlin – Flight 7430 11h 45m

Take-off Mon 1:25p DUS Duesseldorf, Germany

Landing Mon 4:10p LAX Los Angeles, CA

POE would be in LA and connection is in Germany. No worries on the connection flight because all she'll do is stay in the terminal and get on the flight to LA. Good Luck.

Sam,

[Kiwifruit 0]

Not to worry. If she is held up by Government "Processing" they will book her on a late flight at no charge.

No, that is not necessarily true. It is the passengers responsibility to allow adequate time to clear processing formalities.

Speaking from years of airline industry experience.