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I will be connecting from a domestic flight (United) to an international flight (Qatar) at Houston IAH airport. Unfortunately, I have separate tickets/reservations for the domestic and international legs. This means, I need to collect my checked baggage in Houston and then recheck it with Qatar.

My questions:

  1. I need to collect baggage from United Terminal A or B, then get to the international terminal D, check in again, get through security and make my flight. Is 1 hour 45 minutes enough time to manage this?
  2. Since this is my first time at IAH, can anyone share how one gets from Terminal A or B to D, after you have picked up baggage?

Thanks in advance for the help/clarity.

Ari Brodsky
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AjaySM
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1 Answers1

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This is nowhere near enough time.

You need to have checked in or dropped your bags at the check-in counter for your onward flight one hour before departure. That leaves you 45 minutes to deplane, reclaim your bags, and go to departures in D.

You may make it by the skin of your teeth, but there are good chances you won’t, in which case your onward ticket is likely to be cancelled (including any subsequent flights like connections or a return flight), and you would have to book and buy a new ticket at your own expense, at last minute (much more expensive) prices. What happens exactly depends on the exact fare rules applicable to your ticket.

For self-transfers, one should budget at least 4 hours, often more, ideally an overnight stay, especially in cases like this where the second flight is most likely the most expensive and less frequent one.

jcaron
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