Trip to Rio de Janeiro, are these layovers long enough

Question

Hello, I'm very new to travelling, especially by myself. I have a 2 month trip in February from Brisbane to Australia to Rio de Janeiro Brazil all booked under the same ticket. So my first flight is domestic from Brisbane to Sydney through LATAM but operated by Qantas. When I arrive in Sydney I have a 2 hour and 30 minute layover, will I have to do all this rechecking and will it be enough time to get through immigration and security or do I have to just change terminals and not worry about anything? I feel like I do considering I'm changing from domestic to International. And will my checked luggage be transfered or will I need to recheck it?. The second flight is from Sydney to Santiago through LATAM but operated by Qantas and when I get to Santiago, I will have a 1 hour and 20 minute layover. Will I have to recheck anything here, go through immigration and security again or do I just go to my connecting flight and will my luggage just get transfered to the next flight? which I'll mention now. So the last one is a standalone LATAM Airlines group flight from Santiago to Rio de Janeiro. Are these layovers doable in any capacity or will I have to change the first flight from Brisbane to a bit earlier and the last flight from Santiago to a bit later to give me a bit more time to play with? Also will my luggage be checked to the final destination since there is a codeshare between 2 of my flights and a partnership between the airlines, I'm still basically in the same airlines? I just have so many questions and I can't stop thinking about it. Any advice would be appreciated, thanks heaps.

r c · Accepted Answer

Welcome

sorry i cant help much since its somewhat difficult for me to read whats going on. I get it you want to go to Brazil/Rio.

But herre are some comments...

> you can cross post on the air travel board if you want.

> if you booked from Australia to Brazil as one ticket, your connections are protected. Meaning the airlines chose what flights/connections times for you. So if you dont make those connections because of the times they chose, they will need to get you on the next available flight. If its that day or the next day will be the question. You can also check for yourself if there are any other later flights. Just in case you do have a missed flight, you may know ahead of time or mentioned it.

> Since you have several months before your trip you may want to monitor your flights. Usually if there are any changes, they will notify you of those changes. And they may give you an easy out (change a flight to your liking) or a refund. But you really need to read the fine print on this.

> Learn to pack light and do carry on only. I get it sometimes you NEED to bring more...whatever reason..ect, but try to only use carry on on your flights. If not, you end up needing to worry about if your luggage will go where you are and if it will get lost. No one can make you do this, its all up to you. Once you have some luggage lost/misdirected...ect hopefully you will do something different.

> all of this - your schedule - is all on paper. Meaning its not even happened and no one will know what can or will happen between now and your flight. So again, monitor your flight.

> for me and my RISK TOLERANCE, those connections are too short. Again, for ME and my RISK TOLERANCE. You may find that some or otherrs have no problems. And agian, this is all on paper and you havent even left -yet.

> usually IMMIGRATIONS is done when you ENTER a country or LEAVE. I think the last time i checked Brisbane was part of Australia?

> When you check into your first airport and check in your luggage, you can ask the ticket person if your luggage will be checked THROUGH to where ever. And if you look at the luggage stub, it will have that info printed on where it starts and where you pickup.

> your other questions? If they are about someplace i would get a travel book on where you are going and start reading. If its about more plane things, then give others to read/decipher/your post and reply.

> keep in mind, people from all over the world fly and make connections everywhere. Some dont even speak read/speak english.

good luck

bk_t1 · Answer

These are Air Travel questions and really belong in the Air Travel forum. It does seem like Qantas (your initial operating carrier, and LATAM - are mileage partners). I would be there are some FAQ's on Qantas website about some of this. You'd have to look deeper to understand if they are baggage interline partners.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g1-i10702-Air_Travel.html

https://latampass.latam.com/en_us/associated-airlines

Leagle · Answer

Brisbane to Sydney is surely a domestic flight? No immigration or customs. In Sydney they will want to make certain that you have all the necessary visas to enter Santiago so the airline doesn't have to bring you back to Australia if refused entry to Santiago.

The connection time in Santiago seems very short. Your luggage is very unlikely to be checked through as it is a separate flight.

When flights are on one ticket the airline has to put you on the next available flight; with separate tickets, there is no such obligation.

Such a short connection for a separate flight after a very long international flight is way outside my comfort zone.

Do ask on the TA Air Travel Forum. Their level of expertise is unsurpassed as is their level of sarcasm directed for people wo refused own their mistakes. They can be very kind, however, to people who start posts with: "I know I messed up but does anyone have any ideas on how I might fix this?"

When I had a flight delayed in Tokyo by a natural disaster, the AT forum gave me far more information, more quickly, than my airline.

Edited: 21 November 2024, 22:25

suze2you · Answer

I can answer a few things. Since Sydney and Brisbane are both in Australia you would not be doing "immigration" between those two places.

It would be Santiago where you first need to clear Immigration and Customs, as this is your first point which is outside your home country. So 1 hr 20 mins seems to short to me for that, although of course possible.

Checked luggage is always a concern for short connections. Even if you make the next flight your suitcase may not. Any chance you could travel carry-on only instead?

buena suerte/good luck! suze

bk_t1 · Answer

I looked it up and SCL doesn't have international "in-transit" like many airports outside the US. So, similar to US, you have to proceed via all formalities (passport/immigration, baggage claim, customs declaration, recheck docs, bag drop, security). I think that's right. MCT I saw was 1:05 for Intl/Intl, so while it seems short, the airlines think you can make it more times than not. The idea of trying for carryon only, is a good one.

https://www.latamairlines.com/content/dam/latamxp/sites/experiencia/aeropuerto/conexiones/GUIA_T2_VUELOS-INT-A-NAC_eng.pdf

https://www.nuevopudahuel.cl/pinformation?language=en

https://www.nuevopudahuel.cl/faqs?language=en

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/latam-latam-pass/2124806-international-transfer-scl.html

suze2you · Answer

I think more information would be helpful to you. Not sure how to find it out. Sounds like the airline forum here could help.

So you understand what it means about "Immigration" - which is landing in a new country and about your person. Or "Customs" which is landing in a new country about your possessions. How you claim checked luggage to go thru Customs with it with you.

Things like that that would make you feel more comfortable, I'm thinking, if you better understood how things work... just generally speaking.

How you would never have "Immigration" within your home country on a domestic flight.

suze

Robert S · Answer

I know I'm late to this particular party, but here's my barely-on-point point. I love Rio de Janeiro. But I love Santiago de Chile even more. My personal bias is that one hour, 20 minutes, is not enough time for Santiago. It's got nothing to do with clearing customs -- which is generally very efficient in Santiago airport -- or rechecking the bag for the SCL-GIG flight. It's that Santiago is a great place to spend a few days or more.

I don't know if you can extend your stay in Santiago to three or four days without a significant increase in the price of your air travel, but if you can do it without too much additional money being needed, I would recommend it.

Trip to Rio de Janeiro, are these layovers long enough - Solo Travel Forum

Trip to Rio de Janeiro, are these layovers long enough

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