Transfer from Santiago to Madrid

[lynpeas]

My partner and I will be finishing our Camino on April 10, 2019. We have a return flight from Madrid on 4/11 at 10:20am. We have purchased tickets from Santiago to Madrid on Iberia Express for a flight that arrives at 8am in Terminal 4 at Madrid Barajas and our departing flight back to US via KLM departs from Terminal 1.

I am now wondering if 2hr20min is enough time to collect our bags and get to Terminal 1 in enough time to go through Security and be at our gate for boarding. Does anyone have any experience with this or a good familiarity with Madrid Barajas who can advise if we are cutting it too close?

NOTE: I am not asking about baggage transfer on the Camino or in Madrid. I am asking if anyone has flown from Santiago to Madrid and then transferred to their outbound flight home and if our allowed time of 2hr20min between arrival of our Santiago-Madrid flight and departure of our Madrid-US flight will be enough time since we also have to transfer from one terminal to another.

Any comments will be very welcome and appreciated.

 

[grumerz]

My partner and I will be finishing our Camino on April 10, 2019. We have a return flight from Madrid on 4/11 at 10:20am. We have purchased tickets from Santiago to Madrid on Iberia Express for a flight that arrives at 8am in Terminal 4 at Madrid Barajas and our departing flight back to US via KLM departs from Terminal 1.

I am now wondering if 2hr20min is enough time to collect our bags and get to Terminal 1 in enough time to go through Security and be at our gate for boarding. Does anyone have any experience with this or a good familiarity with Madrid Barajas who can advise if we are cutting it too close?

NOTE: I am not asking about baggage transfer on the Camino or in Madrid. I am asking if anyone has flown from Santiago to Madrid and then transferred to their outbound flight home and if our allowed time of 2hr20min between arrival of our Santiago-Madrid flight and departure of our Madrid-US flight will be enough time since we also have to transfer from one terminal to another.

Any comments will be very welcome and appreciated.

Having traveled from Santiago to the USA, via Madrid, in June 2016, I understand your concern. In my case, the stowed luggage was checked through to Charlotte, North Carolina where it was collected and then re-run through security. It was not necessary to do so in Madrid. As you, my first leg was on Iberia, then flew American Airlines "across the pond." There was no problem with connections. However, you indicate that you will have to collect your checked bags in Madrid and then lug them through security. Is this necessary? If so, then your time allowance is marginal, at best. Buen Camino!

 

[Thomas@Albany]

I will be in a similar situation on Monday May 27, with my flight to the USA leaving 10:20 AM. I welcome any information on transit times, and experiences getting a early flight from Santiago. You can PM me.

 

[t2andreo]

The answer, as with most things, it that 'it depends..' If your flight arrives from Santiago on time, and if baggage delivery is reasonably prompt, you should have no problems.

Your first flight is domestic, so, aside from the customary aviation security pre-flight, once you are off the plane at Madrid, you proceed directly to baggage claim. Terminal 4 is HUGE, so I suggest no dawdling or shopping en route, outlets only. Do that stuff at Terminal 1 AFTER you go through pre-flight security there...

Shortly after baggage reclaim, you are in the main, landside terminal, and a short distance to the curb and the free inter-terminal shuttle buses. Here is the web page for terminal to terminal transfers at Barajas:

http://www.aena.es/en/madrid-barajas-airport/transport-between-terminals.html

The table in the web page says the travel time form T4 arrivals to T1 departures is 15 minutes. Madrid Barajas is a very, very big airport and the terminals are spread out. But the scenery is great. That travel time is in addition to waiting for the bus. The buses run every 5 minutes. So, it should be no more than a 5 - 10 minute wait for the next T4 to T1 shuttle, and then 15 minutes to T1.

So, the bottom line is that, if there are no system delays beyond your control, and you move with alacrity through the terminal to get to T1, you should be fine.

Hope this helps.

P.S. This is why I try to stay only on the One World Alliance codeshare flights: AA, BA, IB... They all come into and fly out of T4 at Barajas. It avoids the need to changes terminals. Baggage is moved automatically, in both directions. I only need to get ME to the next departure gate. Just sayin...

 

[peregrina2000]

As t2 says,being on a one world alliance partner going into Madrid gives you a huge advantage, IMO. Everything will happen in T4. The other problem with not booking one through ticket is that if you do miss your connection in Madrid, you are likely going to lose that ticket from Madrid home, and that will be a very expensive problem. Not only do you lose the cost of the ticket you already bought, but you will have to by a one-way last minute ticket to get home. I met someone at the Madrid airport in hysterical tears for exactly that reason — she had missed her flight on American because her Ryan Air flight from Greece was late. She got no sympathy and was understandably distraught. It was a many thousand dollar mistake.

It’s probably too late for you now, but for others, I always recommend looking at the “multi-city” option (called in the industry, open jaw tickets, I think). I now always fly into my starting point (last year, US - Madrid - Alicante) and then home from Santiago to Madrid to US. When you have it all one one ticket, a missed connection is the airline’s problem, and they will reschedule you at no cost to you. (And if you have to spend an extra night, the accommodation will be on them, at least that’s how the major European airlines do things).

As t2 and others have said, you may well make it, but I would be a nervous wreck. Not because I would be eager to get home, but because I would not want to have to lose my ticket. Since you will arrive in the main T4 and not the satellite terminal where international flights arrive, that will save you a few minutes in transit time (there’s a train from the satellite in T4 to the main terminal), and the transportation from T4 to T1 is efficient and fast. Good luck with this.

Just one last thing — in the years before I learned about this multi-city option, I always used to take the train from Santiago to Madrid the day before my flight home. That turns out to be more expensive than adding the Santiago-Madrid flight onto my American Airlines ticket,because it required a night in Madrid (not that that’s a terrible option, but it does add expense).

 

[trecile]

Personally, I would try to change my ticket to the day before, and spend the night near the airport in Madrid. There are several things that could happen to cause you to miss your flight home.
Your flight from Santiago to Madrid could be delayed.
Your flight from Santiago could be rescheduled to a later time
Your flight home from Madrid could be rescheduled to an earlier time.

 

[jsalt]

What @trecile said .

 

[camino-david]

The time of arrival at any airport is when the aircraft wheels touch the tarmac, so you have to allow time for the aircraft to get to the terminal and for you to disembark, which could be 15 - 20 minutes.