Need help and advice for my flights on January 24th 2015 to Alabama

[The Doctor]

Hey all hope your all well today, sorry for not posting in a while just been so busy with stuff you wouldn't believe

Anyway good news is my flight is booked over to see my lovely lady on January 24th-Februrary 1st 2015 and I need a little help

Just wondering first and foremost, is it safe to travel that time of year? (silly question I know but just curious)

And I'm planning on just taking a backpack/rucksack as carry on luggage, will that be ok? (I can't post a photo yet due to how low my posts are on the forum)

And last but not least my flight leaves from London Heathrow at 1:30pm (my time) and I land in Dallas Fort Worth at 5:55pm (they're time) then my flight from Dallas to Montgomery leaves at 8:50pm, is that enough time to get through Border control, find my next terminal and get to my next flight?

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated

Thanks in adavance folks!

[Moon]

Sounds good to me.

Not sure what you mean by "safe"? It's as safe as any other time of the year, especially since you aren't flying into a traditionally snowy area in either place. Other safety concerns are the same as any other month, be smart, keep your eye on your stuff, and if anyone tries to sell you swampland in Florida, ignore them

Your backpack will be fine, just follow the size guidelines on the airline's website. Remember, no liquids, except for small bottles, under 3oz (I forget what the equivalent is in metric), and only enough that will fit into the small clear bag you need to put them into. Again, check your airlines website. Nothing sharp either, no pen knives, multi-tools, or corkscrews, for example.

I think you'll have plenty of time for your transfer.

[p_b82]

it is 100ML in metric, and 3 hours should be fine for the transfer at DFW, I didn't transfer when I last went through there with work, but I recall it was pretty quick to pass through the border.

If you are worried, do some research on trip advisor, there are often plenty of posts, often with seasonal variations.

As a general rule less than 2 hours for a international connection for a non US would be tight, anything above that is normally fine.

I leave 3 hours myself normally - unless they change/cancel my connections and I am left with a 6 hour instead!

[snow]

You should measure and weigh your luggage and then either check the website of the airlines you use or call them and find out how big your carry-on can be. I remember that Air Canada allowed the carry-on to be 10kg (22lbs).

[Hollandia]

At a large airport like LHR going to USA , make sure you get there 3 hours before take-off time. Airlines have really tightened up on must board a half hour before take-off. If you show up at gate five minutes before take-off you might not make your flight. If you can check in online in advance, do so. Most airlines need your carry on to fit in the over head bin. Check the site of the airline you choose, they can vary. Some allow you to have a carry on and a personal item and other discount ones could be only the one carry on and even others make you pay extra to bring anything at all. EasyJet only allows the one carry on and their checked luggage allowances is smaller than a non discount airline like British Airways.

There is no un-safe time of year unless as Moon said you are worried about weather problems. Airline won't fly unless it is safe, your flight would be delayed or cancelled if there was a blizzard or a tornado or hurricane or that ilk. You are going to Alabama/Dallas in winter so you should be fine. They really get much in the way of any snow and they is not hurricane or tornado time of year. The worst I could think of would be fog.

That should be plenty of time to get through immigration. The airlines and airports are pretty good at making sure they don't have a bunch of people missing flights due to immigration. You have over 2.5 hours in between flights, it might take on hour and half max, or it could take a half hour, my best bet is you will be twiddling your thumbs for awhile but always better to be safe than sorry. My biggest concern is getting to first flight and when you come back as well. International from anywhere I have flown, I plan on three hours before take-off. Make sure to check on the times for your flights, they can be changed. Watch the monitors at the airport and check the airline site before you go. I have my accounts set up to send alerts to my smartphone for any changes too.

[The Doctor]

Thank you all for this it's nice to put my mind at ease for these sort of things as this is the first time I've done a flight that involves a layover