Comments on: 5 important connecting flight considerations

By: MJ’s Travel Favorites 4-11-10 | Traveling with MJ

MJ’s Travel Favorites 4-11-10 | Traveling with MJ — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:34:10 +0000

[...] Consumer Traveler provides sage advice about connection times. I was faced with this very issue myself, and opted to avoid a connection to Europe that only allowed me 45 minutes at JFK. With a runway under construction, and an airport of this size, it wasn’t work saving a couple of bucks to risk missing the last non-stop flight to Rome. [...]

By: Tropicbelle

Tropicbelle — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 03:30:15 +0000

Another point for overseas travel in particular…these days agents make separate bookings with separate airlines, so even though you have a connection from one airline to another, the other airline may well not know you are coming if it is not made in the same reservation. eg you have one booking with AA and another with UA for the next flight. That being the case, the delivering airline also is not responsible for any costs for your misconnection because the next flight was not shown in the same booking, so no liability.

By: Clive

Clive — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 09:40:06 +0000

Non-facetiously, if you’re travelling in Europe, consider the implications of the Schengen area, which is only a subset of EU countries. Travellers from one Schengen country to another do not need to clear passport control, and gate groupings tend to reflect that; but if you’re arriving, say, in Frankfurt from Vienna (Austria and Germany are both Schengen countries) and flying on to the UK, which is not, be prepared for a long walk to a different concourse and a full set of document and security checks.

By: Clive

Clive — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 09:18:27 +0000

“In an ideal travel world, all fights would be non-stop.”

Quite so, Janice – nothing worse than intermittent fisticuffs.

By: Scott

Scott — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 07:22:53 +0000

@SpaceCadet51:

Requesting a wheelchair for your convenience (not NEED) is unconscionable. There are always a limited supply of wheelchairs in an airport. If you request one because you *might* have a tight connection, you are potentially taking an available wheelchair away from someone who NEEDS it regardless.

In addition, airlines pay vendors for their wheelchair services. The costs go up based on the number of requests, even cancellations. So, that’s another way to make ticket prices go up is to request wheelchairs that you don’t need.

By: SpaceCadet51

SpaceCadet51 — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 13:27:39 +0000

As an involuntarily retired long-time airline employee with elderly friends and relatives who still fly (I no longer do) I find all of this information germane. There is one thing missing, however … if you are anything under Carl Lewis in running speed, and you have to change airlines in a large terminal, especially if you are older, it is a good idea to request a wheelchair. You can always “wave them off” if your connecting gate is nearby. ADA regulations require downline carriers to be notified of inbound/connecting wheelchair passengers, and therefore (theoretically) they will know that you are enroute. This is especially important in airports like Phoenix, O’Hare, Atlanta,Denver, or Philadelphia where connecting gates, especially to commuter carriers, can be almost a mile apart.

By: msnovtue

msnovtue — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 12:55:17 +0000

About minimum conneection time: Also keep in mind the size of the airport and your familiarity with it. For example, ATL, while a huge airport and the busiest in the US, has a fairly simple and easy-to-understand layout. Compare that to ORD, or PHL, or for a worst-case scenario, Frankfurt (which makes ORD look small and is constantly under construction.) And if it’s an airport you’ve never been to before, give yourself a little more time–you may need to figure out where you’re going, and airport maps can be a bit misleading on distances.