Flying SWA. 35 minutes to change planes in BWI?

[msjprincess]

I'm looking at airfare for a trip in August ISP-MCO. The nonstop flights are $140 on the way down. I can book a flight that changes at BWI for $120 and save us $100. It arrives at BWI at 740 and departs at 815. On the way home it's 40 minutes and we'd save $90 per ticket. Is that enough time?

I'm hoping I can book the flights that have a stop and rebook for the nonstop if the price drops.

 

[smitch425]

I'm looking at airfare for a trip in August ISP-MCO. The nonstop flights are $140 on the way down. I can book a flight that changes at BWI for $120 and save us $100. It arrives at BWI at 740 and departs at 815. On the way home it's 40 minutes and we'd save $90 per ticket. Is that enough time?

I'm hoping I can book the flights that have a stop and rebook for the nonstop if the price drops.

I wouldn't risk it. You might want to research the sequestration and how it will impact the airlines before deciding.

 

[PlutoPony]

What airline and is there another flight after that one?
Also have you looked to see what the on-line record is for the flights?

 

[msjprincess]

What airline and is there another flight after that one?
Also have you looked to see what the on-line record is for the flights?

Oops, I meant to add that. It's on Southwest, there is a connecting AirTran flight an hour later. the flights say 100% ontime performance.

Round trip it saves us $550. I can buy a lot of Grey Goose slushes with that money.

 

[PrincesCJM]

I don't feel like it's enough time. Also need to consider who you are traveling with, will they need a bathroom break between planes, will the planes arrive/depart from the same terminal, etc. I wouldn't risk it. I like to have a minimum of 50 minutes for layovers because of the above reasons.

 

[wantogonow]

we did it last September as first time flyers. Our travel party consisted of 2 adults and dd 6 and dd 4, we were even able to have a bathroom break before making our connection . I do not know what airline you are flying but we were on airtran and the gates were right next to each other. BWI is not a very large airport, so when it comes time to get our tickets for september this year I would not hesitate if we again have a close connections.

 

[maxiesmom]

Not sure if this is still true, but when we connected thru BWI in December, they had some construction going on. We had to be re-screened by security before we could get to our next gate. And we flew Air Tran (soon to be SouthWest).

35 minutes is extremely tight at any airport. Leaves no room for any kind of delay.

 

[OKW Lover]

As long as they are on the same airline you'll make it in plenty of time. BWI is pretty small. Take a look at the map here. As long as your arriving and departing flights are on the same concourse its no problem. Southwest uses Gates A and B, which are on the same concourse.

 

[MEK]

I fly out of BWI a lot and all the SWA flights are in the same terminal and its not the big. In addition, there are a lot of SWA flights leaving and flying in from MCO all day long. BWI is a big SWA hub.

Look at SWA MCO flights out of BWI on the day you are traveling.

I would, unlike the other posters, book it to save that kind of money. I have found BWI to run very smoothly and its rare to have a flight take off late or land late unless there is weather involved. And when there is weather involved it won't matter if your layover time is longer.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[msjprincess]

I fly out of BWI a lot and all the SWA flights are in the same terminal and its not the big. In addition, there are a lot of SWA flights leaving and flying in from MCO all day long. BWI is a big SWA hub.

Look at SWA MCO flights out of BWI on the day you are traveling.

I would, unlike the other posters, book it to save that kind of money. I have found BWI to run very smoothly and its rare to have a flight take off late or land late unless there is weather involved. And when there is weather involved it won't matter if your layover time is longer.

Good luck with your decision!

Thanks. I just checked and there are around 20 flights leaving that day after we are scheduled to arrive. I'm going to go ahead and book it.

 

[sommergirl25]

We just flew through BWI and had an hour layover. The airport is fairly small and we left out of a gate that was 2 gates over from the one we arrived in. I don't think you will have trouble at all.

 

[smitch425]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...0b0314-7d09-11e2-9a75-dab0201670da_story.html

Thought this might be worth a read to anyone flying between mid April and the end of September.

 

[maxiesmom]

Just be aware if something comes up and you miss your scheduled flight, it could be a while before there is room on another one. And that there is no guarantee your party would be able to fly together. You may have to split up to get where you are going.

Not trying to be a total Debbie Downer, but I've rarely been on a flight with open seating. Hopefully everything will work out, and you will be on your way, with extra $$$.

 

[Jestocost]

I'm looking at airfare for a trip in August ISP-MCO. The nonstop flights are $140 on the way down. I can book a flight that changes at BWI for $120 and save us $100. It arrives at BWI at 740 and departs at 815. On the way home it's 40 minutes and we'd save $90 per ticket. Is that enough time?

I'm hoping I can book the flights that have a stop and rebook for the nonstop if the price drops.

Two other points I would note.

One, on the plus side, SWA is better than most airlines about holding connecting flights when they know incoming passengers are on their way but may be late.

Two, on the minus side, even if your flight is on time you likely will arrive after boarding already has started and may not get on your connecting flight until late in the process. With SWA's open seating, that can make it tough for families to find seats all together or, in some cases, even pairs of seats.

 

[ccgirl]

Two other points I would note.

One, on the plus side, SWA is better than most airlines about holding connecting flights when they know incoming passengers are on their way but may be late.

Two, on the minus side, even if your flight is on time you likely will arrive after boarding already has started and may not get on your connecting flight until late in the process. With SWA's open seating, that can make it tough for families to find seats all together or, in some cases, even pairs seats.[/QUOTE]

Bolded mine. That is the point I was going to come on here and make. SW typically begins boarding 20 minutes or so before departure. Even if you have A passes, they could be on C by the time you get to the gate. Again, you may be okay. Just something to consider.

 

[DVC-Don]

Too short of a time for me.

 

[arthuruscg]

Do you actulay have to change planes or will it just be a layover? SW and AT are merging their flights so you might have a SW or AT plane the whole way thru.

Also, the fees will be different if you book thru the Airtran site compared to the SW site. Example, booking thru SW site still gives you free luggage, but thru the AT site you pay the per piece of luggage fee.

 

[msjprincess]

Do you actulay have to change planes or will it just be a layover? SW and AT are merging their flights so you might have a SW or AT plane the whole way thru.

Change planes, both segments are on SWA. There is an AT connection that leaves 1 hour and 40 minutes later. there are two options for leaving at 630am.

6:30 AM 10:30 AM
193
2431
1 stop Change Planes BWI 4h 00m



6:30 AM 11:30 AM
193
5209
Operated by AirTran
1 stop Change Planes BWI 5h 00m

Then there is a more expensive 705am nonstop flight

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

You should be fine but what I would suggest is sitting in the front of the plane that way you can get off the plane quickly to make it to your connection fast.

 

[arthuruscg]

All of the SW gates are close together, so go for it if you don't mind the increased travel time and splitting your family up into groups of 2s on the plane.

I would suggest using DME due luggage not making the transfer. That way you don't have to deal with getting late luggage.