30 minute lay over?!

[katyringo]

our flight schedule from San Fran to Orange County for Disneyland was recently changed by united and now we only have a 30 minute lay over. Advice?! Airline won't change our flights without our paying $1500 bucks, which isn't happening.

I'm very worried that we will be delayed and miss our connection. IS it crazy to reserve a rental car just in case and make the drive to Disneyland if we have to? We are flying day after Christmas so if we miss our flight I doubt they will have room for us on another that day.

 

[FCDub]

Where is your layover?

 

[katyringo]

In San Francisco

We are coming from Omaha

We fly Omaha to San Fran
San Fran to Orange County

 

[supersnoop]

That’s an 8 to 10 hour drive, depending on traffic. You’re likely just fine with a 30 minute layover there. If you miss your flight, they’ll put you on the next one.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

In San Francisco

We are coming from Omaha

We fly Omaha to San Fran
San Fran to Orange County

that is a long drive from San Fran to Disneyland and I agree it is 8 to 10 hours. what are the ages of your party? do you really want to add that much travel time?

 

[AquamarineSteph]

You will lose an entire day driving from San Francisco to Anaheim. Are your two flights on a single reservation with one booking? Or are they two separate flights with two different bookings?

 

[writerguyfl]

our flight schedule from San Fran to Orange County for Disneyland was recently changed by united and now we only have a 30 minute lay over. Advice?! Airline won't change our flights without our paying $1500 bucks, which isn't happening.

Every airline sets something called a "minimum connection time" for each airport. Some airlines publish that information and other ones do not. I just searched United's website
but couldn't find that information.

However, their Flight Schedule Change Policies page says this:

"If your scheduled departure or arrival time changes by 30 minutes or more, we're happy to try to find other available flight options that meet your needs."
Source: https://www.united.com/web/en-US/content/help/schedule-change.aspx
​

If that scenario describes your new itinerary, I'd call back and ask for assistance. If necessary, quote the policy that's listed on the United website.

Are your two flights on a single reservation with one booking? Or are they two separate flights with two different bookings?

This question from AquamarineSteph is important. As long as the flights were booked together, United will figure out a way to get you to your destination.

 

[charmed59]

Driving from SFO to Disneyland is about 6 hours drive time. Ten hours would include quite a few stops.

That said, I’d call United again and talk to them about this 30 minute layover. Perhaps it’s the same airplane?

 

[DopeyDame]

As others have said, if it's one reservation (rather than two separate flights you booked yourself separately) then I wouldn't worry about it. You'll probably be OK, but if you miss the connection they'll get you on another flight and get you to OC eventually.
It's probably worth calling back and trying again for your own peace of mind, but I absolutely wouldn't pay the $1500 and wouldn't rent a car (it's a long drive)
If it's two separate reservations, that's a whole different story.

 

[katyringo]

Single reservation!

 

[katyringo]

I have a second to reply more.

Its a single reservation. We did have 55 minutes. Witch is short, but I thought reasonable, until they changed it to 30 minutes. Since it didn't change by 30 minutes they wont change our flight without paying the $1500 bucks.

The connection is at 1045 am the DAY AFTER CHSIRTMAS. that is what worries me most. If we miss it, I worry they wont be able to book us on the next plane because it will be full. That's where the car rental back up plan came in because while we would have to drive the whole rest of the day at least we would make it Disneyland in time for our first park day the following day.

I am hopeful that it will be all be fine. Seems like all the united planes leave from the same terminal and are close at that airport.

 

[bumbershoot]

We did have 55 minutes. Witch is short, but I thought reasonable, until they changed it to 30 minutes. Since it didn't change by 30 minutes they wont change our flight without paying the $1500 bucks.

What does this mean? They changed it to, but not by, 30 minutes?

United should be changing this. 30 minutes in sfo? Unlikely. If you’re in the back of the first plane you’ll barely be off that plane and the next plane will be about to shut the doors.

Call them back. The layover is now too short per their policy and you need them to help with this.

 

[supersnoop]

I have a second to reply more.

Its a single reservation. We did have 55 minutes. Witch is short, but I thought reasonable, until they changed it to 30 minutes. Since it didn't change by 30 minutes they wont change our flight without paying the $1500 bucks.

The connection is at 1045 am the DAY AFTER CHSIRTMAS. that is what worries me most. If we miss it, I worry they wont be able to book us on the next plane because it will be full. That's where the car rental back up plan came in because while we would have to drive the whole rest of the day at least we would make it Disneyland in time for our first park day the following day.

I am hopeful that it will be all be fine. Seems like all the united planes leave from the same terminal and are close at that airport.

Call and ask them, specifically, “what is the minimum allowable connection time for domestic-to-domestic at SFO.”

Each airline with have a different minimum connection time at each airport. I’d expect it to be 45 minutes for your connection, but that information doesn’t seem to be freely available anymore. If their schedule change causes the itinerary to violate the minimum connection time, they will modify it free of charge. If you still meet the minimum connection time, you’ll be fine. Figure 10 minutes to get off the plane and 5 minutes to walk to the new gate. They might already be boarding, and they may even tell you to hurry because they’re “about to take off,” but you’ll probably have a good 5-10 minutes sitting before they close the door. You’ve got assigned seats, so it’s less important to line up to board. I recommend checking your bags if you can. Overhead space may be limited by the time you board the connection.

 

[Allison]

What does this mean? They changed it to, but not by, 30 minutes?

It means they changed it by 25 minutes from 55 to 30.

Their flight change policy says changes of 30 minutes or more. This doesn't fit the criteria.

Whether it meets the minimum for their appropriate layover time is another matter to investigate.

 

[bumbershoot]

It means they changed it by 25 minutes from 55 to 30.

Their flight change policy says changes of 30 minutes or more. This doesn't fit the criteria.

Whether it meets the minimum for their appropriate layover time is another matter to investigate.

Ok. But that’s a whole different thing. The total flight time might have only changed by 25 minutes, but they’ve done it by making a possibly impossible connection time. Two separate issues.

I’m not sure the rep understood that if they were citing the time the flight-time changed by.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

If the flight to SFO arrives on time, thirty minutes is enough to time make your connection. UA flights are all in Terminal 3.

 

[Allison]

Two separate issues.

Yes, which is what I stated.

 

[sam_gordon]

Do you have anyone that moves slow?

I would look at their website and find a connecting flight that works for you. THEN call United and tell them you have children/adults who have mobility issues and you're concerned you won't make a 30 minute connection. However, if they move you to flight x connecting to flight y, that should work. The worst they can say is no, and then you do your best to make the connection (IMO).

To others, if 30 minutes isn't a legal time, would the computers be able to schedule that?

 

[supersnoop]

To others, if 30 minutes isn't a legal time, would the computers be able to schedule that?

Yes, it’s possible. This was a schedule change. The original reservation met the requirement. When the schedule changed, they don’t automatically check for illegal connections.

 

[sweetpeama]

Looking at the maps I can find online of the airport layout while not ideal ( I personally refuse to use anything less than 90 minutes with the exception of using delta connection out of Salt Lake for a hub and that is because I know that I have to fly into there using a connection flight from my home airport and that if my connecting flight is also a delta connection flight all the gates have the same waiting area until time to go stand in the weather protection tunnel until you walk up the air stairs. Even 30 minutes is enough time to go around the corner to the restroom and if you have 45 minutes or more you can grab a quick bite at a coffee or sandwich shop) is doable as they are all on the same terminal for international and it looks like a short length so should be close together even if the gates are on opposite ends. (Unlike Delta out of Salt Lake where there are 2 long terminals in addition to the connections terminal on the lower level-trust me for us to fly to Orlando we have to do the tour de SLC airport as part of the trip).

I would try it and if you miss have them put you on the next available flight. Be sure and let your cabin attendant know that you have a 30 minute connection so that if for some reason the flight is late landing they can let the pilot know and the gates can be held ( depending on how late you are), arrange for in airport transport to meet you, or make an announcement that there are passengers who have a short connection and if you are not in that time frame to please remain seated to allow those passengers to make their connection). You can also look up you on time percentage of your original flight by clicking on the flight number on the airlines website.

To find an airport map and where terminals are for your airline just use town or airport name airport map airline name.