Flying United-50 min. connection

[Canadian Kelly]

Hi! I'm flying with United from Syracuse, NY on a Saturday morning at 6:20 and connect another flight with United to Orlando. The connection time is 50 minutes in Washington (IAD). Will this actually be enough time and what happens if you miss it? I'm starting to get really nervous about it! Thanks!

 

[kda]

I just had a United flight through Chicago with a 50 minute layover and it worked out fine, even though my flight was about 10 minutes late. The next gate was about 5" away (could have been lot longer, but I was lucky). I WAS concerned about it, however, and decided I'd just hope for the best. There's several factors: are both planes on time, distance to new gate, etc. I did find out that airlines can get luggage switched in less than 30 minutes, which is good to know. It's better to have more time than that.

If you miss your connection, the airline will try to put you on the next flight. If you're travelling early in the day, there's more opportunity to get on a variety of flights. If United flights are full or there aren't any, ask to be put on another airline.

 

[mcnuss]

Do you know if your originating flight is a commuter, like a regional jet or some other small aircraft? Bc if it is, you will be changing terminals at Dulles. We learned this one the hard way when we flew MHT-ORD last year. We had a tight connection, came in late, and were HORRIFIED to find that we had to get on a bus to the other terminal. We made it but we sweated all the way.

You can call United now and get this info...it will either make you worry more or put your mind at ease....

 

[CAP Aircrew]

You should be fine. I fly United almost exclusively (except for the upcoming trip on Song) and connect through Dulles (IAD) frequently.

50 Minutes to make a connection should not be a problem especially based on the time that you flying. Unless there is a weather delay in the morning, delays in air travel tend to happen later in the day and not first thing in the morning. Again weather plays a role in this and also the abundance of keeping the air traffic moving which gets backed up as the day progresses.

You will be flying a United Express flight from Syracuse to Dulles. Right now United is flying Jetstream 41's on that route. It's a turboprop and in my opinion, a really cool plane. The windows are extra large.

If you go to www.united.com and go to the flight status tool, you can check each day to see how your flight is doing. For example, I plugged in your info today and the flight from Syracuse took off 10 minutes late and arrived at Gate A6. Your connection to MCO took off 5 minutes early and departed from Gate D4.

Dulles makes connecting to different terminals rather easy, because you load a "bus" that actually attaches itself to the terminal building and travels along the tarmac over to the other terminal.

In all my years of flying, I have only missed one connection at Dulles and my connecting flight at that time was still in the same terminal.

I suspect you will have no problem making your connection. Jetstream 41's are small enough and they unload very quickly.

Enjoy!

 

[Canadian Kelly]

Oh, thanks so much folks! I did not expect so much info. Everyone is so great, thanks especially to Cap Aircrew for doing the search. I'm a rookie at this connection business so I am not sure what to expect. I am not sure what type of plane it is so I guess I will look into that! Thanks again!