Tight Connection...would you risk this?

[disneyworldfamily]

We are ready to book flights and the best timing and price is for a flight that has a really tight connection and I am not sure if we should risk it. Hoping some of you have dealt with this type of short connection and this particular airport so you can give some advice...

Our first flight (United) lands in Washington (Dulles) at 7:30 and the flight to Orlando leaves at 8:15...so this will give us 45 minutes to make that connecting flight. We will be clearing customs here in Canada, so we basically just have to make our way to the next gate after we land.

We've never flown through Dulles, so I am not sure if it's a fairly simple terminal to navigate.

Any advice?

 

[Kogo Shuko]

I've managed to get to one gate from another with that amount of time before. And often, they will hold for a few minutes if they know you're coming from a different gate.

The fact that you've already been processed at customs makes it doable, but I'm saying this from the experience of a single flyer.

It seems pretty tight, especially if you've got children.

 

[Tropics]

I've flown through Dulles many times. While it is tight, you should be fine, depending on the time of year that you are travelling. Keep in mind that any flights departing during snow season here are frequently 30-60 min late due to de-icing.

Are you travelling with kids in a stroller? If so, then a key thing to note is that there are two ways to change terminals in Dulles (if you need to do so). You can take the underground train or one of their above ground buses. The buses are MUCH faster with a stroller since you should not need to go up and down multiple elevators with a stroller. You MAY need to change terminals as United tends to fly smaller planes from Canada and they generally land at the A gates whereas the Orlando flight will likely depart from C or D gates which is in another separate building. If you will have a stroller, my suggestion is have a stroller bag and leave the stroller in the bag if you need to change terminals and keep little ones in a carrier strapped to you... much faster.

I've always gotten to the gate very efficiently at Dulles after landing.

 

[badiggio]

I've connected through Dulles a few times and that is tight,but it can be done if your first leg leaves on time.We flew United from Ottawa ,as we usually do,and once we did miss the connection,in winter,because we were delayed leaving Ottawa, and had to wait 4 hours.It was a long run and we were there before departure but boarding was closed.It would help if you had carry-ons and even then if you miss the boarding times,you're out of luck.IDK about de-icing in Washington,but in Ottawa,it's done after everyone is on board and you move to the de-icing area.

 

[disneyworldfamily]

Thanks for your feedback everyone!

I guess I missed some details...we would be flying from Ottawa this summer with 3 kids, none are in strollers, they are all older. So I guess no strollers is a big plus.

The part that makes me nervous is possibly having to switch terminals like @Tropics mentioned. I remember traveling for business and I had a connecting flight through Detroit. I had to switch terminals and it took about 20 minutes to get there. I had the time in that case, but this is the type of thing I don't want to be stressed about with 3 kids and only 45 minutes to spare.

But the price is the best out there at the moment. What to do, what to do...

 

[Maddysdaddy]

You mention that your first leg is on United, but you don't say who the carrier is for the second half. If both legs are United, that might give you some comfort that they "might" hold the second plane, but if it's a completely different airline, I wouldn't bet on it.

I guess that I may just be more risk averse than the other posters who responded, but 45 minutes to me just seems to be cutting it way too close, even if your first flight manages to leave on time and doesn't hit any bad weather on the way.

 

[stefanospops]

I would say if you do this you need to see what the airlines policy is if you miss the flight. Will they simply put you on the next one at no charge? Will there be a fee?

 

[Sprockie]

Last January, we flew from Syracuse to Fort Lauderdale, connecting in Newark.
Because of delays, the plane was late leaving Syracuse. It was about an hour connection in Newark and the stewardess announced to let our family (2 young kids) off first to catch their connection. No one did - just stood up and everyone started getting off. We raced to our gate - which said "Heathrow", so the gate was changed. We raced to the new gate, and the person working at the gate was very rude and wasn't going to let us on the connecting flight because he was just closing the door.
I swear, it wrecked our first day. They seem to have no concern for families travelling with kids. They didn't care if we missed it.
In future, I'll be booking direct flights or be very cautious of connections.

 

[disneyworldfamily]

Thanks everyone. Based on your feedback and after lots of thought, I think we are going to pass on this flight. Though the price, travel time, and time that we would arrive in Orlando is ideal, it's not worth the stress and possibility of missing our connection. Not a magical way to being our long-awaited Disney vacation!

Thanks again everyone!

 

[dis_guy]

Thanks everyone. Based on your feedback and after lots of thought, I think we are going to pass on this flight. Though the price, travel time, and time that we would arrive in Orlando is ideal, it's not worth the stress and possibility of missing our connection. Not a magical way to being our long-awaited Disney vacation!

Thanks again everyone!

Probably a wise decision. I'm at that stage in life where if I was traveling alone and was very familiar with the terminal and did not have to change terminals, I might do a tight connection. Most times I like a couple of hours layover to stretch out the old legs a bit before getting on another plane.

 

[Tropics]

They seem to have no concern for families travelling with kids.

I've found that definitely seems to be the attitude with United. I've found that Air Canada and US Airways are MUCH better for families with kids (especially young kids).

Getting from Ottawa to Orlando can be challenging. To the OP, take a look at the flights out of Montreal as well. They can sometimes be much better and much cheaper.

 

[CerysG]

Sounds like a wise plan if your feeling a bit worried about it. Some people we know missed their connecting flight in Denver while flying with United and they had to fight with them not to pay a fee and hotel (as the next flight was the next day) as it was the airlines fault.
I was worried about this same thing when booking our flight with Delta for our August trip as we would have only an hour no matter what flight we took to get to our connecting flight and we had to clear customs. I wanted to make sure we would be put on the next flight without a hassel. Since then the flight have changed so we have an hour and a half which should be fine in Minniapolis as its an easy airport to get around in and not as big as Denver or Chicago. Hopefully they won't make any more changes to our flights...we'll another 1/2 wait would be ok as then I wouldn't have to worry at all.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Last January, we flew from Syracuse to Fort Lauderdale, connecting in Newark.
Because of delays, the plane was late leaving Syracuse. It was about an hour connection in Newark and the stewardess announced to let our family (2 young kids) off first to catch their connection. No one did - just stood up and everyone started getting off. We raced to our gate - which said "Heathrow", so the gate was changed. We raced to the new gate, and the person working at the gate was very rude and wasn't going to let us on the connecting flight because he was just closing the door.
I swear, it wrecked our first day. They seem to have no concern for families travelling with kids. They didn't care if we missed it.
In future, I'll be booking direct flights or be very cautious of connections.

You are confusing a direct flight with a non-stop flight.

I'm not sure why you are blaming the airline for the behavior of the passengers who wouldn't wait so your family could get off the plane quickly. How is that the airline's fault? Other passengers may have had tight connections as well.

If the door to the aircraft has closed when you get to the gate, then you miss the flight. Should an airline inconvenience all the passengers who managed to board the aircraft on time by reopening the gate and delaying take-off because you didn't?

OP, if your first flight arrives on time at IAD, you should have plenty of time to make the second in 20 minutes, at the most.

 

[Lizziejane]

My son recently flew to Mexico with Air Canada, with a 60-minute connection time in Toronto. The first flight was 45 minutes late taking off, but they were assured that because there was 18 people on the same flight making the same connection, that the second flight would be held for them. They pulled up to the gate 10 minutes prior to the official departure time of the second flight. They were instructed by the crew to run to catch their second fight, that the flight was sitting, waiting for them. They arrived at their gate, only to watch the second plane pulling away without them. And to make matters worse... it was to a destination with one flight per week. So...after hours of haggling with AC for a resolution, they agreed to fly them to Mexico City the next day, and from there, on a puddle-jumper to god-knows-where, and then a two hour bus ride. Ask me how happy THEY were with tight connections.

Clearly, the crew from the first flight was simply telling their customers what the customer wanted to hear - lie to them and they won't give you a hassle. And by the time they'd discovered that they had been lied to, well, they were now someone else's problem. Seriously, the most unhelpful, uncaring service I've ever heard of.

My rule of thumb for connections is a minimum of 2 hours. I would rather sit in an airport and be bored for a couple of hours than ruin the first 24-48 hours of a trip.

 

[JoanneDisFan]

I've flown between US and Canada multiple times visiting family. Not those specific airports. My rule of thumb is a minimum of 1 hour layover time. And most time I just have enough time to deplane, find the next flight and then board. Check when your next flight would be if you missed that flight and that might help you make up your mind. If it would be just a few hours wait it might be worth trying to make the tight connection.

 

[Sue M]

We have done 30 min connections with no problems. I try to get seats as close to the front as I can to get off faster.

 

[MamaLema]

I don't know where you're going but we were looking to connect in Dulles also with a connection time of 49 min. We ended up passing that up even though it was so much cheaper.

We are going during the busy Christmas season, and if we miss that connection, I don't know how easy it will be to find space on the next flight for our family of 6 during Christmas.