Tight connection

[Jaylie]

We have a connecting flight time of only 45 minutes, flying SW. What happens if the plane is delayed and we miss the connection. Does Southwest get us on the next flight? If so, would there be an extra charge? Thanks.

 

[KGK]

Yes they will get you on the next flight. No there should not be an extra charge.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

We have a connecting flight time of only 45 minutes, flying SW. What happens if the plane is delayed and we miss the connection. Does Southwest get us on the next flight? If so, would there be an extra charge? Thanks.

I assume both flight segments on a single electronic ticket. If so, and you miss your second segment because the first segment is delayed, the airline will do its best to get you to your final destination as quickly as possible. There will be no additional cost for you.

The airline will try to put you on the next flight, but flights have a finite seat capacity. They can't put more passengers on the plane than it will hold. You could also be put on a connection through yet another airport.

If the departure of your first segment is delayed and it appears you will miss the second segment, try to make alternate arrangements at your first airport. That could mean, for example, getting rebooked on a different connection through a different connecting airport.

If the first and second segment are on separate tickets, then the airline considers you to be a no-show for the second flight if you don't appear at the gate in time. The airline should still work with you, but you would be a lower priority.

 

[JessM]

They will rebook you on the next available flight at no additional charge. SW is NORMALLY pretty good about holding planes for a few minutes if they have multiple passengers missing and their connecting flight is a few minutes late.

I hate layovers so I normally risk it and go for short ones, it normally works out just fine.

 

[kamik86]

I have had this happen once on a day of multiple delays all over the east coast. (Actually my company had 3 people flying home all from different airports that day and all of us had this happen) my flight in landed 7 min after my connection left (which was also late) I was able to at no charge switch flights to one going to another airport near home at no additional charge.

 

[DebbieB]

If your first flight is delayed and you think you may miss the connection, be proactive and talk to the agent before you board. I was on Delta in August after D23 LAX-DTW-PIT. The LAX-DTW departure kept being pushed back to the point where I wasn't going to make the connection in Detroit. I talked to the agent and she backed me up on the next DTW-PIT flight, which unfortunately was 3 hours later. My plane landed in Detroit at the same time as my connection departed. I went to the gate but it was gone. So I had to wait 3 hours, which ended up being close to 4 because that flight was delayed.

 

[1Grumpy9]

This happened to me a couple of years ago heading to JAX from BWI. I had a layover in ATL. My flight from BWI left 20 mins late (I had 40 min layover). We landed with 10 mins to spare and myself with about 5 others had a tight connecting times, so we got together (I knew no one else on the plane) and planned out our exit. By the time we got to the gate and out, they had closed the door on my next flight. I was directed over to the agent (and there were about 20 people in front of me in line). They got me on the next flight that had room on it. I sat in the Atlanta airport for 3 hrs until I got on the next plane. This was Airtran, but as other have said, other airlines will do the same.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

With tight connection I prefer to sit in front of the plane. That way I don't waste time waiting for others to get off the plane which will eat into my connection time. Also if you miss your connect the airline will put you on the first available flight which could also be several days later depending on how full flights are and how many seats you and your family need. So always be prepared.

Last month because of a storm in Nashville our flight was delayed till midnight. Because pilots can only be up a certain number of hours in a day the gate agent was not sure the flight would still be able to leave. So we decided to rebook on the 6:00 a.m flight. And the gate agent told us if the midnight flight was able to take off they would just switch us back to this flight.
It ended up that the midnight flight was canceled and we watched a family of 3 that was told they could not get them on a flight for 3 days! The guy was livid. I thought they were going to call security!