Tight Connections...Just Curious...

[kristenrice]

If an airline books you on an itinerary with a short connection (like 38 minutes at O'Hare), what happens if the first flight is delayed and you miss the second connection? Let's say worst-case scenario and the first leg is delayed due to weather, which the airline is never responsible for...then what happens at the airport? Are you stuck paying a full-fare to re-schedule the second leg of your missed connection?

I'm just curious because I found a flight for our trip home. It leaves at 0730ish and we'd be staying at the airport Hyatt the night before. The flight flies to Chicago (O'Hare) and has a 38 minute connection before flying in to Grand Rapids. There are 5 more flights that day so if we missed the connection in Chicago, there would still be flights available, but would we be stuck paying full price for them? If that's the case, it would be cheaper to rent a car and make the 3-hour drive home.

 

[JessM]

They will put you on the next available flight for no charge. They are "contracted" to get you to your destination. If it is weather related and flights are full you would be responsible for hotels and meals, if it's mechanical the airline would be responsible for those items. If it is weather normally your second flight gets delayed too, at least that's been my experience.

 

[JimMIA]

No, you shouldn't have to pay anything extra. At ORD, 38 minutes might be pretty tight, depending on which airline you are flying. Your connecting gate could be in a completely different terminal -- especially if you are changing airlines or going from a big airline to their regional connection. OTOH, airlines pad their schedules and I often find myself arriving a few minutes earlier than the schedule says.

If you DO miss your connection, your cellphone is your BFF. Do NOT go to a customer service desk -- unless you really like standing in line. CALL the airline and get your new flight that way -- they can do everything the people at the airport can do, they can often do more, and they do it much quicker.

 

[kristenrice]

This is great information! Thank you!

I will be travelling with my 13 and 15 year old daughters and they need a few "life lessons" from mom. I prefer to fly SWA but they aren't releasing their flights for a few more months yet so I am looking at all of my options. We are checking out of our WDW hotel on a Friday. If SWA doesn't have decent flights, I'm considering staying at the Hyatt on Friday night and flying home on Saturday. Since we won't be in any sort of rush, I looked at the flight on American that leaves in the morning. It's currently within my budget and the time is fine. If something were to go awry and we missed the connection in Chicago, it would be a great opportunity for me to teach the girls how to cope with life's ever-changing situations. When you get thrown a curve ball, you make adjustments and deal with it. I just like to be prepared and know what my options are ahead of time. Like I said, there are 5 more flights that day and we would be OK with any of them (well the last flight of the day would suck because it doesn't land until 11pm) but I really don't want to be on the hook for hundreds of dollars in additional airfare. Heck, we'd have enough time that we'd even be willing to voluntarily give up our seats if American overbooked

 

[DebbieB]

Happened to me one time on Delta. LAX-DTW-PIT. Flight was over an hour late leaving LAX, missed the connection. They put me on the next flight 3 hours later, even got Comfort Plus (or whatever they call it).

 

[musika]

That sounds like a really tight connection time for ORD. I wouldn't be surprised if your luggage didn't make the flight. You can also call in advance and request a longer connection time (without a change fee) with some airlines.

While they will get you to where you need to go, keep in mind that once you miss your original flight, you will be considered a standby passenger on the next flight. So if those other 5 flights are completely full there is a chance you may not make it on (though you will eventually get home).

Personally, I'd be looking for a different connection time.

 

[supersnoop]

As stated, they book you on the next available flight. You can also go standby on any flight before that, which may be full and unavailable to book. As a “distressed passenger” (since you missed your connection), you’ll be ahead of almost everyone else in the standby list.

Also, it’s good to be aware that “next available flight” is literal, but the airlines might not be upfront about it. If there’s a seat in the flight, they should put you in it, even if it’s full-fare first class. I’ve had to remind an agent or two that there were seats available on the flight even though they weren’t in that class I originally booked.

And anything more than 15 minutes would be plenty for baggage to transfer at ORD, so don’t be worried about that.

 

[Jestocost]

Yeah, that's going to be a fun connection. I don't know where you're coming into ORD on AA from but I am guessing that the Grand Rapids flight out will be on a regional jet and probably departs from the G Concourse. If you're coming in from another small airport on an RJ you should be close, but if you're coming in on a full-size plane you're going to come in at the H, K or--god forbid--L Concourse and that can be a hike.

I used to make a 30 minute AA connection from an RJ flight in G to an outbound flight from K (usually) but I was lucky and even then would arrive at my outbound gate in the middle of the boarding process. If I had been even 10 minutes late it likely would have been a problem.

Personally, if you don't know O'Hare very well and you have other reasonable options, then I would book something with a longer connection time.

P.S.: I would NEVER book less than an hour connection on United, who has left me stranded 75% of the time I've tried that. I've had better success on AA but YMMV.

 

[JimMIA]

I don't know where you're coming into ORD on AA from but I am guessing that the Grand Rapids flight out will be on a regional jet and probably departs from the G Concourse. If you're coming in from another small airport on an RJ you should be close, but if you're coming in on a full-size plane you're going to come in at the H, K or--god forbid--L Concourse and that can be a hike.

I agree with this.

If you're coming from WDW/MCO, you will arrive at H/K or L. If you are way out on the end of H or K, or come into L, your girls are going to get a "life lesson" in airport sprints! If you know where you are going, those are brisk 15 minute power-walks. If you don't know where you are going, it will take a few minutes longer.

H/K is a big "Y" that feeds into Terminal 3. As you exit H/K, G is to your LEFT, L is to your right. If you have time, H/K is a nice photo op and there are numerous good food options there.

 

[kristenrice]

OMG, you guys are awesome! This information is great...exactly what I need! Like I said, I have several months before I need to make a decision. I absolutely prefer to fly SWA since that is where we have all of our "frequent flyer" points (for our once-a-year flights!) and they are the most flexible, but they aren't going to release the flights for October until March or April so I have a long time to plan. Historically, when SWA releases the flights to/from GRR, they are either perfect, or absolutely horrific. For this trip, I do not have enough points to book even one leg of the trip with points so I am not tied to SWA. We do have another trip planned in 2019 so I'd certainly like to earn more points by flying SWA, but I'm not going to pay more or sacrifice our schedule to do it.

I flew with Delta way back in high school (1990!), we flew United for our honeymoon (2002) and NWA in 2008. Other than that, our only flights have been on AirTran/Southwest. The girls have flown about a half-dozen times so they are pretty good with security and airport procedures and such. I'm not too worried about traveling with them. They've done the "airport sprint" before...but the younger one doesn't remember it! She was sleeping in her car seat, being carried by DH and an angelic stranger who saw the struggle. Older DD was 4 and I was carrying bags, a stroller, trying to manage a rolling carryon and hold DD4's hand while DH was carrying more bags and DD2 in the car seat...while "running" through the Nashville airport to make our connection. Our flight from MCO had been 2 hours delayed and our connection time was only 1 hour 20 minutes but since it was the last flight of the night into GRR, they held it. We were told to RUN! DD4 is crying, I looked like an out-of-breath pack mule, DH had no idea what to do because his hands were literally full...and this angel couple saw our distress, stopped in their tracks, and asked where we were going. The man took a bag from DH and grabbed one side of the car seat, the lady took a bag from me and took DD4 by the hand and the 6 of us hauled a$$ across the airport. I never got a chance to thank them because they disappeared, but they were literally life savers that night. After that, I never wanted to have a connecting flight ever again.

 

[Lovetherodent]

38 minutes in ORD? Honestly, I wouldn't book that flight, even if I didn't have to change terminals. Within the last year, I've gone the airport dash. I had 15 min. Flight attendants asked those not making connections to stay seated so those of us who had them could get off the plane and have a fighting chance. Have also stayed overnight in the airline provided hotel (4 hr mechanical delay). What fun, however. In spite of being tagged, the baggage handlers couldn't find my Mickey Mouse bag (found my boss's plain black one!) and i spent the night with the clothes on my back. No hair brush, no clean underwear. Had to share a room with my boss and I had no jammies. Learned 2 things. 1. ORD connections need to be over an hour 2. Always bring at least an underseat bag with me on the plane.

 

[LadyBeBop]

If it's in the same terminal, I may do it.

This was nearly 30 years ago. I had a connection in O'Hare. I was supposed to have an hour layover. However, due to weather, the plane was an hour late leaving Milwaukee. Leaving me with about five minutes to make my flight to Atlanta.

And I made it.

Even though luggage didn't make it, I still got it the next day. I had nothing essential in my luggage. Well worth it. Just pack an overnight case, and you'll be fine.

 

[JimMIA]

Kristen, just FYI...G, H/K, and L are all in the same Terminal (3). Just different concourses.

 

[AquamarineSteph]

If your first flight is late or otherwise delayed, the airline is obligated to book you onto the next flight assuming BOTH flights are on the same reservation. If you booked two separate tickets (such as Orlando to Chicago on one booking and then Chicago to Grand Rapids on a separate booking), then the airline would not be responsible for the second flight since it was booked on a separate reservation. That's not to say that some airline might not take pity on the situation, but it's not a guaranteed thing.

Even if your flight is on time, power walk from your arrival to your departure gate. Do not stop for coffee, restrooms, anything until you reach that second gate.

 

[bumbershoot]

Heck, we'd have enough time that we'd even be willing to voluntarily give up our seats if American overbooked

That can be sweet as long as you really have time.

 

[kristenrice]

That can be sweet as long as you really have time.

The flight would be on Saturday morning and I don't have to be back to work until Monday.

 

[bumbershoot]

The flight would be on Saturday morning and I don't have to be back to work until Monday.

We got off a cruise super bowl Sunday (the year the Seahawks ended up winning). DH was nearly in tears about our flight, which would have us in the air for the whole game (making matters worse we were connecting in Newark!!).

I had asked and asked if I should switch the flights (he had status with United and it wouldn’t have cost us money to switch). Despite being a lifelong fan, he still didn’t think they would make it. And said no.

So we got to the airport with ages to spare. Got to our gate with ages to wait.

The moment they called for 9 passengers to give up their seats he ran to the front of the line (people in line were already there and not related to giving up seats, and giving up seats might help those in line, so this is acceptable) to say we were 3 to give them up.

At that point they were offering $300 each. By the time they got to 9 they were offering $400 each. Between the three of us we got 4 $300 vouchers.

And they gave us a hotel room for the night (embassy suites with a giant tv in the lobby to watch the game on), food vouchers (only partially paid for food but oh well), and flights out the next morning.

While they watched the game I rented a car and went to an empty Epcot for the day with my AP. It was terrific.


As for the connection...I think that having a plan and helping kids work through airport issues is good. Since you know there’s likely to be an issue, you can be calm and show them how to behave in such scenarios.

I went to college at 17 and my first flights alone were when I was a brand new 18. First Xmas flight was cross country with a middle of the night layover in ohare...riding that peoplemover with the trippy neon lights, after a week of no sleep during finals, was an experience I’ll never forget. It was a trial by fire! While I’m decent at that sort of thing, having some modeling earlier might have been nice.

Although my son is a bit of a pain to travel with (especially bc now he thinks he knows more than me, which he doesn’t because he just wants motion and won’t take time to read signs), I enjoy showing him how to deal with airport issues.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Plus keep in mind although there are 5 flights that day, that does not mean there are enough available seats on those flights to accommodate you. You might be told it could be a day or two before they can get you home if you miss your flight. Week before last I over heard a family on a Friday night be told the next available flight with enough seats for their family of 4 wasn't till Monday!

Plus factor in that in that 38 minutes you will have to wait for the people ahead of you to get off the plane. Which depending on where you are sitting could eat into a good amount of that time.

 

[JimMIA]

Plus keep in mind although there are 5 flights that day, that does not mean there are enough available seats on those flights to accommodate you. You might be told it could be a day or two before they can get you home if you miss your flight. Week before last I over heard a family on a Friday night be told the next available flight with enough seats for their family of 4 wasn't till Monday!

Plus factor in that in that 38 minutes you will have to wait for the people ahead of you to get off the plane. Which depending on where you are sitting could eat into a good amount of that time.

Good point with the small airlines, but Kristen is going from ORD to Grand Rapids on American. I don't think they'll be overwhelmed. American will take care of them.

 

[Ress76]

This is great information! Thank you!

I will be travelling with my 13 and 15 year old daughters and they need a few "life lessons" from mom. I prefer to fly SWA but they aren't releasing their flights for a few more months yet so I am looking at all of my options. We are checking out of our WDW hotel on a Friday. If SWA doesn't have decent flights, I'm considering staying at the Hyatt on Friday night and flying home on Saturday. Since we won't be in any sort of rush, I looked at the flight on American that leaves in the morning. It's currently within my budget and the time is fine. If something were to go awry and we missed the connection in Chicago, it would be a great opportunity for me to teach the girls how to cope with life's ever-changing situations. When you get thrown a curve ball, you make adjustments and deal with it. I just like to be prepared and know what my options are ahead of time. Like I said, there are 5 more flights that day and we would be OK with any of them (well the last flight of the day would suck because it doesn't land until 11pm) but I really don't want to be on the hook for hundreds of dollars in additional airfare. Heck, we'd have enough time that we'd even be willing to voluntarily give up our seats if American overbooked

While I appreciate your desire to provide your kids with life lessons, there is no way in the world I would accept a 38 minute layover for 3 people (three people having to disembark the plane, three bladders, potentially three+ carryons to possibly have to schlep to another terminal) unless it was my absolute only option. Just myself, I might consider it, but not with 2 other people to worry about. If I got stuck somewhere, yeah, it would suck, but it's just me, I'd be fine. I couldn't knowingly risk stranding myself and two kids in an airport for the sake of teaching them adaptability. Also, you are then depending on getting 3 seats on one of the later flights-what if there were only 1 or 2? Would you send one daughter and keep the other one with you? Would you send both kids on their own and hope to catch a later flight yourself? As a mom, I just couldn't do it, but you know your daughters and what they can handle.