Which is the less of 3 evils? Airport Question

[mylilnikita]

Hi
I am making plans to go to Oahu in October. Planning the flight is a pain.
There are 3 airlines that go to 3 different airports for layovers. Which is the less evil in terms of being busy, walking to a whole different concourse, etc
St. Paul, MN
Atlanta, Ga.
Houston, Tx.
I am waiting for Southwest to announce their October fares, but looking at the others as a fallback. For SouthWest, I could fly non stop to Las Vegas, then perhaps have a 4 hour layover according to a rep.
Any advice?

 

[OKW Lover]

The three places are about the same in terms of size and the need to walk unless you get lucky and your incoming flight happens to be at a gate near your outgoing flight. MSP might be a bit smaller/easier, but not significantly.

 

[debster812]

I was thinking you might be better off weather wise connecting through MSP. You could still get some heavy thunder storms in Atlanta or Houston in October.

When I fly in the winter, and have to connect, I try to connect as far south as possible. When I fly in the summer and have to connect, I try to get as far north as possible.

Good Luck.

I'd be temped to wait out the SWA fares and go through LAS

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Hi
I am making plans to go to Oahu in October. Planning the flight is a pain.
There are 3 airlines that go to 3 different airports for layovers. Which is the less evil in terms of being busy, walking to a whole different concourse, etc
St. Paul, MN
Atlanta, Ga.
Houston, Tx.
I am waiting for Southwest to announce their October fares, but looking at the others as a fallback. For SouthWest, I could fly non stop to Las Vegas, then perhaps have a 4 hour layover according to a rep.
Any advice?

The major hubs in the U.S. are about the same. They're huge operations, and there are plenty of places to eat between flights. The distance between gates is a matter of luck, depending on your actual gates. This includes the major hubs that you've listed, as well as other major hubs such a Chicago-O'Hare and DFW. (Well, Miami can be awful, but that's not one of your options.)

Some people have their favorite hub airports, but this probably has more to do with familiarity and airline loyalty than with one being much "less evil" than another.

When the weather cooperates, the big hub airports are fine. When there's a serious weather issue, any of them can be a nightmare.

However...

There's a huge risk in using two different airline tickets on the same day. If your first flight is delayed for any reason (even reasons beyond your control) and you miss your second flight, the second airline considers it to be your fault. Typically, after two hours, your roundtrip ticket on the second airline is cancelled and loses its entire value if you were unable to notify them in time. Even if you arrive only one second after the door to your second flight is sealed, you're at the airline's mercy, flying standby on a later fight.

You're much better off being ticketed on a single ticket if you're connecting (either on a single airline or on two airlines with an interline agreement). Then, if your first flight is delayed, the airline will confirm you on another flight to your destination.

With a "real" connecting ticket, the airline at your originating airport has an obligation to get you to your final destination. For example, if you have a connection on American through DFW, but DFW is a mess due to weather, American may but you on a connection through Chicago instead. But if you have a separate ticket to an intermediate airport, the airline at your originating airport only has an obligation to get you to that intermediate airport -- even if they get you there late (such as five hours late).

Two separate tickets can also be a problem if the flight times change on one ticket. With a "real" connecting ticket, your entire ticket will be adjusted if a schedule change causes the connection time to become too short, too long, or impossible.

Also, with a single ticket, your luggage will be transferred for you at your connecting airport. You'll usually stay within the secure part of the airport, and you'll avoid the baggage claim and ticket counter at the connecting airport. You'll retrieve your luggage at your final destination.

By the way, "real" connecting tickets are usually (but not always) cheaper than buying two separate tickets.

Southwest Airlines is often a great choice when flying from one Southwest Airlines city to another. But Southwest does not have interline agreements (except possibly with ATA), so I would avoid using Southwest as part of a larger itinerary.

 

[mylilnikita]

Thanks to all of the quick responses. I forgot to mention it will be myself and myDD9 going. She is a beginning traveler, well at least to MCO for WDW and going on cruises. So with the gates, it is essentially luck of the draw? All the layovers with the exception of LAV are about the same. I have never flown out west, so all those airports are a total blank to me.
Horace: Thanks for your advice most of all. I was pondering taking 2 different carriers, say SW to LAV then Hawaii Air, but even the times currently would be hard and I do worry about missing the connecting flight and standby just sucks.
I fly out of 2 small airports close to where I live and I have been to O'Hare and La Guardia and was just amazed how big they are compared to my little baby airports.
Wish me luck.

 

[OKW Lover]

Good luck! BTW, instead of ATL (which I assume is on Delta) you might look into flights that change in CVG - its a much easier airport to make connections in.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

So with the gates, it is essentially luck of the draw?

If you're connecting on the same airline, your gates might be across the concourse corridor from each other, or they might be in completely different concourses.

If you're connecting from one airline to another, you might be in different terminals.

Atlanta has a free subway train between its many concourses, and is well-suited for connections, even though it's a huge airport.

I was pondering taking 2 different carriers, say SW to LAV then Hawaii Air, but even the times currently would be hard and I do worry about missing the connecting flight and standby just sucks.

Two carriers are okay if you're ticketed on a single ticket. But, for the reasons I noted, I would never book two different carriers on two different tickets. I would be more worried that my second ticket would be cancelled because the airline would consider me a "no-show" if my first flight is late, or that I would have to rebook my second ticket at a much, much higher fare (if I had to call them at the last minute because I knew I couldn't get to the gate in time for the second flight). Those possibilities are much worse than simply having to fly standby.

With a connection on a single ticket, you're "protected." You may still be inconvenienced by bad weather, but you'll get to your final destination without worrying about losing the value of your ticket or having to buy a last-minute, full-fare ticket.

I'm sure there are plenty of people who successfully fly two different carriers on two different tickets every day. But they're taking a huge risk.

I fly out of 2 small airports close to where I live and I have been to O'Hare and La Guardia and was just amazed how big they are compared to my little baby airports.

I see you live in Newport News. I assume your two options are Norfolk (ORF) and Newport News/Henry (PHF). You may want to look into Richmond Byrd International (RIC) as a third option.

I would also avoid any itineraries that require you to connect more than once in each direction. You'll get to your destination (eventually), but multiple connections invite problems.

Wish me luck.

I wish you luck!

Oahu is wonderful. It has everything from big city restaurants to gorgeous nature to crowded or uncrowded beaches. The Hawaiian culture is like nothing else in the United States. There's also art, history, outdoor activity, boating, and entertainment -- really something for everyone.