Other European Frequent Flyer Programs - Will Icelandair hold a flight for 4 delayed connecting passengers?

A relative of mine is flying to Boston on US Airways and then on Icelandair from BOS to KEF on a 757. The relative is traveling in a group of 4 people, and the others in the group insisted on buying tickets so that the BOS layover is only an hour.

It seems like a tough connection to make in an hour (changing terminals AND going through security) unless the US Airways flight is on time.

Will Icelandair hold the plane for 4 stragglers? Even for 5 or 10 minutes?

Thanks.

Is it all on one booking? If not, Icelandair might not even know they're coming. The fact is, they're not bound to and I'd imagine the decision would be something not taken lightly, and it would be up to the flight crew/ground staff to agree on.

For major legacy carriers, such a decision would be made at the operations center, not by GAs or flight crew. Sometimes the most important consideration is when and where the plane needs to be next in the network. A brief delay can really cascade later and cause inconvenience and missed connections for many people or can lead to crew time out issues requiring cancellations.

From my experience they will hold departures from KEF hub to accommodate late connections, sometimes upto 45 minutes or more. However this is not the case with departures from US and Europe, simply because it is not their problem - feeding airline will be responsible for rerouting. Let alone if your first leg is not on the same ticket.
5 minutes late is a different story, they could just close the door a bit later without really compromising on-time departure.

A relative of mine is flying to Boston on US Airways and then on Icelandair from BOS to KEF on a 757. The relative is traveling in a group of 4 people, and the others in the group insisted on buying tickets so that the BOS layover is only an hour.

It seems like a tough connection to make in an hour (changing terminals AND going through security) unless the US Airways flight is on time.

Will Icelandair hold the plane for 4 stragglers? Even for 5 or 10 minutes?

Thanks.

Suggest they try to change this so it is not so close. All one needs is a thunderstorm, and this will not work and all four are stuck.

The connection time is actually 60 minutes? Or is there some rounding?


I am surprised that they sold you the ticket like this. This is a very tight connection. Going from your US plane in B to the gate in E in even 40 minutes would be very impressive. I hope they are fit and ready for a jog through central parking (the bus would take longer). It would take very little delay, of which there are dozens of possibilites, to make this not work. If this is not the last flight out for FI, don't be surprised to spend a night in BOS.

If this was purchased as two seperate tickets, you should definately change this. Unless the US flight was very early, there is no way to even check bags (not that many people vaction in Europe with only carry-on luggage) and FI is under no obligation to honor your flight if you miss it (under most fare codes).

Not many seasoned travellers would book this flight, under these circumstances. This suggests that they are not familiar with moving through airports, which would only make the B-to-E dash longer.

If you need to go through security, absolutely forget it. I am surprised others did not point this out. It's one thing trying to connect in a transit area and a whole another if you need to go through security. http://www.southwest.com/html/air/airport-information.html Southwest suggests going through Logan takes 90 minutes.

A relative of mine is flying to Boston on US Airways and then on Icelandair from BOS to KEF on a 757. The relative is traveling in a group of 4 people, and the others in the group insisted on buying tickets so that the BOS layover is only an hour.

It seems like a tough connection to make in an hour (changing terminals AND going through security) unless the US Airways flight is on time.

Will Icelandair hold the plane for 4 stragglers? Even for 5 or 10 minutes?

Thanks.

You didn't tell us if the US Airways & Icelandair flights were purchased as part of a single ticket. If they were not, Icelandair most certainly will not hold the flight. If they were, Icelandair might or might not hold the flight. This was a foolish booking in my opinion.

You didn't tell us if the US Airways & Icelandair flights were purchased as part of a single ticket. If they were not, Icelandair most certainly will not hold the flight. If they were, Icelandair might or might not hold the flight. This was a foolish booking in my opinion.

+1 - I put the chances of making this connection at under 5%. If the flights are on one itinerary, it is conceiveable, although unlikely, that the flight will be held. If the flights are not together, there is zero chance because Icelandair won't even know that OP is headed in from somewhere else.

Since OP is connecting to the only BOS-KEF available, I would not allow one minute under 2 hours and would shoot for 3 just to be safe.

Since OP is connecting to the only BOS-KEF available, I would not allow one minute under 2 hours and would shoot for 3 just to be safe.

Many days FI does have two flights on this route. As we all know, a flight that is basically on-time could easily be letting people off the plane +/- 20 minutes from the arrival time, and that would make a huge difference. But your conclusion is correct, this is a very tight connection and if there are financial considerations (losing the whole ticket value, night in BOS, losing paid night in KEF(or EU), etc) this is quite risky.

Assuming the flight in question is during the summer timetable, there's

FI634 that departs BOS 2:35 PM
FI630 that departs BOS 9:30 PM

If it is a true US Airways flight, it can only come in from PHX, CLT, LGA, PHL, DCA (unless they are coming from Carribbean or Cancun).

I don't know the originating city, but there are almost hourly flights to BOS from all these US hub cities (except PHX, but none arrive within 60 min of both flights above).

Anyway, there are so many earlier flights I don't know if the worrying and added stress leading up to the day of departure is worth it.

If this is a vacation, the stress ain't worth it and there's no guarantee that there will be 4 seats available at a different time. I would make the change, pay the change fee (if there is one), put this issue to rest and then enjoy the vacation.

PS - Tell the "no nothings" who forced this poor choice that they don't handle other trip logistics !

Thanks very much to all for the information. I gave it to the people who are traveling. They made the connection, thanks to this info.