Originally Posted by adastra

I'm headed DCA-EWR-LAX tomorrow, and I'd booked myself a comfortable 2hr51min hour layover in EWR. Got a call a few minutes ago that my 9AM flight from DCA was cancelled, with a rebooking to the 11AM flight. This would leave me with 51 minutes to change plans... and a transfer from Terminal A to Terminal C. Do-able, but extremely scary with an incoming flight with a poor on-time rate.

I called and got myself onto the 6:59AM (ouch!) outgoing flight instead. The elite desk agent sympathized that 51min for A to C was very tight. I wouldn't be very concerned if both gates were in C. The terminal change is really the time-killer. So, I was wondering - do the EWR legal connection times take into account what terminals the flights are usually scheduled to utilize? Or is it a universal number for all flight changes at the airport, regardless of likely terminals? When I'm in control of my itinerary, I consider the likelihood of having to change terminals and avoid short connections. But with a schedule change... I have less control.

The 6:59AM flight, by the way, is on a 738 and the seat map is 75% empty. Last time I flew this flight, it filled up mostly with crew commuting to EWR for work. Hopefully it won't get cancelled, too.