Originally Posted by
AUDirt
US Airways, through its reservations system, made a recommendation to me regarding connection time. Their recommendation was that 35 minutes was enough. If US Air tells me I can make a 35 minute connection in CLT, who am I to argue with them? It's (basically) their airport.
Without intending to throw gasoline on your fire I must concur with the the posters above.
A 35 minute connection is slim under the best of circumstances. But just because it is offered does not mean that taking it is in our best interest. Just because there is a 3000 calorie fat and salt bomb on a fast food menu does not mean it's ok to order it. You can't eat BigMacs every day and then blame McDonald's for weight gain. I understand that this analogy is imperfect, but at the end of the day the responsibility of choice resides with us as buyers.
Please understand that I am not commenting on the handling of the options that were or were not available after the fact. At that point US should be responsible for helping you with the best options then available. But if you think that 35 minutes is too tight then book a longer connection. Don't put that decision in someone else's hands.
FWIW, I look for about an hour, 15 minutes to be late, 15 minutes to freshen up, 15 minutes to get to the gate and 15 minutes to get on the plane.