Originally Posted by
johnslloyd
Southwest is much better at this than other airlines. I've seen them hold a departure for 30 minutes for a single connecting pax, and shorter times in a number of situations. It depends a lot on the consequences for the other pax if the flight goes out late.
Delta, on the other hand, generally won't hold for anybody, not even their most elite Diamond Medallion flyers. I've been burned a couple times by Delta, including once when my connecting flight pushed back 8 minutes before the scheduled departure time, even though they KNEW I was in the airport and was headed for the departure gate. I arrived at the gate 4 minutes before the scheduled departure time and the flight was already gone.
I had the opposite experience, I had a flight CVG-BUF (back when the route existed) and they held us on the ramp, doors open, for 30 minutes for a group of connecting PAX. Crew was super nice about the whole thing, and not a single negative reaction noted.