Originally Posted by
mduell
For an airline as large as United it becomes a matter of conserving flight numbers due to ranges used for codeshares/etc. Thus some of the goofy post-merger "direct" flights that are well out of the way, like SFO-ORD-SNA or EWR-PHX-ORD.
The long-haul "direct" flights have virtually nothing to do with conserving flight numbers and nearly everything to do with making the flights appear more desirable to the various booking engines that display "direct" flights higher than connecting flights.
Originally Posted by
halls120
One thing I've noticed about flying on CO metal is that connecting times are tight at IAH for many flights. I was on a DCA-IAH-ELP flight last year, and I almost missed the ELP flight because we were late getting into IAH. I generally won't schedule a flight with a short connecting time - I don't want to find myself in the position the OP's cousin found himself in.
For an onward flight to ELP where there are multiple flights daily I'm more inclined to take the tight connection as they usually work and when they do the overall travel time really is much better. With a once daily flight to EZE departing at the end of the day I'd be less inclined, though it would depend on my overall schedule.