I connect to / from AE every Monday and Friday out of ORD. I've been doing this since May and have yet to miss a flight, even with connection times as short as 32 minutes. Granted, YMMV, but so far it's been fine. (Where is the 'knock on wood' icon?
) My personal experience has been that, if my inbound flight has been a bit delayed, so is the outbound, usually for the same reason (which is usually weather
).
Now, I'm not a leisurely traveller as you describe your friend. I'm familiar with the airport and I head directly from my arrival gate to my depature gate, arriving with plenty of time to spare
. If your friend decides to keep the original schedule, maybe she could be persuaded to be a bit less 'leisurely', at least until she finds her departure gate? Even for an infrequent flyer, 52 minutes should be plenty of time in ORD, assuming all flights are on time.
Concerns about the luggage could be helped by packing an overnight bag with necessary supplies. Of course, what I would considers 'necessary' (a change of clothes and toothbrush / toothpaste) and what Mrs. BostonFlyer consider 'necessary' (
everything in the checked suitcase) are two different things
