Hoc

Just wondering about this. We have a trip to Korea in March, connecting through DFW. I allowed us two hours between arrival into DFW and departure on the connecting flight. However, the airline just changed its schedule and our connection time is now down to 1 hour. There are no later flights out that day.

I'm a little concerned, since we have to go through customs and immigration in DFW when we get there. I have travel insurance, but it only insures for missed connections for delays attributable to inclement weather or "common carrier delay."

What happens if my flight isn't delayed, but the 1-hour change is insufficient to allow me to get through customs and onto the connecting flight? I don't see that clearly covered by the travel insurance, or anything else.

MSPeconomist

First of all, verify what MCT is for your itinerary. After the schedule change, is your connection legal?

Also, do you have award tickets or tickets paid with money?

Hoc

They are award tickets. How do I find MCT for DFW? I've heard it's normally 1 hour for international, but that doesn't seem all that realistic to me given past experience.

BTW, I know that if my incoming flight is just a couple of minutes late, then my travel insurance would kick in for a missed connection. But I'm wondering what happens if the flight is on time and I still miss it due to something else.

If it makes a difference, I'll be flying business on AA.

obscure2k

Hoc..as your carrier is AA, I am moving this thread to the AA Forum.
Obscure2k
TravelBuzz Moderator

cedric

As long as both flights are on the same itinerary, you'll be protected and placed on the next available flight should you misconnect. If MCT is not met, you'll get a free change in order to find something more suitable. In fact, you can probably take advantage of that free change if the connection is too tight for your liking but YMMV.

If they are separate tickets, it's not up to the airline to accommodate you - that's a risk you take.

guv1976

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

According to this thread

http://mobile.flyertalk.com/GetThread.php?t=1703026

the MCT at DFW for AA widebody international to AA domestic is 85 minutes, so it appears that AA must re-book you.

Hoc

AA has always been good about rebooking me when there is a schedule change. The problem is that there are no later flights out of DFW to my destination later that day. So, a rebooking would force me to spend the night in a hotel room. My issue is, in that instance, I suspect that I would have to pay for the room.

guv1976

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

AA may re-book you on a different flight out of ICN on a different carrier, connecting someplace other than DFW. What is your final destination on your award out of ICN?

Hoc

SNA

guv1976

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SEL-NRT/HKG-ORD-SNA is a possibility. If you would accept arriving at LAX instead of SNA, then SEL-NRT/HKG-LAX is another possibility.

Hoc

I like the concept of going through Hong Kong, because I like Cathay Pacific's business class. But LAX is a 2 1/2 hour drive from our house, so I'd prefer to fly back to SNA. Does the routing of SEL-NRT/HKG mean that we have to find a way to get from Japan to Hong Kong? I don't understand routing shorthand very well.

hiima

It means your layover point is either hkg or nrt

Fanjet

If you live in San Juan Capistrano, how on earth is it a 2.5 hour drive to your house from LAX? The problem you have is SNA and their night curfew. Both SAN and LAX have later flights leaving from DFW. But what time does your flight arrive from ICN at DFW? Because that flight is meant to connect for flights heading to the east coast. And those last flights of the day leave DFW before the ones to the west coast. I think the last DFW-SNA leaves around 9pm in order to avoid the night curfew. Your inbound flight from ICN has to get into DFW long before then.

Hoc

That's just how long it takes. It's still about 45 minutes to an hour from SNA, or about an hour from SAN.

My flight from Korea arrives into DFW at 4:15 pm, and the last flight out to SNA is 5:20 pm.

So, update is that I called to see whether I could be routed through SFO or HKG, and was told no. So, I told the agent not to change anything, and I would confer with my wife.

I called back to see about just moving our flight a day later on the same route, because the timing (6:50 pm flight to SNA) was still there on that day. They were able to do it, and then I saw that the outbound flight to Korea was no longer on the reservation. Apparently, the prior agent had cancelled it while checking the return options. And they said that they could not get it back because it was on JAL.

So, after about 45 minutes on hold, they contacted JAL and asked them to make seats available on the original routing out to Korea. I have to wait 24 hours to see what happens.

MSPeconomist

I check MCTs on EF. I don't trust what the airlines tell me, plus some phone agents don't know how to find MCTs or they just try to tell me that if the airlines will sell the ticket, it's OK.

For some airports, you can find MCTs either on the airport's website or by google.