Hi everyone, newbie post here ^^; First of all, I apologize if this is in the wrong section, not sure where else to put this question.

I have a concern that has been worrying me for a few days. I recently booked a Continental flight from Toronto-Newark-Hong Kong through my travel agent, for December 14, 2010. It will be on one ticket, going with Continental all the way (CO 2351 from Toronto to Newark, then CO 99 from Newark to Hong Kong).

Upon arrival in Newark we have 1hr and 3 mins of connection time, which is normally pretty tight. So it would be great if you guys can answer my questions if you have the experience going on this particular flight:

1) I know there is an airside bus by Continental for connecting travellers, that goes from Terminal A to C at Newark. How frequent does the bus run, and how long does it take to get to Terminal C?

2) Am I eligible to take the airside bus in the first place, and if so do we have to go through security again?

3) If, in the worst situation we do miss our flight to Hong Kong, since there is only one flight per day, I know we'll have to get on the flight the next day. I'm fine with that, but how about our luggage?? Will the luggage fly to Hong Kong without us and will be left unattended on the belt, for anyone to take, for 24+hours??

I know I have more questions, but I guess I'll ask as the answers come. Thank you for your help =)

When arriving from Toronto you will pre-clear US customs in Toronto. Your arriving flight will be treated a domestic flight. Your luggage will be transferred automatically. 1:03 should be a fine connection if your arriving flight is not very late. The inter-terminal bus runs every 10 minutes or so. It takes a few minutes and you will not need to re-clear security.

Thank you for the quick reply xyzzy! I'm glad to hear that it won't take too long to get from Terminal A to C. However, if you say that luggage will be transferred automatically, if the first flight was really delayed (December's weather will be unpredictable) and we ended up missing the flight, will the luggage go with the 2nd flight anyway and be left in HK unattended for 24+ hours while we're stuck in Newark??

usually, the airline should get your luggage to go on the same flight as you.
However, this is difficult to predict.

I guess it'll be OK if it couldn't go on the same flight as us, as long as the airline doesn't just leave them out in the open where anyone can just take them, like take any lone luggages into a secure area so we can retrieve them when we arrive...I have only a little flying experience so I'm a bit nervous and make sure everything would go smoothly.

If it isn't claimed shortly after arrival they'll hold it in the baggage services office until a claim is filed. If you miss the flight your PNR (reservations details) will be updated and they'll know that you're on the next flight (or whatever other routing you get) and they'll know to pull the bag and hold it for you.

Thanks for the replies everyone, now I'm a lot more at ease =) There is one more question though...

I understand that the CO99 flight would most likely be full since there is only one of them each day, so what if we do miss the flight, and the next day's flight is full as well?? Can we be stranded for a few days straight until 2 spots open up? x_X Or can we request to be put on another airline's flight to HK that has spots if we really have to make it to HK on time for an important event?

As per the Star Alliance IRROPS policy, you certainly can be reaccomodated on another airline's flight. The order of preference for reaccomodation is:

CO ---> Star partners (with AC/UA/LH having heightened preference in CO-land because CO can instantly confirm segments on their flights) ---> Other airlines.

My suggestions if IRROPS comes to pass:

1. If you know early enough in the day that YYZ-EWR has a good chance of misconnecting, try to get on the Air Canada nonstop YYZ-HKG.

2. From YYZ, there are also good reroute options going via ORD on UA, or via PEK or NRT on AC.

3. If you get as far as EWR and see CO99 pushing off without you, the best ways to keep yourselves moving is to: (1) get on a late afternoon or evening CO flight to SFO, then pick up SQ001 SFO-HKG which departs around midnight, (2) get on CO's EWR-DEL or EWR-BOM flights connecting onto Cathay Pacific for HKG, (3) using CO/UA flights to either ORD or LAX to pick up late night flights to ICN and then HKG on Asiana (OZ), or (4) getting on a Cathay Pacific flight from JFK, or using CO to pick up a Cathay flight from Los Angeles or San Francisco.

But keep in mind that loads for international flights generally get extremely heavy during that time period, so there will very few flights with seats open to reaccomodate you. You will do well to go on the internet the day before your trip and map out some potential options with seats available, the informed traveler gets to keep moving while the traveler waiting on a company to take care of them, well, stays waiting.

I would try and get on one of the earlier Toronto-Newark flights (there are three). Weather in that area in mid-December can be a problem. That is a very tight connection that time of year.

The history for this flight is not good - highly susceptible to delays. I'd say a 1hr connection at EWR to a once-a-day international flight is a very risky proposition. When I used to fly via EWR, I always made sure I had at least 2-3 hours of connection time, even for a domestic flight.

I would try (now, or if you don't want to pay the fee, SDC later) to rebook to the very first or second flight from YYZ to EWR on 12/14 and buy a PC pass if you're not a member and spend the afternoon relaxing in the club before your HKG departure.

CO's YYZ staff are very hit and miss - sometimes you get a good agent who upon detecting a misconnect would follow *A rules and might rebook you YYZ-HKG on AC or possibly CX - while you could get one of their grouches who will send you home with a smirk and tell you to call reservations.

I'm very anal about these things connections, but that's me.

I can't thank you guys enough for being so helpful! I was unaware that there are many options available. I'll definitely monitor availabilty of other flights closer to the date of departure. I mean it's OK if we stay back at Newark for one night, but not indefinite time. And as long as it doesn't cost us hundreds to be rerouted to another airline's flights (I heard that CO will cover the costs if this happens) it is fine as well.

Unfortunately, when booked through our agent, who flat out said "there are no more seats on the earlier flights" when he only meant there was none left at the special price, we had no idea we can pay $100 extra to upgrade to an earlier flight before confirming =( If we only knew before we would have picked that option...at the time of booking I was little worried about the connection time too, but the agent just said "well it should be fine, if not CO will put you on the next flight". If we were to change now it'll cost $500 per ticket which is way too expensive.

Knowledge is power. ^

With polite persistence, and knowledge of your options, you will keep going on your way. Meanwhile, Joe Blow who's clueless about alternatives will get told he'll have to wait a day...or two...or three before enjoying authentic Hong Kong dim sum.

I generally avoid anything less than a 3 hour connection time at EWR.

One time on a flight from BOS-EWR, which should be at worst a 45 minute flight, we spent an additional hour and a half circling over Northwest NJ. The guy sitting next to me who originally had booked with a 1 hr connection started realizing he was going to miss his once daily flight to Norway (from what I remember). Needless to say the FA didn't really know what was going to happen to him, and I was just thankful I wasn't in his position.

Oh man I really wish that won't happen to us, but it's pretty much 50/50 Was it on Continental?

I have one more (hopefully last one) question about Same Day Changes. According to the website, if we were to make a successful change on the day of, it would only cost us $50 per ticket? If so, I'm thinking of going to the airport super early and try to see whether there will be seats available on the earlier flights (ie. the 6:30AM and 9:20AM flight, as we're scheduled to be on the 12:35PM one)...even if it means we will be on separate planes for the first flight, as long as we are able to meet up at EWR before the second flight. Is this allowed? And also can we do this online if we opt for online check-in...at around 12AM the night before? It would be helpful to mention that the fare class of my ticket is Economy (K), what would the chances of getting a confirmed seat be if I check-in online?

You can do same-day confirmed within 24 hours of your originally scheduled flight, and yes you can make the change online. I'd suggest that you and your traveling companion stick together whether you keep your ticketed YYZ-EWR or switch to something else, because in the event of IRROPS, that maximizes the chances of you two ending up on the same flights for your revised journey.