To allay the need to ever again ask, "Is ____ enough time to connect at ____?" herewith is the official answer, based on an amalgamation of expert opinions from your fellow Flyer Talkers. (This is a work in progress and will change over time.)

Recommended minimum connection time (in minutes) for domestic and international connections.


IAH DOM: 60
IAH INT: 120
EWR DOM: 120
EWR INT: 180
CLE DOM: 60
CLE INT: 90
GUM ALL: 90


Don't agree with these times? Post your opinion below.

I regularly book and make < 45 minute at IAH from B to E.

With late flights, I've made < 20, E to B.

I the shortest CO.com has offered me is 33.

I have also had my connecting flight be the same plane I arrived on.

The only time I really worry is when I'm connecting to the last flight of the evening to my destination.

There should really be four categories: DOM-DOM, DOM-INT, INT-DOM and INT-INT. These are the same are actually used for defining the rules for airports. And we might need to add in CO Ex v. CO in EWR, as that makes a difference both because of the bus transfer and the likelihood of cancellations. Still, some basic guidelines are very useful.

As for the numbers you've got for EWR, I think they are good for mainline flights. I'd actually settle for 90 minutes on a DOM-DOM connection if I were booking myself. Having 180 for a DOM-INT, INT-INT or INT-DOM would be comfortable in my book as well.

It would also be interesting to get the actual required MCT numbers just for comparison's sake. And, finally in this rambling post, if we get this developed and reasonably agreed upon we can put it in the FAQ, where it can be referenced in perpetuity.

S.

Such abject perversion belongs in OMNI.

Line of the day - but it's still early.

I made a DOM to INT connection in 30 minutes at IAH, even got in a pit stop at the PC

Never connected through EWR but done several departures and arrivals...

INT 180 and DOM 120 is way too much! This would be really third world style and be even worse than the hell called London Heathrow!

I'd say DOM 60, INT-DOM 100 (depending on citizenship), DOM-INT 80

It's still pretty bad

Umm, OK. This thread is not about one's record-setting connection times. It's a general appraisal of our collective wisdom as to how many minutes should be allocated to reasonably assure a connection can be made, without assuming perfect conditions, extra special knowledge of the airport, or other uncommon exceptions.

Interesting. What times would you estimate for...?

EWR DOM-DOM
EWR DOM-INT
EWR INT-DOM
EWR INT-INT

I will await J.Edwards sage advice on your latter point.

IAH DOM to DOM 45
IAH DOM to INT 90
IAH INT to DOM 120
IAH INT to INT 120

This seems very long to me, especially CLE DOM. I would say 30 mins for CLE DOM. Even if you have to run from D to C, that takes 10 mins at the most. CLE just isn't that big, and there aren't frequent congestion delays like with EWR.

Are you sure about 45 minutes? Remember, we�re talking being reasonable assured of making a connection. If your flight to IAH is a mere 30 minutes late, you�ll miss the 15-minute before departure window, right?

There is never a guarantee. Some flights are delayed for hours. So how do you want to take that into consideration?

So if you make a thread about connection times, one goes by regular conditions, meaning a flight is not more than 15 minutes delayed. Everything else would be, well not smart

Part of the problem is that you're trying to make an absolute out of something that is subject to many variables.

Some examples:

Short-hauls into EWR (esp. in the afternoon) are more prone to delays. I'd be more hesitant to book a short connection DCA-EWR-SFO than the same duration connection SFO-EWR-DCA.

Frequency of flights play into it. If it's morning, and there are many flights to your final destination (or alternate airports), a shorter connection may be worth the gamble. If it's the only int'l flight of the day, then well, it may pay to make that a longer connection.

There's also terminal issues (e.g., Express to Mainline and v.v.). You may be comfortable booking 45 minutes in IAH mainline to mainline, but not express to mainline. Also, Express flights are often more likely to be delayed, so Express to Mainline and Mainline to Express may have different times.

As for int'l flights, customs facilities vary in load. GRU-IAH, for example, arrives when there are light loads at customs. But flights in the afternoon would be more packed. Similarly, an early morning arrival TLV-EWR might be fine with a 1.5 hour connection, whereas a Europe-EWR peak time arrival, you may want 2+ hours.

So I really don't see how we can simplify this list and still take into account all the factors. Anybody on FT should understand that. "How do I get the lowest fare?" or "How do I get bumped?" all have the same answer. There's no absolute right answer.

This was kind of my thinking. If a plane arrives a few minutes early or a few minutes late, 45 minutes should be a reasonable amount of time for the person to make their connection at IAH and not have to wander the airport to find something to do or race from one terminal to another.