Conection time question
 

Hi CO people, I'm considering booking a flight from LAS to LHR. There is a flight with a 1h24m connect at IAH. First would you say that this is a goer connection time wise? I think I've made a tighter connection at IAH in the past however what would happen if I misconnected. Would CO put me up in a hotel if they couldn't re route on the day?

The CO.com site is also offering a route with a 51m transfer at EWR which seems a little optimistic! That said however if they would re protect me including a hotel in the event of a misconnect I'd probably be happier to be stuck in EWR than IAH!

What do people think?

Thanks for your help in advance!

Go with IAH. That connection is fine.

CO won't give you hotel anywhere if you misconnect due to weather or air traffic control delay. Only if it's due to a mechanical problem or a cancellation that's CO's choosing.

Thanks rkkwan, I thought as much. I guess IAH is much less prone to weather issues at this time of year as well.

IAH is your best bet.

I would never plan on anything less than a 2 hour connect at EWR.....especially to an international connect.

I agree 51 minutes is too optimistic for a connection in EWR, especially as CO tries very hard to keep its international departures on time. So even if there are general delays at EWR that affect your LAS-EWR flight, the EWR-LHR departure will probably not be delayed.

That said, you might consider this option if (1) you're flexible and can afford to arrive in LHR a day or more later than planned, (2) you can take advantage of the layover in EWR (e.g., have friends in the city to visit), and (3) get this promise of a hotel in writing. As stated above, if a delay is weather related CO typically does not comp a hotel.

With the way the weather has been here in Newark this year I would say go with the IAH connection.

In general, I aim for IAH connections during the winter... and EWR connections during the summer. This has helped me avoid the freak snowstorms and hurricanes that can really derail travel plans.

Though I'm always happier to be stranded in EWR right across the way from Manhattan...

EWR during the summer is even worse than EWR during winter. Expect delays every afternoon. EWR, along with LGA, JFK and PHL are constantly at the bottom of all US airports for delays year round, including summer.

I think EWR is worse than LGA and JFK. They seem to get much more backed up. I'm not sure if it's congestion that causes it, or perhaps CO's reluctance to cancel flights, but the EWR backups seem to be longer than the others in the area.

Just a couple weeks ago, EWR was showing 2.5 hour delays due to "weather/wind" while JFK was also showing 35-minute delays due to "weather/wind." Fortunately I was travelling via JFK, and we took only a 30-minute delay, while CO's comparable flight to EWR was delayed a good 2 hours.

Obviously that's anecdotal, but I've seen this pattern more than a few times, and the weather can't be significantly different between EWR and JFK.

More clinically, looking at the 10/2008 data (the latest that's available, and it was a fairly good month actually), EWR is showing a 69.7% on-time arrival rate, compared to JFK at 81.7%, and LGA at 75.0%.

The weather isn't different, but the runway layout is. EWR doesn't have the crossing runways available the same way JFK does to help out if winds go amok. I also think that the wide spacing between the parallel runways at JFK helps them out a lot.