HDQDD

+1. Kids are extremely resilient, adults, not so much.

kaaria

I have been told the 90 min rule but one time they changed times because of 45 min. I was able to change arrival airport as well.

MOD220

thanks for the feedback guys...a couple things:

1) only reason I wanted a refund is if I was going to fly in the evening, AA leaves 90 minutes earlier at a cheaper (now equal) price.

2) a connection in the midwest during the winter time is too risky, can't imagine getting stuck at an airport for an extended period of time with the little guys

3) I only live 20 minutes from CMH, getting a hotel near there would only shave a few minutes off in the morning, but getting kids to sleep there (pack n play, shared room, etc) could present another challenge

4) to whoever said "its only an hour no big deal," must not have kids. going from hell to brutal hell is noticeable in my world...

I never bought return flights so I'll look into using Delta on return and AA on the way out. Problem is the AA flights home are better too, and cheaper.

bottom line, if I knew the Delta change would have happened, I would have booked AA round trip.

very frustrating but things happen...

hoosiereph

Have you considered combining the hotel suggestion with the upthread suggestion that you try to change to the 9 a.m. CVG-LAX nonstop? The Residence Inn by CVG was renovated this year, and in my past experience, usually offers 1 BR suites as an $10-$15 upcharge over the studio rooms (and may well upgrade you to a 2 BR). You may also be able to arrange a park & ride option to offset some of the hotel cost (or use points - I believe it's a Cat 3).

ifette

I'd not place DTW and MSP in the same bucket as ORD. DTW and MSP are surprisingly good at dealing with weather, and MSP especially has lots of options for kids if you do get stuck in the terminal for a few hours.

dd1612

In Winter the best place to connect through would be MSP.
Even if one does get stuck at MSP for the night, the hotels in the vicinity of MSP airport are very reasonably priced and comfortable, with free airport pick up and drop.

baccarat_king

actually, I had to read this again, because, I kept thinking... "is this REALLY that brutal?"

I mean, this is "basically" an hour. Unless you are 90 years old, or totally out of shape physically (and mentally) this is really NOT a big deal. And, as one with experience with these things, it's really NOT a big issue for the kids; unless YOU MAKE IT A BIG DEAL! Imagine the kids who have to wake up at 5am every day, because they need to be dropped off before their single mom works 3 jobs; and gets picked up at 21:30. Sheesh, are we really pampering our kids this much? (sorry for the rant, I just believe kids need to start to become more independent at an early age, and independence = flexibility in my book)

When you look at the craziness of domestic air travel (Point in fact : ORD/MDW over the past few days); can we really give credibility to something that is AS MINOR as this? (or the Air France strike, imagine being with your three kids when the LAX-CDG nonstop has been cancelled the last 4 out of 5 days; that's sure not a fun trip back home to Paris, when you now have a potential overnight and 1 or 2 connections instead of a "seamless" nonstop.)

I mean, with regard to the OP : (unless I missed something) it's still a nonstop. It's a "short flight." Airport is close to the home of the OP. If this is the biggest issue the OP has with family travel over the next few years, he/she are REALLY REALLY lucky!

LaserSailor

Anyone with kids knows...

There are no rules with kids,....some are easy, some aren't.

As one with the easiest travel kid in the world, who I could get up at 3am to hit JFK for a TATL without a whine, I PTL that I got kids like that.

Good parenting etc has nothing to do with it, imhe

baccarat_king

Yes, but 2am, 3am, 4am; they are all "basically" the same thing. My point, is this is a differential of just over an hour. That should not be such a huge issue. If your kids are difficult travelers (etc.); they are going to be just as difficult (or easy) with or without the approximately 1 hour in flight time change.

I still rest by my comment, this is a VERY MINOR change.

Grouchy

Kids most likely will be fine. It's a big adventure for them (at least it was for me)...the airport, planes, pilots and FA's in uniform, flying woohoo!

baccarat_king

LOL, that was TOTALLY my thought process back in post #23.

JPCAG

JPCAG

Just completed MSP-LAX-stay overnight
LAX-SEA-PEK
PEK-HKG with four hour delay ON the plane

One month later on return
HKG-LAX stay overnight in LAX
LAX-MSP

With three of our four children: Eight, Six and Five
Kids did not miss a beat. They are tough

Just my two cent

TransSiberian

I have a 3 year old, and quite honestly, I can't even contemplate traveling with three kids, two being under 3. It's a major hassle. And it so happens that my girl, who is amazingly easy going, does throw a fit if woken with a few hours short on her sleep. And by fit I mean 20 minutes of screaming like she's being tortured, pushing us away, and refusing to dress (yes, you can force dress her, but she will take it off as soon as you are done). It's not for the weakhearted. So, I am with the OP. Plus, they are going to CA, so 4 am EST is 1 am PST. They should be training their kids to get up slightly later, not earlier.

P.S. There is a morning non-stop to LA from CMH? Two years ago when my bosses were in LA there was only once a week evening flight, which I took several times.

baccarat_king

But, this is not about traveling with kids. This is about a flight time change of 77 minutes. And, as far as we can tell, two competent (mentally and physically) adults traveling with kids on a nonstop. I could totally understand if the flight was changed to a single/double connection with 2-3 hours in connecting airports and an estimated travel time of 3-7 more hours. But, once again, this is just 77 minutes. Anyone who deals with kids on a regular basis (sports, play-dates, day care, sickness, work schedules) always has to modify/adjust schedules. This is life, and part of raising kids.

That is my only point. It's, of course, just my opinion. But, I do believe this is a non-issue. And, this is from someone who has 3 kids; and often had to travel with 2-3 of them (alone) when they were quite young.