SpeedyDelivery

I have a flight scheduled MCI-DEN-SEA next month and would love to have 3 extra RR credits using the new DEN promo and splitting my flight into an MCI-DEN and DEN-SEA ticket.

My concern is that this will be the last DEN-SEA flight of the night and I only have 25 minutes to connect. While that's a valid connection time for DEN, I fear that booking it this way would negate the opportunity to have the DEN-SEA flight held in the event of a slight delay.

I will have my Companion flying with me, so perhaps I can book her flight MCI-DEN-SEA to ensure Southwest knows we are connecting. Will her pass still be valid if my tickets are MCI-DEN & DEN-SEA?

brad2by2

When my companion is flying with me, I always book that person on the "through" route. That way Southwest knows at least one person is on the connecting flight.

It's only happened to me once, but I was flying into Manchester, connecting through Philadelphia. Sure enough, the originating flight was delayed and I missed my connection. Southwest provided overnight accomodations based on my companion being booked all the way through to Manchester. I don't know what would have happened had I not booked companion for the "through" flight.

expert7700

^ for the idea to book your CP as a 'thru' route. I do the same--book at least one passenger in my group, whether Companion, or award ticket traveller, or someone who won't ever earn enough for a free trip, as a thru route.

As you mentioned OP, IRROPS is the biggest fear of a custom connection (for awards or other reasons). Some FTers are warriors and they are up for the challenge of potentially sleeping in the airport.

-If a gate agent really wants to see where the missing passengers are, they can use the PC to see if they were booked on any southwest flights that day, but I don't believe that is widely practiced, so if you have two conf #s you are 'on your own'.

-If they annouce a weather advisory you won't receive a hotel for a misconnect. But if they didn't know you were connecting to a certain destination, they might not even annouce a weather advisory if it affects just your final city.

-I've had gate agents announcing our names and ready to delete my boarding pass (but thankfully still made the flight) when our approved booked-as-connecting flight came basically on time, deplaned from towards the front, not nearly the furthest back rows, with a 25 min scheduled connection.

This isn't asked in your ? but here is a possible disadvantage of hidden city ticketing where you find a lower price las-mdw-phl than you can book las-mdw... if there is a weather issue, they may fly over mdw and continue to phl, connect in another city, or put you on a nonstop las-phl. You can ask to be rerouted but they have very little official responsibility.

pinniped

What is your cost of not being in Seattle first thing in the morning? Is it just a few bucks for a Denver hotel or are you headed to an important meeting for which showing up late would have a negative consequence?

Figure the probability of the exact type of IRROPS that would incrementally hurt you are very low. Your likeliest scenario is that you make the connection. Your 2nd likeliest scenario is that you get stuck in Denver no matter how you book the itinerary. (e.g., MCI-DEN is a whole hour late, DEN-SEA gets canceled, etc.)

Your least likely scenario is that all events line up to a "near-connection" and this is the exact decision on the part of the DEN-SEA gate agent: "Should I hold this flight for these (n) Kansas City connectors? No, we only wait for (n+1) connectors. Close the door and let the Kansas City people find hotels."

In other words, enjoy the extra RR credits unless you're inking a million-dollar contract in Seattle at 7AM. (And if you're doing that, fly earlier in the day!! ) Take solace in the fact that if you get stuck in Denver, it probably would have happened even if you'd booked as one itin.

Firewind

I suggest that the only time it's not advantageous to break it up is when the total cost is more than you value a RR credit. Which may vary according to whether you're topping off, of course. Otherwise, it really is constructing your own promotion, and stacking with the present promotions - e.g., out of BOS or PHL to DEN and then DEN to beyond, and the reverse, coming back - is about the best you can do, ever. ^

BTW, one data point (me), a FA on a BOS-DEN flight told me that "DEN isn't doing so well for Southwest," and then my DEN-SFO flight was half full. Maybe the "We try harder" raison d'être vs. UA is still valuable for Southwest at DEN. So I partially eat my words expressed elsewhere. Back on topic, more reason to take them up on their offers -- now.

pinniped

I've split up MCI-DEN-SEA on both Southwest and United before - it occasionally saves some cash even in "bonusless" periods. (On WN, of course, it always adds 1 credit...) Moreso in the summer than winter...

dc2

Does your companion have any trouble with OLCI if booked as a through vs you being booked as separate segments?

jrpaguia

They probably don't check until the flight boards.

I know that this hasn't been an issue for the opposite when I've gone SJC-ONT-PHX and my hott CP gets on at ONT (either on the same flight # or otherwise).

73G

Data point... recently flew TUS-DEN-MSP on two separate tickets to get double double credits. No checked bags, of course. TUS-DEN was long delayed by weather so I would clearly miss the last DEN-MSP of the day. I was worried that WN would consider me simply as a no-show for my separately ticketed DEN-MSP, but the TUS agents were fine with rebooking both itineraries to the same schedule the next day at no cost.

Splitting fares through DEN often works well because the competition is so fierce in that market.

alggag

You can say that again! I am considering HOU-DEN + DEN-LAX instead of HOU-LAX and the fares for both segments through DEN are really low (like $70 in and out). Compare that to a trip I took to visit family back in the summer that was around $120 each way (HOU-DEN).

Anyway, my question to the group is concerning the wisdom of HOU-DEN + DEN-LAX in mid November. What are the odds of bad weather/snow around that time of year in DEN? I'm going to LAX on leisure and can take all day to get there if I want.

pinniped

It can certainly snow in Denver in November, but your odds of a storm big enough to knock out DIA are fairly small. The airport is set up well to deal with weather and it takes a particularly nasty blizzard to shut that place down. (Many recall recall the famously-large blizzard that hit Denver around Christmas 2006.)

I wouldn't build a tight connection but I wouldn't avoid DEN because of the chance of weather. The main airport I avoid in the winter is ORD. (I never have any opportunity to avoid DTW or MSP, but I suppose if I were a Skyteam guy I'd avoid those too.)

alggag

Thanks. As it is, all the connections work out to around 2 - 2.5 hours which feels pretty safe to me.

SKIEL

I have a flight booked MSP to DEN then DEN SEA for the the 11th of next month. There is 35 min between flights. This is available as one PRN # but i did them individual for the points.

I will be through checking a bag for this trip.

By checking the bag does that give Denver a heads up That I'm arriving on that flight?

Hopefully there are others on the same schedule that helps insure my bag makes it with me to SEA...

Heryanta

Grrr... I need to do AUS-LAX on Nov 14th and to price it as separate reservations adds about $60 to the $130 price if it's booked as one reservation.
It's a shame because otherwise I'd get 4 RR due to the Denver double RR promotion

expert7700

YMMV on through checking the bag.

Sometimes, maybe 1 out of 15, the ticketing agents refuse to tag it any further than your first stop. they tell you that you'll need to retrieve it at baggage claim and re-check it. I've booked tickets for a coworker who has had this happen to him a few times, he always argues for a few minutes then gives in, and goes outside of security to get and re/check his bag. Fortunately those flights he's always had an hour plus layover time.