Most Unrealistic Connection Times
#32
Join Date: Sep 2010
Programs: UA, Qantas, MAS
Posts: 3
Finnair's 40 minutes at Helsinki is another unachievable one. Even if you are able to bypass immigration and security lines it requires a sprint to get from a longhaul flight to a European one. And heaven help you when your bag misses the connection if you are flying to Berlin.
The handling agent Finnair uses is a complete nightmare. Totally unresponsive and completely unhelpful. My recent HEL connection was shortened to 40 minutes after a flight reschedule. The bag missed the connecting flight - and was loaded on the following one. The tracing system was not updated. After a day of unanswered phone calls and emails I finally retrieved the bag 2 days later by going back to the airport and demanding that the handling agent hand it over.
The handling agent Finnair uses is a complete nightmare. Totally unresponsive and completely unhelpful. My recent HEL connection was shortened to 40 minutes after a flight reschedule. The bag missed the connecting flight - and was loaded on the following one. The tracing system was not updated. After a day of unanswered phone calls and emails I finally retrieved the bag 2 days later by going back to the airport and demanding that the handling agent hand it over.
#34
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Tahoe
Programs: Delta DM for now
Posts: 474
Whats 'sensible' is up for interpretation as everyone has different factors effecting their travel. Carry-on vs checked bags, fit/quick moving vs slower/mobility restricted, Passport/visa ease of entry, solo or travelling with family, etc... So publishing any sort of 'sensible' recommendation would require continuously erring on the side of caution for every possible hiccup a traveler may encounter.
#35
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 17
I once incurred a schedule change the left me with a 45-minute connection at DFW on AA. I knew that involved a terminal change, because I was switching from Eagle (Terminal B) to mainline (most departures for ORD left from Terminal A).
I got switched to a later departure of ORD, giving me 90 minutes to connect.
Guess what? My Eagle flight was 45 minutes late. Most passengers missed their connections. I made mine.
Back in the days of regulation, my father-in-law used to do a 15-minute connection at ORD. He used to fly Duluth-O'Hare-Cleveland on Northwest. NW had only 4 or 5 games at ORD. And he carried on his briefcase and garment bag. Only if the inbound flight was more than 10 minutes late and the outbound flight was on-time did he miss the connection. So that was about 20% of the time.
I got switched to a later departure of ORD, giving me 90 minutes to connect.
Guess what? My Eagle flight was 45 minutes late. Most passengers missed their connections. I made mine.
Back in the days of regulation, my father-in-law used to do a 15-minute connection at ORD. He used to fly Duluth-O'Hare-Cleveland on Northwest. NW had only 4 or 5 games at ORD. And he carried on his briefcase and garment bag. Only if the inbound flight was more than 10 minutes late and the outbound flight was on-time did he miss the connection. So that was about 20% of the time.
Last edited by ckfred; Aug 14, 2019 at 7:28 am Reason: Left out information
#36
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: SEA (the REAL Washington); occasionally in the other Washington (DCA area)
Programs: DL PM 1.57MM; AS MVPG 100K
Posts: 21,304
#38
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: MCI
Programs: AA LT Gold; BA Silver; Hilton Diamond
Posts: 3,081
What's 'sensible' is up for interpretation as everyone has different factors affecting their travel. Carry-on vs checked bags, fit/quick moving vs slower/mobility restricted, Passport/visa ease of entry, solo or travelling with family, etc... So publishing any sort of 'sensible' recommendation would require continuously erring on the side of caution for every possible hiccup a traveler may encounter.
Thanks for this- I kept forgetting the airport code on my trip! (I DID refer to my boarding pass so I got on the right plane.)
#40
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: PSM
Posts: 69,232
I booked an unprotected "connection" (i.e. separate flights; I'd be screwed if I missed) of 90 minutes in Zurich last January. I had time to visit the lounge. Ditto a short stop in LHR last summer, coming in from PER and continuing to DUB on separate tickets. I had to be at events at both ends of the trip and that was the flight timing that made it happen. Of course, it could've gone badly and I would have had to pay to fix it. But I went in knowing that risk. I even made a 30 or 40 minute connection in MUC from bus gate to bus gate. I've also had to buy my way out of such problems on a booking with a far longer time between flights.
The reality is that the vast majority of flights on a global scale operate on time, and that the vast majority of passengers make their MCT connections. Maybe there's some stress. Maybe a bit of jogging. But most of the time it all works just fine. Choosing to insure against that by forcing different bookings is optional, and still no guarantee.
#41
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: CMH
Programs: BA Gold, AA Plat, NK $9 fare club
Posts: 666
The FLL/PBI/MIA to DFW afternoon flights are almost always delayed on American, usually by 1+ hour. Many early evening DFW connections are either ~1 hour or ~3+ hours, it can be very frustrating to choose the later ones. Seems they're always just past the 8pm dinner cutoff, too!
The problem is that they book the previous flights to S. Fla with a 45 minute turn in order to make the next bank, which of course they usually don't.
The problem is that they book the previous flights to S. Fla with a 45 minute turn in order to make the next bank, which of course they usually don't.
#42
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: MCI
Programs: AA Gold 1MM, AS MVP, UA Silver, WN A-List, Marriott LT Titanium, HH Diamond
Posts: 52,497
When I was flying MCI-DEN-SEA almost weekly, the connection was 36 minutes.
This was an era when I was UA 1K, and there were a bunch of DEN-SEA flights every day, and I never scheduled *too* important a meeting for Monday morning in Seattle. I was always prepared to deal with a misconnect and just work from DEN for a couple hours.
That said, doing it 50+ times over the course of a couple years, I think I only misconnected twice and both times still got to Seattle within a couple hours of original schedule.
Coming home, SEA-DEN-MCI on Thursday night, was closer to a 90-minute connection. Far fewer late DEN-MCI options (this was the pre-WN years), so a 36-minute connection later in the day going east would have been less comforting.
This was an era when I was UA 1K, and there were a bunch of DEN-SEA flights every day, and I never scheduled *too* important a meeting for Monday morning in Seattle. I was always prepared to deal with a misconnect and just work from DEN for a couple hours.
That said, doing it 50+ times over the course of a couple years, I think I only misconnected twice and both times still got to Seattle within a couple hours of original schedule.
Coming home, SEA-DEN-MCI on Thursday night, was closer to a 90-minute connection. Far fewer late DEN-MCI options (this was the pre-WN years), so a 36-minute connection later in the day going east would have been less comforting.
#43
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 17
49 Minutes at Miami
My wife was booked by a convention organizer for a 49 minute connection at Miami, flying American.
I had looked up the arrival from ORD, and it normally arrived 10 too 20 minutes early.
While printing out her boarding passes, AA.Com offered Group 4 Priority boarding for $40. I'm glad I spent the money.
The plane was 10 minutes late into MIA and went into Concourse E. Her departure was at the south end of D
By the time she got to the gate, after taking the train, they had called Group 5. She walked into the Priority lane and got right on.
Coming back was the reverse problem. She had a 4 hour connection at MIA. She could have easily caught an earlier flight, even after going through Customs.
I had looked up the arrival from ORD, and it normally arrived 10 too 20 minutes early.
While printing out her boarding passes, AA.Com offered Group 4 Priority boarding for $40. I'm glad I spent the money.
The plane was 10 minutes late into MIA and went into Concourse E. Her departure was at the south end of D
By the time she got to the gate, after taking the train, they had called Group 5. She walked into the Priority lane and got right on.
Coming back was the reverse problem. She had a 4 hour connection at MIA. She could have easily caught an earlier flight, even after going through Customs.
#44
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Nashua, NH USA
Programs: Seashore Trolley Museum "flight attendant"
Posts: 1,990
I would say that there is no problem with the airline offering any combination of flights and connection times it wants.
But after the flier buys his ticket, should the airline change the schedule to produce a shorter connection time then the flier gets a free reselection of flights after he finds out, to anything that is not sold out, including nonstops, different dates, and different connection cities, no questions asked, or, if nothing else is satisfactory, his choice of a refund, no questions asked.
But after the flier buys his ticket, should the airline change the schedule to produce a shorter connection time then the flier gets a free reselection of flights after he finds out, to anything that is not sold out, including nonstops, different dates, and different connection cities, no questions asked, or, if nothing else is satisfactory, his choice of a refund, no questions asked.
Last edited by AllanJ; Oct 20, 2019 at 4:26 pm