legionnaire

I am looking to book tickets for a family member. There is a 40-minute connection in Denver. This person can walk (slow-moderate speed) but cannot run. I haven't ever requested assistance with United. When booking if I request "assistance", what should they expect at DEN? Having a golf cart that can pick up and drop the person between gates would be ideal. Is such a thing even requestable when booking on United.com?

mahasamatman

You would have to call (or use Twitter or the like) to make a request like that.

WineCountryUA

Not sure if the electric carts are bookable in advance but there is no way when booking online to make an assistance request. You will need to call to do that -- either a regular reservation agent or
or via an online form
or by e-mail, [email protected].

EWR764

Request regular wheelchair (WCHR) service, meaning a wheelchair will meet you at the counter, wheel the passenger through the airport, and to the door of the airplane. During the connection, the wheelchair will be on the jetbridge and will transfer the passenger to the next flight.

You aren’t under an obligation, or cost, if you decline it, but it sounds like some peace of mind would be helpful if the passenger has reduced mobility.

I’m lucky enough to have a grandmother in her late 80s who is still well enough to travel by air a few times a year, and even though she is fully mobile, we go the WCHR route any time she is connecting or flying through an airport with long walks.

emcampbe

Just a disclaimer: I would not knowingly book a 40 minute DEN connection with someone who can not walk at a fast clip if necessary. DEN, while most flights are at least in the same terminal, is basically a long hallway. If you end up at gates next to each other, fine. If you end up arriving at a gate on one end of the terminal, and have to walk to the other, I doubt someone walking at a slow-med speed will make it, short of an early arrival or be lucky enough to have ConnectionSaver working on their side - possible, but certainly not guaranteed. If the pax ends up at the back of the aircraft on the first flight and has to wait to disembark, you’re going to lose additional time. And I’m not sure if UA is using any A gates now, but pre-pandemic they were, and even on-time and a quick walker may not make that.

Also note that technically, they can give away a pax seat if they are not in the area ready for boarding at t-15. It doesn’t always happen, for sure, but certainly can. That turns this into an essentially 25 minute connection.

I have booked short connections before, even right at/above MCT, but I do this only when I know I can afford to miss the connection, and when these are on connections with multiple daily connections. I also generally only do this at airports where I know the terminal well (ie, ORD) so I don’t need to think about where I’m going. Thats just me. The MCT that UA will allow you to book for a connection is simply the minimum connection amount that UA is willing to take responsibility for. I think there is another thread somewhere that coins a term of something like ‘sensible connection time’, which might be very different depending on the person and situation, and can be very different than MCT. Just because you can book a 40 minute connection at DEN (or 30 minute, for that matter), doesn’t mean one should.

Obviously, no one here can tell you what’s right in the situation, but buyer beware. If the pax might need extra time between connections, use that consideration when booking. also note in terms of assistance, a wheelchair will help them transfer between gates, but that assistance usually comes after everyone else disembarks. Take that potential loss of time before one starts into consideration.

Lastly, maybe I’m wrong, but I thought DEN was one of the airports that didn’t allow the carts to drive through the terminal anymore. So I’m not even sure that would be an option.