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Connecting flight at different airport for passengers needing assistance Question

Connecting flight at different airport for passengers needing assistance Question

Old Oct 25, 22, 8:32 pm
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Connecting flight at different airport for passengers needing assistance Question

Hello Seniors, I am looking to book my elderly parents a business class ticket for India trip with my United miles but connecting flight is at different airport and they will be on wheelchair. Will the wheelchair person take them to connecting flight at different airport or do they need to take a cab? Thanks.
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Old Oct 25, 22, 8:39 pm
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Originally Posted by jamesbondc
Hello Seniors, I am looking to book my elderly parents a business class ticket for India trip with my United miles but connecting flight is at different airport and they will be on wheelchair. Will the wheelchair person take them to connecting flight at different airport or do they need to take a cab? Thanks.
They will be responsible for getting themselves (and their baggage) to the other airport. The wheelchair pusher(s) can help retrieve their checked baggage (if any), and bring them and their baggage to the taxi queue.

Is there no possibility of getting them an award that does not require an inter-airport connection?
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Old Oct 25, 22, 9:05 pm
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Originally Posted by guv1976
They will be responsible for getting themselves (and their baggage) to the other airport. The wheelchair pusher(s) can help retrieve their checked baggage (if any), and bring them and their baggage to the taxi queue.

Is there no possibility of getting them an award that does not require an inter-airport connection?
This ticket has the shortest duration from TPA to DEL around 28 hours total. Other tickets are taking almost 40 hours total having long lay overs and would need to sleep at airport over night before next flight.
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Last edited by jamesbondc; Oct 25, 22 at 9:05 pm Reason: Ticket
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Old Oct 25, 22, 9:14 pm
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Originally Posted by jamesbondc
This ticket has the shortest duration from TPA to DEL around 28 hours total. Other tickets are taking almost 40 hours total having long lay overs and would need to sleep at airport over night before next flight.
What is the connection you're looking at?
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Old Oct 25, 22, 9:18 pm
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Originally Posted by JimInOhio
What is the connection you're looking at?
I would guess EWR to JFK
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Old Oct 25, 22, 9:31 pm
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Originally Posted by Repooc17
I would guess EWR to JFK
Correct.
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Old Oct 25, 22, 9:33 pm
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Originally Posted by jamesbondc
This ticket has the shortest duration from TPA to DEL around 28 hours total. Other tickets are taking almost 40 hours total having long lay overs and would need to sleep at airport over night before next flight.
If this is, in fact, a EWR-JFK connection, and the other, longer option is a same-airport connection at IAD or ORD or EWR, I'm afraid that you'll have to pick your poison: either a very expensive taxi ride for the shorter travel time, or a (probably less expensive) airport hotel room for the longer, same-airport connection.
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Old Oct 25, 22, 10:20 pm
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I will call United customer service to find out if airport has a hotel. I wonder if the United lounges are open 24/7?

Last edited by jamesbondc; Oct 25, 22 at 10:21 pm Reason: Lounge
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Old Oct 25, 22, 10:27 pm
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Originally Posted by jamesbondc
I will call United customer service to find out if airport has a hotel. I wonder if the United lounges are open 24/7?
The United lounges are not open 24/7.

United customer service reps are not going to have any idea whether or not a particular airport will have a hotel. At best, they'll Google it for you. More likely, they'll say they don't know. At worst, they'll just make something up.

There is a Hilton on the grounds of ORD. There is a Marriott on the grounds of IAH. I'm not aware of a hotel at IAD, although there are several nearby that have a free shuttle service. There is a Hyatt at SFO -- I'm not sure if it's technically on the airport grounds, but it's available on the same train that you'd take to get to the rental car center. I also don't believe there's a hotel at EWR, although, again, most local hotels have shuttles.

Last edited by jsloan; Oct 25, 22 at 10:37 pm Reason: typo
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Old Oct 25, 22, 10:35 pm
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Originally Posted by jsloan
The United lounges are not open 24/7.

United customer service reps are not going to have any idea whether or not a particular airport will have a hotel. At best, they'll Google it for you. More likely, they'll say they don't know. At worst, they'll just make something up.

There is a Hilton on the grounds of ORD. There is a Marriott on the grounds of IAH. I'm not aware of a hotel at IAD, although there are several nearby that have a free shuttle service. There is a Hyatt at SFO -- I'm not sure if it's technically on the airport grounds, but it's available on the same train that you'd take to get to the rental car shuttle. I also don't believe there's a hotel at EWR, although, again, most local hotels have shuttles.
Correct. There are no hotels *at* IAD or EWR. There are many that claim they are airport hotels but they are a shuttle ride away.

IAH has a Marriott on property. DEN has a Westin on property. ORD has the Hilton as you mentioned.

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Old Oct 25, 22, 10:40 pm
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EWR has a Marriott technically on airport property though nowhere near as convenient as some of the other airport property hotels. That's for a different thread.

OP, if you want the shortest connection:

1) Book a hotel room in NYC
2) Taxi from EWR to hotel
3) Taxi from hotel to JFK

Don't overcomplicate it.
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Old Oct 25, 22, 10:44 pm
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Originally Posted by RobOnLI
Correct. There are no hotels *at* IAD or EWR. There are many that claim they are airport hotels but they are a shuttle ride away.

IAH has a Marriott on property. DEN has a Westin on property. ORD has the Hilton as you mentioned.

-RM
There is a Marriott on airport grounds at EWR, but it is not physically connected to any of the terminals. The hotel does operate a shuttle to/from the terminals, but so do several nearby off-airport hotels -- which are likely to be less expensive.
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Old Oct 25, 22, 11:17 pm
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Originally Posted by Repooc17
EWR has a Marriott technically on airport property though nowhere near as convenient as some of the other airport property hotels. That's for a different thread.

OP, if you want the shortest connection:

1) Book a hotel room in NYC
2) Taxi from EWR to hotel
3) Taxi from hotel to JFK

Don't overcomplicate it.
If the OP's parents are going to take the EWR-JFK connection, why would they need a hotel? That is (presumably) a same-day connection; once they get to JFK, they will have lounge access on their Business Class award tickets.
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Old Oct 26, 22, 12:15 am
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Make the call...

Strongly suggest you contact UA's Accessibility Desk to inquire what they can/will provide. On our last trip (a month ago) it was clear that UA has upped its game in this regard - wheelchairs were waiting or only a few minutes away at every point along out multicity itinerary, and the people pushing them were quite solicitous. BTW be sure your parents have plenty of small ($5 and $10) bills to tip the wheelchair pushers and others who provide service along the way.
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Old Oct 26, 22, 12:19 am
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I would also keep an eye on award availability on Lufthansa MCO-FRA-India. If the alternative is an EWR-JFK connection involving an expensive taxi/Uber ride, might as well take an expensive taxi/Uber ride from Tampa to MCO.
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