noah

With the October schedule change for UA 179 (BOS-SFO), there are now just 30 minutes between the arrival at 9:50pm and the last departure for PDX at 10:20pm. I think this is below the minimum connection time at SFO, so United.com and my corporate travel system no longer give me this connection as an option for my BOS-PDX travel, leaving me to take the 5:20 flight through DEN as the last flight of the day. That is not a great option on this particular trip for me, as the meeting doesn't finish until 4pm in Waltham.

I can FORCE this connection by building it as two separate trips (BOS-SFO, SFO-PDX) but I know if I don't make the connection for whatever reason that the overnight would be at my own expense.

Any advice? On the plus side the BOS-SFO segment is operated by an int'l config 767-300 on the day I'm considering the trip. On the downside, a night in SFO won't be any fun if I miss the connection.

UNITED959

Relax another night in BOS after the meeting and fly in the a.m.?

noah

I might do that but on a Friday night after a trip to BRU, LHR and BOS I just want to get home to my wife and dog

UNITED959

Well, maybe have a hotel rez on hold at SFO just in case and hope everything goes smoothly. At least if you overnight there, it's only an hour flight instead of spending the better part of your Saturday flying BOS-SFO-PDX.

wharvey

Wouldn't this only be a good option if you could actually find a hotel that does not have a 6 pm guarantee? Since the connection would not be until 10 pm... would be too late to cancel the hotel.

Or are there hotel options at SFO that do not have a cancellation deadline?

William

glex50

30 minutes is the minimum connection time at SFO, isn't it?

Also, if this is a business trip, can't you expense a hotel in SFO if you need it? At that point, the only question is availability of a room in a hotel near SFO at 11pm on a Friday night...

channa

BOS-PDX non-stop on AS?

Sounds more convenient than dealing with that risk.

UNITED959

If the plane is loaded up and ready to leave on time, OP can call the hotel before takeoff. Or an informed wifey could monitor his flight and make the call.

Cap'n Adventure

BOS-PDX nonstop on AS won't help the OP--that flight (AS 801) leaves BOS at 4:15pm. OP says he's in Waltham until 4:00pm.

Cap'n Adventure

One option, if the OP cares only about UA EQM/RDM, and not about upgrades, comfort, quality of service, or 1K bennies during irregular ops is to take the late-night US flights back to PDX:

US636 BOS 8:25p LAS 11:13p 319
US19 LAS 11:53p PDX 2:08a 320

Personally, I would prefer to spend the night in SFO, even without a hotel.

subspacetom

I encountered this problem as well for looking at October. Corporate system doesn't list the option, but the UA timetable does.

In my experience, any slight hitch in the BOS-SFO leg, if it is weather along the way, low cloud cover in SFO, plane maintenance issues, or the previous flight SFO-BOS or LAX-BOS coming in late, puts you at risk for the SFO-PDX leg (I have encountered all of these). And the SFO-PDX leg often likes to depart from 73A and the BOS-SFO leg likes to arrive in the 80-90 range, meaning a long sprint. Sometimes it departs from 90, which is nice.

I looked at BOS-SFO this past week:
Wed Sept 5: arrived 10+ minutes early, around 9:35p
Thurs Sept 6: arrived 10+ minutes early, around 9:35p
Fri Sept 7: arrived 10:17p due to maintenance issues
Sat Sept 8: I was on this one. Arrived 10:36p due to midwest weather reroute, so I got to spend the night in SFO. At least it was a 763.

If you encounter a "misconnect," they will give you a flight booking for the next day (got a 8:35a flight, not too bad), and if it is due to weather they give you a pink coupon and toll-free number to call for discounted last minute hotel reservations. Judging by the number of hotel shuttles going by SFO, there isn't any danger of not finding a room. The toll-free line gives you options, depending on how much you want to pay.

noah

Thanks all for the suggestions.

I was able to force the connection in my corporate booking system, and it books as a single connection. I will of course be able to expense the hotel either at SFO or in Boston if something goes amiss but I'm just trying to get home for the weekend

Yes, I could take US for the EQM but then I'd miss out on on much. Besides, arriving at PDX at 2:08am -- no thanks!

And the new AS nonstop flight looks mighty attractive given my frequent PDX-BOS commute.... but I haven't switched my business there yet. Too much international travel. I have taken 179 many times when I was living in SFO, but now unless I have a late meeting most of the time now for my BOS-PDX trips I fly through DEN instead. Saves about an hour of travel time.

cblaisd

There would be no problem, ime, in finding a decent hotel room on a Friday night at SFO. And it's likely that the walk-up prices at the Hampton Inns or HGI (north or south) would be better than the "distressed traveler" rate via UA.

subspacetom

It was $59 + tax at the Courtyard Marriott for me last weekend, not bad, and the accomodations were good.

noah

News Flash --

The Minimum Domestic Connection time at SFO is now 50 MINUTES

I sent this trip to my corporate travel agency last night, and they didn't ticket immediately. When I called to follow-up, they explained that the 30 minute connection was being flagged by their computer. I told them I was willing to accept the risk, so they went ahead and ticketed it.

I called UA to upgrade it (and found out that availability on some of my segments has disappeared in the past week to me for waiting) and the connection BOS-SFO-PDX was flagged as an "illegal connection". The agent informed me as such, said that the minimum domestic connection time has increased to 50 minutes.

She still was able to upgrade the whole thing with a single CR-1, but I'm sure my PNR has been annotated with the fact that I've been informed about the illegal connection.