Each airport has set a specific time that is deemed necessary for transfers between flights. Please note that it is not the airline that decides on this minimum connection time, but the airport. Yesterday, I was reminded of the importance of connection times and how things can go wrong. My first flight from Portland (PDX) to Seattle (SEA) was delayed by over an hour due to an ATC stopover in Seattle. I was able to connect to Phoenix (PHX) in minutes. Photo credit: pexels.com If for some reason you feel you can`t connect in the allotted time, check with your airline before you go, experts say. Sometimes they can make arrangements to speed up the transfer by assigning you a seat closer to the front of the cabin or taking you back to another flight. There are many other good strategies that can help you save money and find cheaper flights, and if you stick to those, you`re much less likely to pay (other than time and frustration) for that missed connection. However, if your connection time matches the MCT despite the delay of your first flight, you are responsible for getting your connection on time. Unfortunately, if you miss it, you will not be entitled to compensation.
• They are not a guarantee. No matter what your airline or travel agent tells you, minimum connection times don`t guarantee that your connecting flight won`t leave without you. These are just guidelines designed to get you to your destination as quickly as possible. I remember decades ago, flights between major airports in the United States were non-stop flights. At that time, connecting flights were used to connect regional airports with major hub airports. Economic recessions have forced airlines to create a new business model. Non-stop flights only made sense to airline accountants if they flew at high load rates. What about flights where the load factor was below a high load factor? From this business reality was born the “Hub and Spoke” network model. Now, airlines can load passengers of different origins onto a flight to a common destination. Airlines have given us a new word in our travel vocabulary – connections. Each airport has a fixed transfer time, which is deemed necessary for transfer from one flight to another. This time varies depending on: For domestic flights, the MCT is generally lower than for international flights: about an hour or less.
While this has happened, it is generally accepted that most flights do not wait for delayed passengers – especially since it could delay other travelers for future connecting flights. If you are faced with a schedule change and your itinerary no longer meets the minimum connection times, an airline is obliged to change your flights or refund your tickets. “Anyone who travels a lot has probably missed a connection,” says Seth Kaplan, editor of Airline Weekly, a travel magazine. “I know I certainly did.” It`s also not up to the airline to decide when it takes off: each aircraft has a certain window of time to fly from air traffic control (ATC). If they miss this window, the aircraft will be grounded for a period of time until another slot is available. If you buy a single ticket, the airline cannot sell you anything with a transfer time below the airport MCT. The same goes for an online travel agency – their systems shouldn`t allow this. There is evidence of a “legal” link. Missing a connecting flight is a huge pain, but if you plan accordingly and follow the tips highlighted here, you should be able to avoid most of them. While it`s tempting to become a villain and save those hard-earned credit card reward points by booking separate flights, we don`t recommend doing so. Not only will you miss out on all of the airlines` built-in protections, but you`ll also have to pay the difference in fare (plus rebooking fees) if a delayed first flight causes you to miss your second. Sally Cohen, a retired retail executive from Alamo, California, says she won`t pass through certain airports unless she meets her personal minimum connection time.
That`s what happened to Tricia Kainowski when she recently discovered a 60-minute connection to New York City on a trip from Minneapolis to Rome. Air connections have become the norm in air travel today. No one wants to hang out at the airport longer than necessary. Making a relaxed connection can be easily achieved by doing your homework and setting aside extra time to make that connection. Beware of the “unknown, the unknown.” The only reason AirTreks offers an itinerary with a connection that interrupts the MCT is if there is no other reasonable option (i.e. no flight later that day or if it significantly increases the total airfare price). In this situation, we always advise the passenger, inform him of the alternatives and give him the final choice of whether or not to take the flight. Some travelers do not fear the risk of missing their flight) and walking from one terminal to another, carry-on luggage in tow. Others prefer to pay a little more and rest with time. Most online booking engines and airline websites do not offer flights with stopovers that do not meet the minimum connection time, although there are always exceptions. So do yourself a favor: if possible, consciously book a flight with a stopover slightly longer than the minimum time at the airport for connecting flights.
Especially if you are traveling abroad. Now back to my connection problem from yesterday. My departure was over an hour late at the PDX start because Seattle ATC hit us with a ground stop due to runway construction work at SEA. My login window narrowed before I left the ground at PDX. It was an “unknown” problem that I could not predict in advance or know the severity and duration of the grounding. The itinerary is NAN-LAX-DCA and getting there in less than 2 hours shouldn`t be a problem as we have a global entrance, the international flight always seems to be a bit of a time head, and the international terminal is right next to the American Airlines terminal at LAX. Such pain in which you know what! I asked AA to book me a separate ticket on the second flight so he could pass the MCT in the system, but they did not accede to this request. Let me know if you have any suggestions. I think of my connection time as a window shadow above a window. When I land at the connecting airport, the window protection is completely open. Over time, this window protection gradually closes. I have to get to my connection door before the window protection is completely closed.
There is no easy way to search for minimum connection times for free. Since you mention it, what is the standard policy of the major airlines if you miss your departure because of traffic or anything else? I`ve never had this before, but I had heard that they would try to accommodate you, even if it could be several standbys. Minimum connection times, defined as the shortest interval required to transport passengers and their baggage from a flight to a connecting flight, are policies used by airlines and travel agents to book their flights. When you connect, the minimum connection time ensures you have enough time to catch your next flight. You cannot tell from the door number which terminal your connecting door has. To complicate matters further, MCO has terminals A and B and each terminal is connected to the train by two halls, which increases transit time. A legal connection is one that gives you at least that minimum transfer time between flights. Now that we have determined the “known” factors, you need to consider the unknown factors. Here`s a short and amusing explanation of what “unknowns” are: there`s no single answer here, it can vary greatly from airport to airport.
Some international airports have a minimum transfer time of only 30 minutes. But generally, if you`re traveling abroad, the MCT is at least an hour. This can take up to 2 hours at major airports that require a terminal change. Airline-specific connections are flights that appear in airline search results or OTA websites. These results never indicate a connection time that does not meet airline standards. If you do not make a connecting flight from the departure flight, the airline is responsible for getting it right.
