The minimum legal connection time for most airlines is 30 minutes, which is pushing it. I ALWAYS recommend to people, when booking tickets, to book their flights, allowing AT LEAST an hour, and preferably longer, for connecting. Many people do not like to wait around the airport for hours, but the more connection time you allow yourself, the better protected you are, in the event of a delay, or having to wait for an open gate, etc. This is why I also recommend ALWAYS booking through the airline itself, and NOT using websites like Orbitz, Travelocity, etc. Those websites return the cheapest fares, but give little choice to the passenger, when it comes to building their own itinerary, something most airline websites allow you to do; pick your departure flight, in which it will show you the numerous connection possibilities for that flight, usually starting with the least amount of connection time, and increasing as you scroll down. The airlines DO give you the option of having longer connections, if you look at their websites, and they can also be requested over the phone. Most people do not pay attention to their connection time, and simply book the ticket, because it is $1 cheaper on Orbitz for one flight, versus another.
There is one problem I see occurring, which may not be bad for most people, but will be for some, if the government gets involved, and mandates longer connection times, such as, one hour. Lets say you have someone who travels regularly on business, to a specific destination, and he usually has a 30-45 minute connection time. He usually takes out a 5pm flight, because it allows him to get off of work, and have time to get to the airport. His connection is 45 minutes, but that is plenty of time, and he doesn't check bags, he always carries a small bag on, so no worries about a short connection, and misconnecting bags, for him. if the government mandates, for example, a minimum legal connection of one hour, that person will no longer have the option of taking that 5pm flight, which he is accustomed to. He will now be forced to take an earlier flight, which may not be doable for him.
The problem is, the airlines aren't going to start adding flights, to accommodate this, they will just rule out certain available flights, for people, forcing them to have to take earlier ones. This may not be bad for some people, more specifically your leisurely traveler, but there are plenty of others, especially business travelers, who may suffer as a result.
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Originally Posted by Butch Cassidy Slept Here
Hopefully, someone in the Obama Administration will have the courage to stand-up to the airline lobby and institute some consumer friendly regulations.
Mandating minimum connecting times at major airports should be one such regulation. The existing minimum connecting times, at major US airports, border, in a number of examples, on blatant fraud. Until the government puts the brakes on this nonsense one should ASSUME your in-bound flight is going to be late, REGARDLESS of what the on-time figures show. Remember, US-based airlines are notorious liars. Accordingly, booking flights that have a connecting (lay-over) time of, no less, than 2 hours is important. With some airlines, and some airports, a 2-hour connecting time may be impossible. The choice may come-down to a 30 to 40 minute connecting time, or staying overnight, with a resulting higher fare, at the connecting airport. If you're willing to fly to an alternate airport, then use surface transportation to your final destination, you may be able to realize your extended connecting time. Again, however, this arrangement may require an overnight stay, at the arrival airport, if your flight arrives much after 5:00 PM. Surface connections, to your final destination, may not be available if your flight arrives much after 5 PM. One should look upon connecting flights as a source of potential trouble and ask themselves whether it's worth a saving of a few dollars to take a connecting flight. If you miss your connection, those savings can be, not only eradicated, but your final cost can equal, or exceed, a first class fare. Finally, I lived, for 25 years, about 40 miles north of Philadelphia International (PHL). Generally, that airport should be avoided, no matter who you are flying with. Some of the TSA Officers there get their kicks by acting like Nazis. If PHL is unavoidable, Southwest is the ONLY airline I would take a chance with.
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