36 minutes to change planes in SFO?

[elena7seas]

I have just been offered an itinerary from Choice Air on a trip from YVR to FLL that gives me 36 minutes to change planes in SFO. The airline is United.

 

Under normal circumstances, I would never even consider this, but in all other ways, this is the perfect flight itinerary for us.

 

I have changed planes in SFO on the way home before, but never on the way out.

 

Is it even doable to change planes in SFO in 36 minutes? Are there any chances that our luggage would make the change of planes in that short a time?

 

I am a bit of a gambler, but I don't know if I'm a big enough gambler to try this itinerary.

 

I would appreciate hearing about your experiences with changing planes in SFO.

 

Thanks!

[cruisestitch]

You clear US Customs and IMmigration in Vancouver, right?

 

Are you traveling on the day of the cruise or the day before?

 

Are there any later flights if you should miss that connection?

[orchestrapal]

I would say NO way, 10 minutes late for any reason you have missed your connection. You would just have to be prepared to take the next flight, if you could get on it......does , not sound like fun.

[ECCruise]

One thing you might want to consider is that if this is for travel spring 2014 or later, United will probably change/switch/cancel your flights a half dozen times before then making your connections better (I think you are right at the minimum connection without customs since you will do that in YVR). Just another hint, check your reservation at least weekly. We have a couple itineraries that they have changed 4 times in the last 6 months, and no, you do not get an email from them.

Edited December 4, 2013 by ECCruise

[elena7seas]

You clear US Customs and IMmigration in Vancouver, right?

 

Are you traveling on the day of the cruise or the day before?

 

Are there any later flights if you should miss that connection?

 

Hi Cruisestitch:

 

Yes, we clear US C&I in Vancouver.

 

We are flying in to FLL the day before the cruise.

 

Yes, there are a number of later flights, both on United and other Airlines.

 

Choice Air tells me that they have an Assured Arrival policy. I haven't flown with Choice Air before, but that policy sounds good, in theory anyway.

[elena7seas]

One thing you might want to consider is that if this is for travel spring 2014 or later, United will probably change/switch/cancel your flights a half dozen times before then making your connections better (I think you are right at the minimum connection without customs since you will do that in YVR). Just another hint, check your reservation at least weekly. We have a couple itineraries that they have changed 4 times in the last 6 months, and no, you do not get an email from them.

 

Thanks very much for your reply.

 

The cruise is in February 2014.

 

Yes, any changes could only improve things, I think.

 

I've become somewhat compulsive about checking itineraries as most airlines don't let you know about changes any more.

[lais]

Get the later flight and ease your worry. It is so risky. I work at the airport and I see so many missed flights. I wouldn't recommend it.

[voyager70]

One thing you might want to consider is that if this is for travel spring 2014 or later, United will probably change/switch/cancel your flights a half dozen times before then making your connections better (I think you are right at the minimum connection without customs since you will do that in YVR). Just another hint, check your reservation at least weekly. We have a couple itineraries that they have changed 4 times in the last 6 months, and no, you do not get an email from them.

 

Very true. And if they do make a schedule change (as ECCruise stated you must check your reservation frequently as you are not notified) you can usually change to a different (later if necessary) flight without a change fee.

[CruiseLovinNewlyweds]

I have just been offered an itinerary from Choice Air on a trip from YVR to FLL that gives me 36 minutes to change planes in SFO. The airline is United.

 

Under normal circumstances, I would never even consider this, but in all other ways, this is the perfect flight itinerary for us.

 

I have changed planes in SFO on the way home before, but never on the way out.

 

Is it even doable to change planes in SFO in 36 minutes? Are there any chances that our luggage would make the change of planes in that short a time?

 

I am a bit of a gambler, but I don't know if I'm a big enough gambler to try this itinerary.

 

I would appreciate hearing about your experiences with changing planes in SFO.

 

Thanks!

 

Good morning! We are leaving for Florida and a cruise next week and are also flying our of YVR. We booked the flight ourselves but are also flying YVR-SFO-HOUS-MIA. I will let you know how smoothly it goes as we are flying United. I would be nervous about a half hour though!

[RickT]

Yes, there are a number of later flights, both on United and other Airlines.

 

Choice Air tells me that they have an Assured Arrival policy. I haven't flown with Choice Air before, but that policy sounds good, in theory anyway.

 

Hi Elena,

 

Personally I would never attempt that tight a connection. Too many things that can go wrong (from you missing the connection, your bags missing the connections,etc). And as far as Choice Air's Assured Arrival policy, not sure how that will work/help if the later flights are sold out when you get there. Two years ago Choice Air had me on a flight through Frankfurt where our connection was missed. Choice Air's recommendation that day was to have Lufthansa get us on the next available flight and to give them a call back if that connection wouldn't get us to the ship.

 

Better to see if a better connection is available and not take the risk.

 

Also, check out all your flight options/prices using ITA Matrix http://matrix.itasoftware.com/ From Vancouver you might be better looking at what is available via Toronto or Montreal.

[SFCAcruiser]

...

Under normal circumstances, I would never even consider this, but in all other ways, this is the perfect flight itinerary for us.... why is this "perfect", and the later ones not so much?

 

Is it even doable to change planes in SFO in 36 minutes? Are there any chances that our luggage would make the change of planes in that short a time?.... Doable, yes - the official minimum connection time is 30 minutes.

I would appreciate hearing about your experiences with changing planes in SFO. Bear in mind that other people's experiences will have no impact on your particular situation. You can collect anecdotes here - some may say they missed their flight and others will say they made their flight. Where does this leave you? The ultimate gamble is up to you.

Since SFO is my home airport, I never change planes there, but a 36 minute connection anywhere, while "legal", is too close for my comfort. It sounds as if you are willing to "roll the dice" for the perfect itinerary, however you define that.

 

If you go with this tight connction, arm yourself with a list of alternate flights that might work for you. Do not passively present yourself to the agent at the airport and ask to be re-accommodated. I have found that things work better if I am proactive and present the agent with my preferred flights and see which have available seats.

[TeaBag]

If you could manage with just carry-ons, I would go for it, if you are flying United all the way. If they get you in too late to make the connection they will put you on a later flight. Since you are being wise and flying the day before you cruise, I think it will work ok. I agree with others that your flight time may change between now and Feb. For our flight 10 days ago, we did not get an email regarding the changes, which I thought was bad. I found out because I was checking to see if the flight cost had gone down! We were scheduled to leave 30 mins earlier than originally booked so it would have been a mess if hadn't found out. Who knows, if you miss your connection in SFO, they might put you on a non stop flight to FLL skipping Houston altogether. Wouldn't that be nice?

[2morecruises]

Yikes!

 

Without having to clear any authority or checked baggage this would be big time gamble even if you arrived at lets say gate 8 and your connecting flight was departing from gate 9.

 

You'll probably have better odds at Power Ball than trying to make this connection. :rolleyes:

[upwarduk]

If you could manage with just carry-ons, I would go for it, if you are flying United all the way. If they get you in too late to make the connection they will put you on a later flight. Since you are being wise and flying the day before you cruise, I think it will work ok. I agree with others that your flight time may change between now and Feb. For our flight 10 days ago, we did not get an email regarding the changes, which I thought was bad. I found out because I was checking to see if the flight cost had gone down! We were scheduled to leave 30 mins earlier than originally booked so it would have been a mess if hadn't found out. Who knows, if you miss your connection in SFO, they might put you on a non stop flight to FLL skipping Houston altogether. Wouldn't that be nice?

 

Do you have to go through Security before you get on your connecting flight?

That could take 30 mins if you are unlucky and are in a long queue and are 'frisked.'

[elena7seas]

If you could manage with just carry-ons, I would go for it, if you are flying United all the way. If they get you in too late to make the connection they will put you on a later flight. Since you are being wise and flying the day before you cruise, I think it will work ok. I agree with others that your flight time may change between now and Feb. For our flight 10 days ago, we did not get an email regarding the changes, which I thought was bad. I found out because I was checking to see if the flight cost had gone down! We were scheduled to leave 30 mins earlier than originally booked so it would have been a mess if hadn't found out. Who knows, if you miss your connection in SFO, they might put you on a non stop flight to FLL skipping Houston altogether. Wouldn't that be nice?

 

I am not by nature a gambler, but I am just trying to gauge my odds for success here. I'm one of those 'Excel spreadsheet pro/con list' kind of people, so was hoping to find, through people's experience, if there are any more pros and cons that I should take into consideration.

 

There are two main issues at play:

 

1. Reasonable cost: the return flight with the tight connection is $552 USD pp with Choice Air, and the next best itinerary (given my criteria) is $904 pp. That's almost $750 when you factor in exchange
   
2. Avoiding cities that might become snow-bound.
   

My criteria are:

1. to not spend more $$ than I have to, but not making foolish economies either, which this 36 minute layover time probably is :p
   
2. not flying through a "snow city" on the way down to FLL, and hopefully not on the way back either, but I'm more willing to be snow-delayed on the way home than on the way down.
   
3. to keep the total transit time as reasonable as possible for the sake of my DH who has limited patience for economy seats and airports ;)
   

Based on these criteria, the itinerary with the very short layover in SFO is good enough that it's making me consider the gamble.

The considerations posted on this thread have been very helpful, thanks to everyone.

[elena7seas]

Hi Elena,

 

Personally I would never attempt that tight a connection. Too many things that can go wrong (from you missing the connection, your bags missing the connections,etc). And as far as Choice Air's Assured Arrival policy, not sure how that will work/help if the later flights are sold out when you get there. Two years ago Choice Air had me on a flight through Frankfurt where our connection was missed. Choice Air's recommendation that day was to have Lufthansa get us on the next available flight and to give them a call back if that connection wouldn't get us to the ship.

 

Better to see if a better connection is available and not take the risk.

 

Also, check out all your flight options/prices using ITA Matrix http://matrix.itasoftware.com/ From Vancouver you might be better looking at what is available via Toronto or Montreal.

 

Rick, I am using ITA Matrix, which is a wonderful resource that I learned about on these boards. Thanks!

[elena7seas]

Good morning! We are leaving for Florida and a cruise next week and are also flying our of YVR. We booked the flight ourselves but are also flying YVR-SFO-HOUS-MIA. I will let you know how smoothly it goes as we are flying United. I would be nervous about a half hour though!

 

Thanks, it would be great to hear about your experiences.

 

Yes, I don't know if I am constitutionally capable of booking that narrow a window, but I am collecting information here, trying to make as fully educated a decision as I can.

[elena7seas]

If you could manage with just carry-ons, I would go for it, if you are flying United all the way. If they get you in too late to make the connection they will put you on a later flight. Since you are being wise and flying the day before you cruise, I think it will work ok. I agree with others that your flight time may change between now and Feb. For our flight 10 days ago, we did not get an email regarding the changes, which I thought was bad. I found out because I was checking to see if the flight cost had gone down! We were scheduled to leave 30 mins earlier than originally booked so it would have been a mess if hadn't found out. Who knows, if you miss your connection in SFO, they might put you on a non stop flight to FLL skipping Houston altogether. Wouldn't that be nice?

 

We are experienced packers, and could do the carry-on-only option, and would, under these particular circumstances. My DH is a very efficient packer. He could go just about anywhere with a carry-on, even if a suit was necessary. He's a firm believer in the value of laundry services on the ship (and in hotels). :)

[boogs]

In February 2013, SFO had an on-time arrival rate of 81.47% and 80.38% in 2012. (source: http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/subject_areas/airline_information/airline_ontime_tables/2013_02/table_03)

 

You have a 1 in 5 chance of not making your connection. Do you feel lucky?

Edited December 4, 2013 by boogs

[elena7seas]

Yikes!

 

Without having to clear any authority or checked baggage this would be big time gamble even if you arrived at lets say gate 8 and your connecting flight was departing from gate 9.

 

You'll probably have better odds at Power Ball than trying to make this connection. :rolleyes:

 

Yes, it's true, and the downside to missing a flight will increase our transit time. I suppose it all comes down to how much I'm willing to spend for convenience and peace of mind.

[Denny01]

Elena, an Excellent risk assessment that you've presented. An earlier post did mention a how to mitigate an adverse outcome if you miss your flight and that is what options do you have of other flights.

 

I'd recommend you look at this as what is the risks of not making it aboard before the cruise departs, not the risk of missing that specific flight.

 

Good luck!

 

Den

[koolforkatz]

Wow, that is a very tight connection. You say you want to avoid cities that are snowbound? One March we were flying Vancouver to Fort Lauderdale with a connection in Toronto. We crossed our fingers there would be no weather/snow problems in Toronto.

 

Well, the night before we flew out, there was an overnight temp drop in Vancouver. We ended up stuck on the tarmac at YVR while the plane was queued up for de-icing. We missed the Toronto connection because of weather in Vancouver not Toronto.

 

So you just never know.....

[elena7seas]

Do you have to go through Security before you get on your connecting flight?

That could take 30 mins if you are unlucky and are in a long queue and are 'frisked.'

 

I don't know SFO well enough to say. That is the type of information I was hoping to find out.

 

I'm pretty sure I had to change terminals going from San Diego to Vancouver via SFO two years ago. It seems to me there was an elevated train involved. If that is the case going from YVR to FLL, then there would be no chance of making the connection, I would think.

[4cats4me]

I guess 36 minutes would be fine as long as your plane takes off on time, but I would be sweating bullets. If the plane should depart even 10-20 minutes later than expected from YVR, that would be too stressful. De planing in SFO would be another delay. Ever been on a plane where everyone takes their sweet time getting off the aircraft and you're in the middle to the back of the plane?

Nope. Too stressful

[elena7seas]

In February 2013, SFO had an on-time arrival rate of 81.47% and 80.38% in 2012. (source: http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/subject_areas/airline_information/airline_ontime_tables/2013_02/table_03)

 

You have a 1 in 5 chance of not making your connection. Do you feel lucky?

 

I am lucky in all of the big things in life, not so much in the little ones. DH, on the other hand, is very lucky :p.

 

An 80% chance of arriving on time I could live with. I'm thinking that the odds might not be so good, though.