Is this really a regulation?

[yiddishkopf]

We are on the Statendam out of Osaka on 4-23, leaving OHare, Chicago on 4-19. Because we had used all our mileage previously, we booked our air through HAL. We fly first to Detroit and then board the flight to Osaka. Detroit, being in a different time zone is one hour ahead of Chicago. The flight to Osaka is on Northwest.

 

Our original documents gave us all of one hour and ten minutes to change planes in Detroit. Even if so many problems hadn't occurred at O'Hare, even in the best possible weather and/or conditions, the time to make the change made us very nervous and consequently we were charged a total of $350 to change to an earlier flight from O'Hare.

 

On a trip to LA for a family wedding at the end of March,(truly the trip from Hell, but that is another subject) I was telling an AA employee about the debacle with Northwest and she said that Northwest should refund the total as according to international airlines rules they have to give passengers at least 2 hours to make changes.

 

Does anyone know if this is true? Any information will be very much appreciated.

[CocoKai]

Call the airlines and ask. I do not believe that a 2 hour connection is a rule. Although it's International, I believe it makes no difference as one can connect in Phoenix going to Mexico for under 45 minutes. I believe it mostly boils down to your comfort level.

[pms4104]

According to my current OAG, the legal minimum connecting time in Detroit domestic to international is 1 hour, and international to domestic is 1-1/2 hours.

[lettienets]

I was telling an AA employee about the debacle with Northwest and she said that Northwest should refund the total as according to international airlines rules they have to give passengers at least 2 hours to make changes.

 

Does anyone know if this is true? Any information will be very much appreciated.

 

I flew with AA in Jan to meet a ship, went Toronto-JFK-Rio via Sao Paolo and had only 55 min to get the next plane at JFK. I called AA and they said that was enough time to get the next flight. Well, we were delayed with de-icing in TO and I had about 30 min to get that next plane and if I wasn't with somebody handcapped being accompanied by the AA rep, I am not sure I would have made that plane. But they assured me it was enough time.

If you were flying NWA into Detrioit it would have been easy to get the Osaka flight. The NWA hub is fabulous and there is a light rapid rail inside the station, you can see it above you and there are many moving walkways. If you were flying somebody else, I am not so sure

[yiddishkopf]

I appreciate your replies. As one poster said, it depends on

"comfort level" and my SO is always early. We will have a few hours to kill in Detroit but I'd rather have a leisurely lunch than a nervous stomach.

[hammybee]

The Civil Aeronautics Board ( CAB) used to regulate domestic airlines, setting fares, routes and schedules and ensured domestic airlines a reasonable profit. The airline industry was deregulated 30 years ago and paved the way for new discount airlines to compete with legacy airlines.

 

The discount airlines offered no frills flights at substantially reduced fares and consumers voted with their wallets that they were willing to put up with less of everything to obtain cheaper air fares.

 

Deregulation has been a winner for consumers as air fares have been reduced as much as 75% for flights between legacy airline hubs and point to point discount airlines. That flying is often a miserable experience goes without saying.

 

When the industry was deregulated most federal rules covering passenger rights were abolished and each airline was allowed to create their own policies. Thirty years later, there remains much confusion about what was a federal requirement and is now carrier practice, or not.

 

To the best of my knowledge there is no regulation specifying a minimum time for connections. 45 minutes is the average time and therefore most airlines use this as a minimum default. Connection times do not take into account, delayed flights and each airline's policy and procedure to address missed connections.

 

Here is a link to the FAA's Consumer FAQ:

 

http://www.ifg-inc.com/Consumer_Reports/FlyRights.shtml

 

Yiddish made a good choice to anticipate delays and allow for extra time.

[2bout2c]

I was telling an AA employee about the debacle with Northwest and she said that Northwest should refund the total as according to international airlines rules they have to give passengers at least 2 hours to make changes.

 

Does anyone know if this is true? Any information will be very much appreciated.

 

 

The 2hour connection time is on the inbound so can clear customs and immigration. The outbound is just like a domestic connection.