Chicago or Houston

[NW Pacific]

Flying from Portland,OR in Feb. have a choice of going through the above mentioned into Ft Lauderdale. My thought is Houston, never been to either airport, usually fly through DFW, just got use to it, but not a choice this time. Weather wise, yes I know anything can happen, but are the odds for good weather through Houston? thanks

[rubyjpi]

Flying from Portland,OR in Feb. have a choice of going through the above mentioned into Ft Lauderdale. My thought is Houston, never been to either airport, usually fly through DFW, just got use to it, but not a choice this time. Weather wise, yes I know anything can happen, but are the odds for good weather through Houston? thanks

 

I think Houston is the easiest. Especially if you have to change planes.

 

Sent from my GT-P7310 using Forums mobile app

[6rugrats]

Another vote for IAH.

[Clay Clayton]

I presume you are flying UA through Zhouston. If so, I just took my that flight and have no complaints other than we were an hour or so late departing am

Ns arriving. Mechanical issue iPod the inbound before it left Newark. But United kept me advised via text so was able to delay my trip to the airport.

[alcpa1]

Are you flying down the day of your cruise?

Can you get a very early departure if so?

Which airport in Houston? Or Chicago for that matter...

When in February? Chicago would be more prone to snow of course but either airport in Houston can also succumb to winter weather with ice and snow vs. normal snow in the Chicago area.

We always seem to have delays in Houston no matter the weather so I'd suggest a substantial connection time. If you are mainline all the way your flights could be closer together but you also might need some hoofing time as well. If your initial flight is on a regional jet you will have to take the train, if its working or incur a long walk.

[NW Pacific]

Flying United, do change planes in Houston- is their "tram system" easy to locate if needed?

If have to go through Chicago, same question- how is changing terminals, if necessary.

[Keith1010]

Houston but be sure to fly in at least one or more days before the cruise. It's not just about weather but all of the other things that can go wrong.

 

Keith

[6rugrats]

It's easy to change terminals at both airports.

[Zach1213]

Houston.

 

But why is Dallas not a choice if you prefer it? Limited to United?

[Au48]

Houston... all day.

 

Chicago is not the place you want to be in February.

[Nachosdelux]

It's easy to change terminals at both airports.

 

But at IAH you can change terminals on the Air side (without having to go through security again)

 

At ORD, this is not possible (with 1 exception if you are connecting AA-BA )

 

Plus IAH is much less likely to have weather delays in february.

Edited October 22, 2014 by Nachosdelux

[pms4104]

But at IAH you can change terminals on the Air side (without having to go through security again)

 

At ORD, this is not possible (with 1 exception if you are connecting AA-BA )

 

Plus IAH is much less likely to have weather delays in february.

At ORD you certainly can transit airside between terminals 1, 2, and 3.

 

The OP is looking at UA PDX/ORD/FLL ... surely all would be in terminal 1, either the B or C concourse ... connected airside by an underground passageway.

 

And the only way you can ride the BA bus from AA's terminal 3 to BA departures in terminal 5 is to present a boarding pass for that intl flight ... not everyone arrives ORD with that boarding pass in hand.

[NW Pacific]

Flying to FLL the day before Cruise. United has the best price- waiting until next month to purchase air- just in case, since final pymt. on Cruise is due then- will definitely try to get through Houston- UA has best prices first class- at this stage in life we do like a little extra comfort. Am hoping we can figure out terminal transportation if needed, have before so will go "with the flow" thanks again for replies

[waterbug123]

Flying from Portland,OR in Feb....My thought is Houston... Weather wise, yes I know anything can happen, but are the odds for good weather through Houston? thanks

 

Please understand that bad weather anywhere in the country can affect your flight into or out of Houston, even if they weather in Houston itself is perfectly fine. Your flight out of Portland for instance... where is that aircraft coming from when it lands in Portland? Where is the flight crew coming from? What is the weather in either of those locations now? What was it like yesterday? Likewise the aircraft you will board in Houston... where is it coming from? Where is that flight crew coming from? Weather there now? Yesterday?

As an example, I was delayed several hours leaving Ft. Lauderdale once, despite beautiful sunny weather. Aircraft was there; the issue was the flight crew. They had come in very late the night before due to (if I recall correctly) thunderstorms in Atlanta. As a result, they had to wait out the minimum crew rest period before flying again, which meant their/my morning flight could not take off on time and was delayed.

 

Flying to FLL the day before Cruise. United has the best price- waiting until next month to purchase air

 

And next month, United may or may not still have the best price. ;)

[RJ2002]

Another vote for Houston. I have traveled both airports several times with international connections.

 

Never had any issues with Houston.

 

Last time in Chicago, my return flight sat on the runway (a United flight) for an hour after landing, waiting for an open gate. This caused me to miss my connection.

 

Houston's security re-check also seems to be faster and better organized than Chicago. JMO.

[Nachosdelux]

At ORD you certainly can transit airside between terminals 1, 2, and 3.

 

The OP is looking at UA PDX/ORD/FLL ... surely all would be in terminal 1, either the B or C concourse ... connected airside by an underground passageway.

 

And the only way you can ride the BA bus from AA's terminal 3 to BA departures in terminal 5 is to present a boarding pass for that intl flight ... not everyone arrives ORD with that boarding pass in hand.

 

you are correct - I was referring only to T1/2/3 to T5 connections.

[grandma*knows*best]

I presume you are flying UA through Zhouston. If so, I just took my that flight and have no complaints other than we were an hour or so late departing am

Ns arriving. Mechanical issue iPod the inbound before it left Newark. But United kept me advised via text so was able to delay my trip to the airport.

 

This was not a good idea. You need to be at the airport in time to make the flight at the original flight time. It's not unusual for delay issues to be resolved sooner than anticipated, which means departure time can change and even go back to the original time. If you aren't there, you'll miss your flight.

[Clay Clayton]

Normally would agree with you but in this case, the flight was flying in from Newark and was delayed by a mechanical issue there. United great app kept me very informed by notifying me when it took off and it's anticipated arrival time....it even renotified me when they made up 15 minutes of the delay. I was very impressed with the system.

[FlyerTalker]

You also missed out the possiblity that the airline decides to swap out equipment and use a different aircraft that is already there. Crew duty time sometimes makes this a preferred option.

 

However, if you want to roll those dice, feel free. Me...I've had those equipment swaps way too often to take those odds.

[kelmac]

When we fly in the winter, we kind of have a rule not to fly north of Dallas for our hub connection. This fall, winter and spring we are flying through Houston (Hobby in our case) to avoid the snow and bad weather. Even Dallas can be "iffy" with their ice storms that time of year.

 

I would go with Houston!!

 

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

[Clay Clayton]

You also missed out the possiblity that the airline decides to swap out equipment and use a different aircraft that is already there. Crew duty time sometimes makes this a preferred option.

 

However, if you want to roll those dice, feel free. Me...I've had those equipment swaps way too often to take those odds.

 

You know I respect you completely, but in this case, United clearly said in their updates that the flight was delayed and that we did not need to arrive at the stated time.

[6rugrats]

You know I respect you completely, but in this case, United clearly said in their updates that the flight was delayed and that we did not need to arrive at the stated time.

 

You were lucky. Just because an update says the flight is going to be delayed, doesn't make it so. If the airline can fix whatever the problem was, they are going to try and get the flight out on time. If you aren't at the gate ready to board, your seat will be given away.

 

Situations can rapidly change. We all have our personal comfort levels, but mine doesn't extend to relying on airline updates when I'm not at the airport. Glad it worked out for you.

Edited October 26, 2014 by 6rugrats

[Globaliser]

You know I respect you completely, but in this case, United clearly said in their updates that the flight was delayed and that we did not need to arrive at the stated time.

You were lucky. Just because an update says the flight is going to be delayed, doesn't make it so. If the airline can fix whatever the problem was, they are going to try and get the flight out on time. If you aren't at the gate ready to board, your seat will be given away.

I don't know how UA operates these texts. But the question frequently arises in relation to BA.

 

The general rule is (as a number of people have already posted) that even if you're told that your flight will be delayed, go to the airport at the original time because the delay might get reduced.

 

The exception to this is if the airline expressly tells you that you can delay your trip to the airport. In BA's case, the text will tell you things like the new time that check-in will close. If you have those specific instructions, then it is safe to delay your trip to the airport in accordance with the new times. This is not only customer-friendly, but it also helps BA in one important respect: it reduces the number of people who must be cared for at the airport during the delay (for the costs of which the airline is usually responsible under 261/2004). However, if BA were capriciously to close check-in earlier than it then said it would, those who were involuntarily denied boarding would probably qualify for cash compensation under 261/2004 - so BA has an incentive not to muck about with the times after it's sent them out.

 

As I say, I don't know how UA operates its system, but I'm not sure that following the new times in such a situation is as risky or foolish as if the message simply notified a delay.