Bush Airport, Houston potential problem?

[LoungingMcCoy]

The airline changed our flight itinerary for our upcoming January cruise.  We now only have 40 minutes between our arrival and our departure for the next leg of the flight.  I have never been to Bush Airport but this seems to be cutting it too close for comfort, at least for me.  And that's assuming that everything is on time.  Will we be able to make it to our connecting flight in 40 minutes or should I call the airline and try to work something out?  I suppose it's possible that the itinerary will change again between now and January.  The airline website says that if the change is greater than 30 minutes, and it is, that they may be able/willing to make changes for no charge.

[FlyerTalker]

If you are flying on UA, their Minimum Connect Time (MCT) for IAH is 45 minutes.

 

Suggest you contact UA directly -- the biggest suggestion is to look for alternative routings and proactively tell the agent your preference.  Further, do not rely on the UA website to research your alternatives - instead try ITA Matrix and also manually creating routings from point to point schedules. 

[LoungingMcCoy]

Thanks for the advice.  I'll give them a call.

 

I had to deal with a similar, but much worse, itinerary change for our cruise trip last January.  I wonder if I wouldn't be better off waiting until closer to the date of our trip to book airline tickets.

[FlyerTalker]

1 minute ago, LoungingMcCoy said:

I had to deal with a similar, but much worse, itinerary change for our cruise trip last January.  I wonder if I wouldn't be better off waiting until closer to the date of our trip to book airline tickets.

 

The downside is that you may not be able to obtain similar pricing at a more close-in date.  Trade-offs abound.

[Zach1213]

54 minutes ago, LoungingMcCoy said:

I had to deal with a similar, but much worse, itinerary change for our cruise trip last January.  I wonder if I wouldn't be better off waiting until closer to the date of our trip to book airline tickets.

 

Pros and cons. It can still happen surprisingly close to the departure date. Just last month, Southwest alerted me that my OKC-LAS flight was changing by about 90 minutes...with three weeks notice. And that's on Southwest, which so many people are (mistakenly) convinced won't change schedules.

[TruckerDave]

You might make it you might not. A lot depends on where and what type of aircraft you  are flying in from and on and out on/to. If  you are arriving on a regional jet into terminal B and out on a mainline from terminal C, for example, then you might not make it. But if you are doing both in Terminal B or C then your chances of making it increase.  I lived in Houston for 20 years and flew in/out of IAH many times (thankfully never had to connect as i was either starting or ending my trip there) and while not the worst laid out airport, it certainly wasn't one of the most efficient in my useless opinion. 

[alidor]

Have changed planes here many times and I do try to avoid it.  It literally is one of the worse airports in the US.  Just my opinion but I really do dislike this airport.

[purduemom1]

To the OP-if you feel the connection is too close for you then try and change it. Then you won’t worry needlessly about it. 

[AF-1]

I agree with FlyerTalker; if their website says 45 min then you can change your flight without any cost.  Usually when they notify you of schedule change; or you log into your account and see a change time change; (in red, it states if you feel this change affects your flight, you have the right to change it);  at least this is what Delta does; whom I fly 90% of the time.  Hope it works out

[FlyerTalker]

4 hours ago, AF-1 said:

I agree with FlyerTalker; if their website says 45 min then you can change your flight without any cost.

 

Just to clarify - the UA website does not say anything about the MCT at IAH.  The information was obtained through the KVS Tool (paid service).

[AF-1]

FlyerTalker I understand you were not on United website.  Got it  and thanks for clarification

[CruiseDigits]

For reference here is the exact wording from the United "Flight Schedule Change Policicies" page, as referenced by @LoungingMcCoy in the original post:

 

"If your scheduled departure or arrival time changes by 30 minutes or more, we're happy to try to find other available flight options that meet your needs."

 

 

 

 

[FlyerTalker]

3 hours ago, CruiseDigits said:

For reference here is the exact wording from the United "Flight Schedule Change Policicies" page, as referenced by @LoungingMcCoy in the original post:

 

"If your scheduled departure or arrival time changes by 30 minutes or more, we're happy to try to find other available flight options that meet your needs."

 

Sounds a lot like the cruiseline air "promise" -- they will "help" you to find alternative arrangements.

 

Let's go to the specifics in addition to that other line:

 

Quote

If you booked your flights directly with United (through united.com, the

United app or by phone through the United Customer Contact Center), you’ll also be able to review your updated itinerary through Manage Reservations, and you may be given the option to accept the changes online.

If you don’t see an option to accept the new itinerary, or if your new itinerary doesn’t work for you, please call our United Customer Contact Center and we’ll be happy to help. You can also learn about our rebooking policy by reviewing the section below for more information.

 

Quote

If we aren't able to find any other flights that meet your needs, requesting a refund

may be an option.

 

Quote

In cases where the new flight options don't work for you and one of the following scenarios applies, we may be able to offer you a refund:

The scheduled departure or arrival time changes by two hours or more.

The change causes issues with the overall length of the trip, such as making the connection time too short or significantly longer than it originally was.

 

 

The devil is in the details.

Edited September 25, 2019 by FlyerTalker

[CruiseDigits]

7 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

The devil is in the details.

 

Absolutely.