0

My grandparents bought a flight on United Airlines, as the one and same ticket, from Toronto, to ORD with one 55-minute layover, then to Maui. As this isn't multi-ticket:

You won’t need to pay extra for airfare if you miss the flight, but on the other hand, you will most likely not be compensated by the airline for the incurred delay. It always depends on the amount of time, the reason for the delay and the airline’s policies. As soon as it’s weather-related, you won’t be getting a penny (and that’s normal: airlines can’t control the weather).

Yet they obviously prefer to avoid such charges from missing the 2nd flight.

  1. Please see the titled question?

  2. Would they need to hotfoot or scamper from one gate to another, to not miss the 2nd flight?

  3. If yes to 2, can they request an airport electric shuttle cart now, before the flight?

Improve this question
5
  • Using the airline's timetables, determine when the next scheduled flights from ORD to Maui is. This will give you an idea of the potential problem from a misconnect, from a simple hour delay to an overnight stay.
    – user71659
    Commented Nov 26, 2018 at 21:43
  • It's probably tight but doable but it could be a short walk or a long run with a bus ride, depending on the airlines. What's the itinerary?
    – Michael Hampton
    Commented Nov 26, 2018 at 21:59
  • @MichaelHampton I'll ask them to email me it.
    – user13759
    Commented Nov 26, 2018 at 22:30
  • I see you have added United to the question. I couldn't find a United connection (or codeshare on Air Canada) with a 55 minute layover, which is why I asked. Either way, I expect choster's answer will cover you. Not to mention, United likes to pad its arrival times, so it can claim to have arrived early.
    – Michael Hampton
    Commented Nov 26, 2018 at 22:36
  • 1
    @Fattie If It's "many times duplicate" then it should be easy for you to find a duplicate and vote to close. Please stop leaving these aggressive, unhelpful comments.
    – David Richerby
    Commented Nov 27, 2018 at 10:27

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
1

Since you say you are flying United, let us assume that the itin is YYZ-ORD-OGG.

There should be no customs and immigrations formalities at ORD, as YYZ is a pre-clearance airport, and CBP matters will be handled in Toronto. Based on FlightStats.com and similar sites, it looks like most of the time, United flights from YYZ arrive at the B or C gates (Terminal 1), and most of the time, the flight for OGG departs from the B or C gates as well.

As such, under good conditions, 55 minutes is not unreasonable, but conservatively speaking there is no time to dilly-dally. The United terminals at ORD are crowded, and if you have to cross between the B and C concourses, you need to traverse the tunnel. I would advise them to wait to get food, use the restroom, etc. until they have arrived near the gate of their departing flight, or unless they are very familiar with ORD and the distances involved.

If they have physical mobility problems, they can request an electric cart to take them from the arriving flight to the connection. This is done through the airline, not the airport, so they should contact the airline the flight is booked through and have the request added to their reservation.

The most likely problem as I see it is winter weather affecting operations in Chicago, Toronto, or both. A storm like the one hitting today will result in the cancellation or diversion of a significant proportion of flights, but a smaller storm could still produce delays, and a delay of even fifteen minutes could make the connection very challenging. If a storm is forecast for their travel dates, they should call the airline as soon as possible and see if plans can be altered. For major storms, airlines may also waive change fees and other charges if they want to reschedule their trip altogether.

United is the only airline that flies ORD-OGG, and on the current schedule this flight only operates once a week, so should your grandparents reach Chicago but misconnect, they will face re-routing anyway, most likely via the West Coast or possibly via Honolulu. They will not face any additional charges for the re-routing; however, as your linked article indicates, neither are they entitled to any compensation from the airline.

Improve this answer
0

You must log in to answer this question.