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Connecting Flight in IAD Washington to Munich-- Anxious Traveler

Connecting Flight in IAD Washington to Munich-- Anxious Traveler

Old Feb 12th, 2016, 10:46 AM
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Connecting Flight in IAD Washington to Munich-- Anxious Traveler

Hello, this will mark my first time traveling through IAD Washington, and I suffer from acute anxiety when dealing with crowds, new places, etc.

I am flying on Sunday, February 14, arriving from Burlington, VT and catching a connecting flight to Munich in Washington.

I am flying United, arriving in Gate D10 and departing at Gate C1, with only 50 minutes to catch my connecting flight. Being a rather anxious traveler-- not the flying, but crowd/airport anxiety--- I am wondering if anyone has any friendly feedback about the lay of the land, time between terminals, etc?

With less than 48 hours to travel time I'm already in deep anxiety mode, and fearful about navigating a new airport, and also worried if I will have the amount of time needed to get between gates smoothly.

Any advice or feedback would be most welcome.
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Old Feb 12th, 2016, 11:23 AM
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I handle concerns like these by asking myself "what's the worst that can happen." Usually it isn't so bad when I decide to be specific with myself about the details. In this case, the worst is that you'll miss your flight. Assuming both flights are parts of 1 itinerary, bought as 1 trip together, the airline, having sanctioned the connection time, is responsible for getting you on the next available flight to your destination. You are not responsible beyond appearing before an agent and informing them. They will already know what they need to do, as you won't have appeared to board, and why. Not a great situation to be late to your destination but, the other thing I tell myself, it could be worse.

And speaking of worse, that's the situation if you failed to book your tickets on 1 itinerary. But you may very well make the flight, making the concern a moot point.
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Old Feb 12th, 2016, 11:34 AM
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I find IAD to be an easy airport. Take a look at an airport map ahead of time and see what the walk from your arrival gate to your departure gate looks like. As long as your initial flight is on time, you should be fine. Bur, as MmePerdu points out, if you were to miss that flight, United would get you on the next flight to Munich.

Also, don't hesitate to ask if you feel lost. There are signs that hang from the ceiling pointing the way to the various concourses.
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Old Feb 12th, 2016, 12:40 PM
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Thank you Kathie and Mme Perdu for taking the time to give your feedback.

The anxiety is illogical-- I've given up on reasoning with myself since it does nothing to stop an anxiety attack.
I take medication for it and do exposure therapy (new airports, keep traveling) to cope with it.

My trip is booked under one itinerary, so hopefully all will go well.

I have looked at the airport map for IAD, but cannot really gauge how far the trek between C and D terminal when walking, from one end to the other is. I'm sure I'll rely heavily on United personnel for some hand-holding, since when the anxiety takes hold I become a stammering idiot.

Thank you both for your suggestions, and explanations to quell my anxiety-- deeply appreciated.
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Old Feb 12th, 2016, 04:44 PM
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IF, and that's a big if, your gates remain C1 and D10, they are about 910 yards apart. The whole C/D concourse is about 1,280 yards in length. At 3MPH walking speed, it'll take about 11 minutes to walk between those two gates.
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Old Feb 13th, 2016, 04:52 AM
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Hello rkkwan-- thanks for laying out to me--- it actually really helps to be able to visualize it.

Is it highly likely that they will change the gates last minute?
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Old Feb 13th, 2016, 07:36 AM
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>>Is it highly likely that they will change the gates last minute?
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Old Feb 13th, 2016, 08:55 AM
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Predictions of arrival and departure gates are never certain. If someone else is using the predicted gate, you will just be assigned another gate.

My experience with United, and we fly them frequently, is that they will have an employee with a clipboard waiting in the gate area when you deplane. If you tell them your next flight number and destination, they will give you the gate number and, if you ask, directions to the gate. Once our flight was late arriving, and they had a cart standing by to get us to the departure gate on time. It is a well functioning system, and should work well for you.
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Old Feb 13th, 2016, 04:56 PM
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Thanks so much for all the feedback-- I feel way better prepared for tomorrow having a general sense of what's coming my way!
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