littlemizrabbit

I am looking into a flight from lax to bwi on united airlines with a layover in Phoenix sky harbor international. The layover is only 30 mins
My question is, is a 30 min time frame reasonable?

I've only ever flown direct with 1 exception and I thought I was staying on the same plane but found out I not only was on a different plane but my gate was at the complete opposite side of the airport. I thought my legs were going to fall off by the time I got to my gate. I can not recall if the airline changerd on that second flight though.

So basically I'm wondering if with such a small window for the layover and staying on the same air carrier, would that mean my gate would likely be near by? It seems a silly question to ask but Id rather prefer to avoid dashing across an airport again

MmePerdu

I'm never comfortable with less than an hour between flights, not because of anything but the wiggle room it provides when a flight is even slightly delayed. A short delay can turn into half an hour or more if the plane looses it's gate slot and has to wait for another.

On a map of PHX, it looks like all of United's flights are out of Terminal 2. Here's a map: https://skyharbor.com/pdf/Terminal_2_Current.pdf

You might like to check your flight numbers for arrival/departure gates and on-time arrival today or yesterday or in general.

RoamsAround

At Phoenix, United flies out of Terminal 2 which is a relatively small terminal (something like 15 gates) so your Arrival Gate will be no more a few minute walk from your Departure Gate. That said, 30 minutes is a very short connection time and allows no "wiggle room" in the case your inbound flight is even slightly delayed leaving LAX.

Others may disagree but I would not book a connection with less 60 minutes between flights. If you book anything less make sure you have a back-up plan if things go wrong.

Remember Murphy's Rule of Airports says the shorter your connecting time the more delays you'll encounter. Of course, the opposite is also possible, with a long connecting time your inbound flight could arrive early and your outbound flight could be delayed.

Jeff_Costa_Rica

You know what you're looking at, but this just doesn't look like a United itinerary. If you were connecting in Phoenix, that's a US Airways hub, soon to be converted over to American. What are the flight numbers?

needmorevacation

I never book layovers for under 60 minutes, but am more comfortable with a 120 min layover minimum (esp flying international). I would never book a 30 minute layover, because I 99% of the time fly with carryons only and if I'm not on board early I tend to not get over head space.

Kathie

Are you looking on the United website or are you on a third-party website?

ms_go

I'm with Jeff...this doesn't sound like a United itinerary. If it is, there would have to be a second connection somewhere, as United doesn't fly nonstop from PHX to BWI.

I travel into/out of PHX Terminal 2 at least once a month and concur with the advice above...the eight or so United gates are close enough together to be an easy walk, but there's no cushion in the event of a late inbound flight. I wouldn't chance it.

littlemizrabbit

Thank you for your replies! I was also fearing the 30 min window wasn't big enough should the flight out of lax get delayed.
Jeff, I am looking through kayak for general flight info and planned to purchase on the airlines website. And my apologies its with American airlines �� not sure how I got confused on the airlines but the flight numbers are 673 from lax to phx and 436 from phx to bwi

Jeff_Costa_Rica

If it's American, then, they will have a big operation at Phoenix with a lot of gates. Who knows how far you'd have to walk? I'd try to find a longer connection time.

RoamsAround

Agree with Jeff_Costa_Rica, American flies out of Terminal 4 and uses 4 different concourses so on any given day you could have a long walk between gates. A 30 minute connection time is asking for trouble.

littlemizrabbit

Great thank you so much!

scdreamer

Yes, and if you're sitting anywhere near the back of the plane, you can add at LEAST an extra ten minutes just to get out the door.

suze

I'd never take a 30 min. transfer anywhere.

All it takes is the plane taking off 10 mins. late, or having to wait for a gate to deplane at Phoenix, or any of many glitches that happen every day... and you wouldn't make your next flight.

IF you take off and land exactly on time (or early), and it's an airline to same airline transfer, certainly you *could* make it.

MmePerdu

And then there's the luggage issue, if you check, like I do.

pavot

What happens when a passenger misses a connection like that?

If the airline has sold a ticket with that sort of connection, don't they have to get you to your destination ... eventually?

I ask because someone upthread mentioned needing a "back up plan", and I assumed it would be the airline's responsibility.

MmePerdu

If the airline has sold the ticket with that connection, it is, indeed, the airline's responsibility (if both flights are on the same ticket, bought as 1 trip at the same time).

It's no one's, except the traveler's, responsibility if the flights were purchased separately, on 2 tickets.

thursdaysd

But while it is the airline's responsibility, putting you on the next flight requires that there be space on that flight....

MmePerdu

"...putting you on the next flight requires that there be space on that flight...."

Yes, their responsibility to get you to your destination, space available. And with flights as packed as they are these days, it may not be the next one. Another down side to a too-short connection time.