hoth2oz

I booked a ticket on United from Sacramento to Venice with the first connection in Houston to catch flight to Frankfurt. I've never flown overseas. Is 30 minutes enough time? I'm just walking/running to another gate; right? No other requirements to board an international flight- all the passport "stuff" happens when I land in Venice; is that correct?

janisj

"<i>all the passport "stuff" happens when I land in Venice; is that correct?</i>"

Yes, but the first passport 'stuff' will happen in Sacramento before you get the boarding passes for all your flights. It would surprise me if 30 mins is a legal connection - but if United sold you this ticket it must be.

I assume you booked this as one itinerary and not 3 individual tickets - right? If so, and you miss your connection, they will put you on the next available flight.

MmePerdu

I wouldn't have booked flights with such a short connection time, "legal" or not. The slightest delay can make it uncomfortable for you in 1 way or another. You or your bag or both may not make it with the resulting delays. I suggest you call and discuss it with United and see if you can get them to adjust it for you so you have at least an hour, preferably more. I think it's unacceptable as it is now and you might get lucky and get some help with it.

rkkwan

UA1485, the noon time SMF-IAH only has a 53% on-time performance in July. That means 47% chance you arrive gate 15 minutes late or worse.

Granted UA was horrible through July. August starting to get better. Still...

hoth2oz

Thanks for the good info. The tix were booked with FF miles using the CC company's travel department. I read that 30 minutes was a legal connection but personally I think that's irresponsible. I'll see what I can do about changing the flights. I never used FF miles either so another adventure I suppose. Thanks again.

ms_go

Just so you're prepared, the passport "stuff" going from US to Italy via Frankfurt will happen in Frankfurt, not Venice (and Sacramento, as janisj notes).

I'd also recommend trying to change to an earlier flight. I personally wouldn't book a 30-minute connection in Houston, even for a domestic flight.

janisj

oops- overlooked the Frankfurt bit. ms_go is correct -your passport will be checked at both Sacramento and Frankfurt. Immigration (passport control) will be at Frankfurt and Customs will happen at Venice.

How long is your connection at Frankfurt? You may not be able to change your flights since they were booked through the cc points department. Good luck.

DMBTraveler

hoth2oz

Personally, I would never book an International flight with less than 1 hour connection time. Also keep in mind that some airlines may only offer one flight a day to a particular destination.

You miss that flight for any reason and you may find yourself waiting 24hrs for the next one

RoamsAround

It never ceases to amaze me how many first time posters (like hoth2oz) come for advice on short connection times or questionable routing AFTER they book the ticket rather than before. Anyway, what's done is done.

Personally I'd never book a connecting flight to ANYWHERE with only 30 minutes - nowadays there's just too much risk and Murphy's Law of Airports is bound to rear his ugly head. If OP's in-bound flight has even the slightest delay he/she will miss the international flight. Hopefully OP will be able to get an earlier flight into Houston.

rkkwan

Four points here:

1st: IAH is a big airport with some gates pretty far apart. The flight from SMF can arrive at any C or E gate, and certain D ones. The flight to FRA most likely will depart from one of several E gate, but can also be in a C gate. The OP should print out a terminal map here, or take one from the inflight magazine and familiarize himself/herself:

https://www.united.com/web/en-US/con.../maps/iah.aspx

IF transiting between C14-C27 AND E12-E24, it's quicker to take the TerminaLink train. Otherwise, walk very fast. [Also, ignore that zig-zag diagonal route in the map between Terminal C and E1 - it's outside security.]

2nd: UA flies only daily IAH-FRA, which is the 6:30p flight the OP is taking. They have a joint-venture flight with Lufthansa, but that A380 flight is earlier at 4:20p, so it's of no help. There is no non-stop for MUC, the other big LH hub. The other non-stop UA flights to Europe - AMS, CDG, LHR - all leave BEFORE the 6:30p FRA. So, basically it's a certain 20+ hour delay at IAH if the flight is missed.

3rd: if the ticket is already booked (UA allows refund within 24 hours of ticketing) and the change fee too much, the only option is to do a same-day confirmed change. There's a early 6am flight out of SMF to IAH. The OP can request that for $75 starting at 24 hour prior to original departure. So, that's around noon time on the day before departure.

4th: there are still options if one prepares himself/herself and is proactive about this. On UA.com or it's mobile sites and apps, one can check not only the status of a flight, but also the status of the aircraft on its previous flights. For example, for Sept 21, the noon-time SMF-IAH is UA364 - it's previous flight turned out to be UA768 coming in from IAH in the morning. That flight arrived on-time and UA364 to IAH also turned out on-time.

For Sept 20, the non-time is UA1658, which was also basically on-time; as the precedent flight UA1714 (also from IAH) was actually early.

Why am I telling you this? It's because if you know in the morning that your aircraft is already late coming into SMF, then you know you're in trouble early. That gives you time to call UA (or do it at airport) to get them to switch you to other flights to get to FRA or MUC, and continue to Venice. Hopefully on your original schedule, but if worst, just a few hours late.

There are MANY MANY flights that's possible. 3 flights from SFO, one from DEN, at least 2-3 from ORD, LAX, even Washington DC. And that's just to FRA. MUC is also possible. Since UA and LH runs a joint-venture for trans-Atlantic flights, they can put you on Lufthansa as well. Do some homework, and find out your options.

So, if you find out early enough that your flight to IAH will be late, act fast and early and call UA immediately to have your rebooked that morning, even on your way to the airport.

hoth2oz

Wow, rkkwan! Thanks. All really good tips and information.

Roam Around - I didn't have much choice in the selection as I had to book through the CC company's travel department and the flight selection was limited. And they didn't tell me the layover times, only where the connecting flights were and the ultimate arrival time in Venice, which at that point with the time difference, I couldn't keep up with the math. It wasn't until I opened up the confirmation email that I saw what the layover times were. I tell you... it really leaves a bad taste in my mouth about using FF miles now. I saved 4 years' worth of points : (

I'll heed all the advice and see what I can do about changing the flights and if I can't then I'll do what rkkwan suggested.

Thanks to all!

MmePerdu

One of the first things I look (or ask) for when booking flights is how many connections and how long between. In this case I think I would have opted to fly out of SFO. The more connections the more opportunity to miss one and for bags to miss one too. The trip I'm currently on was booked with miles so I looked on the airline website first to see what the possibilities might be then called the AAdvantage service number to discuss what was actually available. You pay slightly more, in this case £5 more, but it's so worth it. I decided to go through LAX instead of my usual SFO, 1 less connection plus lots of time between flights.

So now you know and next time you'll do it better. In the meantime give it your best shot to change what you've got and worst case I think because they offerred that connection they'll have to put you up if you are delayed. I suggest a carryon bag, just in case.

Kathie

As I understand it, you aren't using frequent flier miles issued by a specific airline, but points on a credit card to book these flights. This gives you fewer options. If you had booked with an airline's frequent flier miles you could make changes with a minimal charge, and the airline would make sure you get to your destination.

With credit card points, I expect you are lowest priority to get taken care of by the airline. In fact, if there are problems, I wonder if you will have to call the credit card company to get a new flight.

MmePerdu

I think we always call whoever made the booking for us, airline or agent (travel or points), prior to departure do we not, as they are the responsible entity at that point? But if the airline did, in fact, offer such a connection to be booked then they would handle glitches after departure and make the adjustments to the itinerary or put you up if that connection failed to be a viable one.

hoth2oz

I spoke with a representative from United tonight. She said that both flights, arriving from SMF and departing to FRA, are in terminal C. She also said there are "no worries because this is a married flight that is confirmed and you will not miss it." I specifically asked about giving my tickets away if we weren't at the gate exactly on time for the Frankfurt flight and she reiterated what I put in quotes above. I don't know what a "married flight" is but she seemed very confident that we'd make it. She said if we did miss the flight they would do everything possible to get us to our destination using partner airlines and connectors through other cities. She didn't seem to care that I used FF miles to pay for the tickets. We'll see. I'm less concerned now than I was last night.

Slightly off the subject... I used Capital One No Hassle Miles. In theory, I could have booked the tickets myself on the United website and Capital One would have offset the charge with the points as long as I asked them to do so within 90 days of the charge. I couldn't complete the purchase on the United website due to a glich and was forced to use Capital One's travel department - - I honestly don't believe United cares that I used FF points. Something tells me they get paid by Capital One. Maybe not full retail but enough. Just a guess.

rkkwan

The airline won't listen to you right now if it's booked through another agent or agency. But the same-day $75 confirmed change will work regardless of how it's booked. And if as I mentioned, by the morning of travel and the incoming aircraft for SMF-IAH was already badly delayed, then UA probably will rebook the OP.

The 30-minute connection at IAH is legal, so no reason for UA to let you change your booking without a significant fee or having to reticket/reprice the whole thing.

---

Now, here's a point #5 to add to my above post. The arrival time of the noonish SMF-IAH flight differ depends on date of flying. On some date, it's 6:00p, some 5:45p, 5:52p or 5:53p. But on some dates, it's 6:01p. Now, the FRA flight always depart at 6:30p. IF, a BIG IF, your flight's arrival time get changed between now and travel to 6:01p or later, then the connection becomes illegal, and UA will rebook you with other options - via SFO or other. That'd solve your problem if that happens.

But otherwise, 30-minute is the Minimum Connection Time at IAH for UA-UA mainline flights for domestic-domestic and domestic-international.

rkkwan

That phone agent is full of it. You can absolutely miss the connection if your incoming is significantly delayed and you can't make it to the gate when the FRA flight closes its doors.

hoth2oz

Another good point by rkkwan... thanks. I will be paying attention to the arrival times. And you're right, I figured she was full of it in the case of a significantly delayed flight. I had asked her if the walk between the arriving gate and departure gate was do-able in less than 30 minutes and she said it was easily doable. She also said I would have the full 30 minutes to get there without them giving away my seats (assuming the SMF plane landed on time.) In August, Flight 1485 was late by an average of 7 minutes about 11% of the time. 89% on time. My husband keeps saying to "let it go" because everything will be alright. He leads a charmed, mostly stress-free life so I'll just ride his coattails. LOL!!!

rkkwan

Again, despite what that agent said, UA mainline flights use all gates @ Terminals C & E, plus few gates of D. Don't know which gate until day of flying and that can change last minute.

UA46 is an int'l widebody and usually uses an E gate. If you're unlucky, it can take up to 15min to get from say C18 to E19. Not to mention if you sit at the back of the first flight, it's 5 minutes after door open before you get off the plane.

Having said all that, chances are say 80+% you can make it. But you should know your options.

janisj

OK - I may have missed it, but <i>when</i> are you traveling? On-time performance out of SMF in August has no relation whatsoever to perf. in say Dec or Jan.

I'm in Sacto and you know how the fog affects us - more so than even SFO in some months.