DRD4516

We are traveling to Paris in January. Our travel agent booked us on United 942 from LAX to Paris, telling us it was a nonstop flight. Only later did I find out it is a direct flight, not a nonstop. We will have to change planes at O'Hare, with a little over an hour between flights. I am concerned that we may miss the second flight, as I've learned that the flight from LA is on time only 50% of the time. I happened to meet an employee of United recently, who has flown that route and she said people can, in fact, miss the second flight. United has told me that they do not delay the second plane and if we miss the connection we will probably have to wait until the next day because they only have one flight per day to Paris.

So I have a couple of questions. Has anyone dealt with this? Was it a problem to make the connection? Secondly, is it reasonable to expect my travel agent to fix this, since she specifically told us it was a nonstop flight? There are earlier flights out of LAX that would give us more time to make the connection, but there would be an additional charge for making that change.

dutyfree

Lets see.....traveling in January through Chicago to make an international connection? First of all,ditch the travel agent as they obviously don't know their stuff.ORD always has weather deals especially in January.I am pretty sure that you will have to change terminals too from Terminal 1 to the International terminal. AND lets be realistic-international flights want you to check in and be at the gate way before an hour as they usually start boarding 45 minutes to an hour out.
I say that the agent screwed up and that they should pay the difference.Otherwise cancel the reservation and go with another airline that connects in a better weather city for January?

rkkwan

Well, insist the TA fix it first, then ditch it.

AAFrequentFlyer

Connecting from domestic to international UA flight in ORD is like connecting domestic to domestic flights. No terminal change.

I connect through ORD about 2-3 times every Dec, Jan, Feb and only once did I miss my connection. The weather issue is way overblown. It does not snow buckets everyday in Chicago.

If you do miss UA flight to CDG, get on the phone to UA and ask to be put on another airline.

Don't panic, 60 minutes connection time is sufficient, unless there is a major storm, but lets be honest, how often does that happen?

All you will need to do is to walk from your arrival gate to your departure gate, no security, no passport check, and if you're lucky the CDG gate could be right next to the gate you arrive at from LAX.

dutyfree

While I appreciate your points AA-I live in Chicago and fly out of ORD weekly for work. The past several Januarys have been milder than past years but I would also like to point out that in the last 25 years have also been our worse "snowdumps".I think that the only two other nonstops from ORD to CDG are American and Air France. Air France leaves out of the international terminal and I do think that American might also which takes time to get over there.
While I will agree that you fly way more than I do flying international to Europe everyweek,I still stand by my saying of allowing at least 2-3 hours of connection to make an international flight at major hubs...think mechanicals,crews not making it in,etc.I have had way too many people miss their connecting international flights for one reason or another due to not allowing enough time. This has usually been due to doing it themselves on the internet rather than using a travel agent so that is why I am surprised the agent would think that one hour was sufficient without allowing for an "oops".I always tell people that its easier to kill the time with bathroom regrouping,trips to the newstand or dutyfree shop or a quick bite to hold them till we serve on the flight than sweating like a pig and holding their chest as they are running on trying to make our flight. Just an opinion.........

rkkwan

The problem is that UA942 LAX-ORD has been performing pretty poorly. It's rated 0.2 out of 5 stars by flighstats.com for the last 2 months.

More significant than the ~50% on-time figure is that it's "excessively late" (>45 minutes) 18% of the time. Yes, the ORD-CDG may also depart late if there's a system-wise problem at ORD, so perhaps the connection can still be made some of the time. But 18% is a lot...

Having said that, those numbers are based on the last 61 days. Chicago in January has different issues and different statistics from the summer, as we all know.

AAFrequentFlyer

The OP does not have to be put on a non-stop ORD-CDG if s/he happens to miss the connection. S/he may be put on a London/Madrid/Manchester/Dublin/Frankfurt, etc. flights with a connection to CDG, so it opens a bunch of possibilities.

btw, I'm not sure about AF, but AA leaves from the domestic terminal 3, so no need to leave secure area, just a 5-10 minute walk and you're there.

andrews98682

DRD,
You say it's a direct flight. If it's a direct flight and you're changing planes, you might not have to switch gates at O'Hare; they'll simply switch aircraft.

rkkwan

UA942 LAX-ORD has no relationship to UA942 ORD-CDG. Not the same aircraft, not the sme aircraft type. Second flight doens't need to wait for first one.

There's really no different from flying UA 123 from elsewhere and connect.

Yet, UA will only give you miles for LAX-CDG, and not LAX-ORD-CDG. About a 200 mile difference.

mjz_kc

I don't usually get worked up over connection times. However, for a 1 hour international connection at ORD in January, I'd be a little concerned. Especially since you state that UA only operates one daily flight from ORD to CDG. I travel through ORD extensively (at all times of the year) and my on time rates have been pathetic - I'm usually delayed atleast 1 hour. In fact, I'm going to ditch AA/ORD connections (and I love AA) and opt for non stop flights on a variety of airlines out of my home town (KC). 10 years of spending unreasonable amounts of time at ORD is enough!

As for the travel agent, I'll stay out of that situation.

Enjoy Paris. It's actually pretty fun in January as you don't have to deal with mass tourists.

DRD4516

Thanks for all the input. I've done a little more investigating. On today's schedule, the flight from LAX arrives at ORD at Terminal 1, Concourse C, Gate C26. The second flight leaves from Terminal 1, Concourse C, Gate C18. I assume this arrangement doesn't change much. So the distance between gates isn't an issue, so much as the delay of the first flight might be. BTW, my agent said that if we are concerned we should buy travel insurance....

DRD4516

P.S. We're not touring Paris in January. We're staying overnight on our way to Val d'Isere to ski.

mjz_kc

Nice travel agent.

As been mentioned, the UA flights (AA flights as well) to Paris leave out of the domestic terminals. You don't have to go over to the international terminals. So this saves a lot of time. I always get a little jealous when I walk by the gate for Paris and I'm going to one of my not so glamorous business destinations!

rkkwan

Or you can tell your travel agent to throw in the insurance as they misled you in the first place.

LT

DRD, did you make a nonstop flight from LAX a "dealbreaker" when you were dealing with your TA? If so, then the TA royally screwed up, and he/she needs to make this right.

"It does not snow buckets everyday in Chicago. "

True, but which scenario presents a lower chance of weather being a negative factor . . . Nonstop LAX - CDG or connecting via ORD in the dead of winter? For most of us, the choice is obvious . . .

barbmc

DRD...I am pretty sure as one poster stated that you do not have to change terminals when you arrive from LAX. You will NOT have to go to the International Terminal. HOWEVER, on your way back from Paris you will come in the INternational Terminal and have to go through security, get your bags, etc. Then, take a shuttle to the domestic terminal. I hope you have more than 1 hour on the way back.

Good luck.

Jack

Having just spent an extra 4 hours in ORD last week due to delays caused by thunderstorms, and having had problems there several times in the winter as well, please get your travel agent to fix the problem. If you were supposed to get a nonstop, then demand she get you a nonstop. Flying even one stop is just going to make for a longer day of flying and you will arrive just that much more tired in Paris.

someotherguy

Wouldn't Geneva or Lyon be more convenient than Paris if your destination is Val d'Isere? United+LH+Swiss do LAX-GVA with just a single connection (Zurich, Frankfurt, or Munich) and the fare is several hundred dollars less than LAX-ORD-CDG. Plus, you leave later and arrive earlier.

I'd pay the $100 penalty and change to better flights.

BTW. Geneva airport has two entrances/exits: one in Switzerland and one in France. If you are renting a car, it's important to use the French side. There are direct buses if you don't want to drive.

djkbooks

When we went to Chicago in May, our direct/non-stop flight from New Hampshire was delayed for two hours due to the weather in Chicago. The gate for our return flight was changed from one in Terminal B to one in Terminal C while we were sitting at the gate lounge waiting to board.

<<BTW, my agent said that if we are concerned we should buy travel insurance....>>

Good one!

ssf14

LAX and ORD are both United's hubs, there should be about 3 or 4 earlier flights before UA 942. See if the travel agent can change you to an earlier flight (don't let them charge you!). United also has a flight out of IAD to CDG (UA 914), don't know if the weather in IAD is any better in Jan though.