gussiespink

So, my sweetie booked us tickets from BOS to SXM in March, and we have only 30 minutes between flights. Is there any way we'll make the connection? We arrive in Philadelphia at 9 am on a Sunday; any chance of later flights to get bumped onto?

wantsomesun

There is no way you can make a flight with only 30 minutes. I am pretty sure the cut off for boarding is more than 30 minutes, so you should probably check with your airline, travel agent or booking agent to see what other options you might have.

Good luck and have a great time.

brenandg

I agree, no way at that airport. You have to take a shuttle to another terminal. We had one hour our last vacation and we made it with nine minutes to spare to board and we were moving at a good clip, not strolling. Can you try to get an earlier flight from Boston?

MaryD

Talk to the airline -- with a 40 minute connection (different airport but we also had to change terminals), we were met with a rep in a cart & whisked to the next plane. The airline (USAirways) said they don't sell tickets where the connection can't be made -- don't know if I believe that but they made it happen for us (also going to SXM).

eileen

Gosh, anything less than an hour would give me major stress and ideally should have more than that, especially departing Boston in March! I live in the PHL area, used to live in the Boston area and both those airports are so horrible for on time departures, changing planes, etc. Can't believe they actually let you book that, they usually have rules about how much time you need for a connection.

EmilyC

While it may be a "legal" connection, you need to factor in the Philly factor - delays even on good days. If this were my connection, I would fly into Philly the nite before, have a relaxing evening at my airport hotel, and arrive refreshed for my 9AM flight. If this is not possible, then I would change one flight or the other. To expect to be met by a rep with a cart to whisk you away to your gate is not realistic in Philly.

MIM04

Not an easy airport to have a short connecting. I would call the airline and ask about it. I definitely would consider changing your flight and staying in airport hotel the night before as someone suggested. That will make the trip so much easier. Have fun!

gussiespink

Silly me. I called the airline to see about changing flights, and of course, my flight from Boston to Philadelphia has already been changed by the airline from a 7:30 am departure to a 5:30 am (!) departure. The Philadelphia to St. M. flight also changed, but now we have almost an hour between them, so I guess we'll just run!

Next time, we'll pick an island with direct flights!

vinceygirl

Sept of this year I booked a flight from PIT to JAX. USAirways connects thru their hubs and PIT is no longer one of them. Everything is thru Philly. Now we all know how difficult it can be to travel down island, BUT, how hard is to fly to Florida??? With my last experience very hard.

Before we left the ground in PIT were told there were delays in Philly, an air traffic control problem. 15 minute delay, ok the flight leaves at 6:15p NOT. Another 15 minute delay, you guessed it, air traffic control problem. We leave PIT going on 7p and head off to Philly still hoping to make the JAX connection for 8p. Time to descend to into Philly and that's right, air traffic control problem. There is no where for us to land, we must circle the airport until a runway is free. Did USairways know there were many people on this flight making a connection? YES. Did USAirways hold the flight for 5 minutes knowing this? NO. Did USAirways shoulder any of the blame? Absolutely not, it was an air traffic control problem. Did they help us out with a room? YES, a list of accommodations was provided at a supposed discount rate. Did we get our luggage? NO. We were told it was placed on another flight to JAX and we could pick it up at the airport in JAX upon arrival. Questio? we were told there were no more flights to JAX tonight, how can this be? The answer was well it is going via another route but will be there tomorrow. The next flight out for us? early next am around 7. This is what we were trying to avoid by flying out the night before.....Having to get up and be at the airport before dawn.

Arrival in JAX. Went to the office to pick up or luggage. NO LUGGAGE!!!! and were promptly told to go back to the carousel. Still have no idea why Philly told us it was on another flight, but thank goodness it was there.

After this aggravation I found out from a good source that indeed there was a traffic control problem, not because the controllers don't know what they're doing but because USAirways expects their aircraft to turn around at the gate every 40 minutes. That is with total disregard for weather or other mitigating factors. So yes there is a problem. ONe that can easily be remedied with the right person in the pilot's seat and I'm not talking about the pilot if you catch my drift. I think it really stinks that they have total disrespect for us the consumer and then wonder why they end up in bankrupcy. If ever I can avoid the use of this airlines I will do so in a heartbeat.