Does Icelandair hold its connections in Iceland if the incoming flights are delayed?
May 13th, 2007, 04:21 PM
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Does Icelandair hold its connections in Iceland if the incoming flights are delayed?
Hi everyone,
I'm in the process of planning an itinerary to Europe. We are thinking of getting our tickets on Icelandair, which will take us to Paris. From Paris, we want to continue immediately on to Italy (we will be spending 3 days in Paris at the latter end of our trip).
It looks like there is a big enough cushion (5 to 7 hours, depending on the option) both between catching a flight to Italy from CDG or going to Paris and taking the night train to Italy, so I'm not that worried about delays. My biggest concern is that our layover in Iceland is only a little over an hour and, since there is only 1 flight a day to Paris, if we miss it (and our resultant arrangements to Italy) everything would be thrown off.
I've heard at least one story about Icelandair holding flights to Europe for late arriving U.S. aircraft, and I'm wondering if this is something they do as a matter of course? It seems like it would be wise with only one departure a day and since Icelandair is basically the only airline in Iceland, but I wanted to check.
Anyone have any experience/knowledge about this?
I'm in the process of planning an itinerary to Europe. We are thinking of getting our tickets on Icelandair, which will take us to Paris. From Paris, we want to continue immediately on to Italy (we will be spending 3 days in Paris at the latter end of our trip).
It looks like there is a big enough cushion (5 to 7 hours, depending on the option) both between catching a flight to Italy from CDG or going to Paris and taking the night train to Italy, so I'm not that worried about delays. My biggest concern is that our layover in Iceland is only a little over an hour and, since there is only 1 flight a day to Paris, if we miss it (and our resultant arrangements to Italy) everything would be thrown off.
I've heard at least one story about Icelandair holding flights to Europe for late arriving U.S. aircraft, and I'm wondering if this is something they do as a matter of course? It seems like it would be wise with only one departure a day and since Icelandair is basically the only airline in Iceland, but I wanted to check.
Anyone have any experience/knowledge about this?
May 13th, 2007, 04:38 PM
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The airlines I've worked for will hold an outbound if there is a reasonable expectation they can make up the time and arrive on schedule. Many factors enter into this calculus, including the air traffic situation, how long the stage is, whether the fuel situation allows goosing another .1 Mach out of the aircraft, and so on.
If they don't do the math, the outbound arriving late could cause more dislocations at the next airport, and the entire system could descend into chaos very quickly.
In general, the answer is: I wouldn't count on it.
If they don't do the math, the outbound arriving late could cause more dislocations at the next airport, and the entire system could descend into chaos very quickly.
In general, the answer is: I wouldn't count on it.
May 13th, 2007, 04:45 PM
#3
I don't know about them holding the flight, but I can say from experience it takes less than 10 minutes to transfer to your next flight. I was concerned about the short amount of time between flights, but I am not exaggerating when I say it was a very very short and easy connection, and we had nearly 1 hour of our connection time left once we got to the next departure gate.
What airport are you flying from? I watched the arrivals of the same flight from Boston for about a month before we went (because I was obsessing over the short transfer time), and they were never more than a couple minutes late and usually early.
What airport are you flying from? I watched the arrivals of the same flight from Boston for about a month before we went (because I was obsessing over the short transfer time), and they were never more than a couple minutes late and usually early.
May 13th, 2007, 06:05 PM
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We would be coming from Baltimore. I'm hoping that since the flight takes off kind of late (8:45 pm) and because Baltimore is not a HUGE airport (say, like JFK or EWR) that there won't be as many possible issues with ATC congestion or weather problems. Hopefully.
I know we could stay that first night in Paris and then just go to Italy the next day for utmost peace of mind, but it seems like a shame to waste essentially a day if we can avoid it by just pushing on through.
I know we could stay that first night in Paris and then just go to Italy the next day for utmost peace of mind, but it seems like a shame to waste essentially a day if we can avoid it by just pushing on through.
May 13th, 2007, 06:18 PM
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LOL well normally I would agree with you, but the first day we arrive I'm guessing we will be exhausted and probably not able to really get out there and appreciate the city! So, given that there isn't much to appreciate in a plane/train, it seems like it might make more sense to spend those hours traveling and then save the time for Paris at the end of the trip when we are actually conscious!! 
