We have a 39 minutes to change planes at Houston Inter. We land at Terminal B and must connect to Terminal E. Do we need to worry? Can we take the "gate side" shuttle from Terminal B to Terminal C and walk to Terminal E? I think we will be OK if we do not have to go through security. Thanks for any info!

Francine

As long as your arrival isn't delayed more than 5 minutes, you won't have time to stop and shop but should be OK. Continental, the dominant carrier at IAH, has done a great job of settting up the links between terminals. You will not have to exit and re-enter he secure area.

having lived in Houston for several years you may be cutting it short.
Are you connecting for a flight within
the U.S. or going to Mexico?
You might want to call the carrier and get their advice. The airport is usually crowded and spread out.

Hope the first flight arrives on-time or early. And walk fast. Study the terminal map. Some gates at B is quite far from the train, and some E gates are also very far from the train. You'll need to hustle.

Where are you flying from and to? What other connection choices do you have? I would NOT recommend such a connection.

Is this on a single ticket as a legal connection? If so - and you miss it the airline has to solve it for you.

If it's on different tickets - you'll be stuck - and probably have to buy a new ticket at who knows what cost.

Also - have you checked the on-time percentage of the first flight - to see if you are even likely to land on time?

Reco you give yourself more time if at all possible.

Thanks for all the help. I will call Continental and it is on a single ticket. Continental changed their flight time and we got stuck with a short lay-over. I hate these close connections!
We are flying to Mexico (Puerto Vallarta). The first flight has been arriving early. Hopefully it will follow suit next Sunday. Thx! Francine

Which flight are you on IAH-PVR?

While Houston check-ins for these flights are in Terminal E, the planes may not.

Flights 1136/1138 may leave from any gate in C or E, even though it's been a "E" gate for yesterday and today.

Flights 2132/2134/2137 leave from Terminal B.

And you don't have to accept a short connection if one of the flights have been changed since you purchased your ticket. CO can switch you to a different connection if there are seats available - but of course you may have a connection time in Houston that's too long.

Is it possible to have the electric carts pick up passengers and deliver them to different terminals? I just know that they are speedy in their little areas!

I have been checking the gates and times and the Puerto Vallarta flight (1838) has been leaving from Terminal E. There is another flight a few hours later and there is space so I am not overly worried but just wanted to know the quickest way to make the connection. I would rather make Flight 1838 if possible.

I did think about the carts - that is one of my questions when I call Continental.

Sorry for my typo. I do mean 1838, not 1138.

There are carts in IAH, but I don't see them often. I doubt you can get one to wait for you at the bottom of the stairs/elevators from the terminal train at E. Prepare to walk.

A cart cannot goes from B to C/E.

Ask them to order a cart to meet your plane. We have made a very short connection in Houston, but I don't know the logistics any more. If we hadn't had the cart, there would have been NO way to make it.
You might try also to get a seat as far forward as possible. Try explaining the predicament to the attendants. CO attendants are great.

Again, the OP has to change terminals. I don't remember seeing many or any carts in Terminal B, so there's already a walk from the arrival B gate to the train. [All gates at B are in a "satellite". The walk to the train is shorter if the plane uses one of the gates on the north side of Terminal B, longer if it's on the side side.]

There's also a bus that goes from near Gate B60 to Terminal C, which may cut down the walk if the arriving flight uses Gate B60-67 and the departing uses E1-10. However I don't know about the frequency of this bus.

There are a lot of "ifs" here. Print a terminal map from continental.com and then decide what's the best or fastest way to get there.

As someone who has spent LOTS of time at IAH, I would not worry. It's tight, but if this is a scheduled connection, you'll be fine as long as your inbound flight is relatively on-time. It should take you about 15-20 minutes to get to terminal E from B. Just take the "train" (monorail) from B to C, and then follow the signs to E (walk at a brisk pace!) You do not have to go through security since you are not leaving the terminal areas, but hopefully you will have a longer connection on the return trip in the event you are held up at customs.

April:

Thanks for the info.

Coming home we have 1 hr and 40 min. I think this will be OK - if the first flight is on time.

Francine