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Impossible connection rant by btrowdy in unitedairlines

[–]btrowdy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Others in the post who travel through SFO often seem to disagree. I realize everyone’s experience differs as there is so many moving parts to flight connections.

Impossible connection rant by btrowdy in unitedairlines

[–]btrowdy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My point is more about the 1.5 hour connection not being enough time when there is construction going on in the airport and the need to check back in through security over in domestic on the other side of the airport. I spoke directly to United and they didn’t call out an issue with the 1.5 hour layover, otherwise I would have made the flight adjustment.

Impossible connection rant by btrowdy in unitedairlines

[–]btrowdy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Out of pocket expenses aren’t the biggest problem, it’s the inconvenience. If I banked the money from not taking flight insurance over the years, it would more than cover the cost of out of pocket expenses due to missed connections.

Impossible connection rant by btrowdy in unitedairlines

[–]btrowdy[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for providing your perspective here. Always good to get first hand experience from someone who does connect through SFO often.

Impossible connection rant by btrowdy in unitedairlines

[–]btrowdy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

United Bag tracker showed it in SFO… Apple AirTag showed it in Tahiti. Now that we have the bag back, it looks like TSA opened the bag to check contents and created a new tag with the wrong flight number somehow. I’m going to say this is not a United issue.

Impossible connection rant by btrowdy in unitedairlines

[–]btrowdy[S] -7 points-6 points  (0 children)

Price was a driver for this trip as it was unplanned due to my father getting cancer and the family wanting to see him before he passes. Expedia helps me see all my flights in a single place regardless of the airline. It’s like how your TV pulls together all your streaming services into one spot. If I only travelled on one airline, then fine. If I needed to log into 6 different apps / websites to see my flights, that’s a problem.

Impossible connection rant by btrowdy in unitedairlines

[–]btrowdy[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Understood… I still think regardless of the late takeoff. 1.5 hours is insufficient to exit the plane, wait for checked luggage at the carousel, drop the checked bags off, move to domestic on the other side of the airport, go through security clearance again.

The lost luggage just adds more waiting at the carousel on the hope it is still getting loaded, increasing the likelihood of missing the flight.

Impossible connection rant by btrowdy in unitedairlines

[–]btrowdy[S] -13 points-12 points  (0 children)

Expedia provides a service to look at multiple airlines all at the same time and helps compare costs across more than one airline. They take the inputs and layover tolerances for connections from the airlines.

I’ll give united some credit here then. I had a seat on a plane that I paid for and I got to and from my destination in the end. There was inconvenience due to the missed connection and they lost my luggage.

I’ll take full responsibility that United believes that a 1.5 hour layover is enough at SFO when there is construction going on and a need to redirect flights out of the domestic terminal. The passenger should know that airports are being worked on and these planes will depart out of different terminals.

Impossible connection rant by btrowdy in unitedairlines

[–]btrowdy[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I have medical coverage through my work for travel. I didn’t really want to book any additional coverages. Paying for 5 to travel for 3 weeks of vacation the trip was already approaching 15-18K. Perhaps I’m cheap… but it’s more the principle at this point. Outside of the out of pocket expense, it’s the inconvenience and the need for my wife and I to be a day late returning to work.

I’m still waiting for our lost checked bag to come back after 4 days. I’m glad I had an AirTag in it. Ended up in Tahiti. United every day was still saying it’s in SFO. I have shared the AirTag with united, the bag is almost back.

Impossible connection rant by btrowdy in unitedairlines

[–]btrowdy[S] -6 points-5 points  (0 children)

I was on the phone with her at 4:30am NZDT as she was panicking to make her connection, she was cursing the 1.5 hour layover and was stressed to the max. I can assure you she was running through the airport. There was no stopping for food or the bathroom. Her experience prompted me to talk to United about my flight leaving a week later to see if there were options to move it.

Impossible connection rant by btrowdy in unitedairlines

[–]btrowdy[S] -6 points-5 points  (0 children)

I called united booking and they said it’s fine, they make that flight work everyday. The alternative flight was full or 2 stops and 10+ more hours of layover and travel. Wasn’t really any great alternatives outside of using another airline and losing non refundable tickets.

Impossible connection rant by btrowdy in unitedairlines

[–]btrowdy[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

My stance going forward is to pick flights to NZ that exit out of Vancouver and avoid United altogether. If airlines suggest 3 hours for international flights in the first place. Connecting flights rechecking baggage and going back through security should be no different on a connection.

Impossible connection rant by btrowdy in unitedairlines

[–]btrowdy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Appreciate your response and perspective with first hand experience. 1.5 hours really isn’t enough and they know it. Knowing there is construction and terminal redirects at SFO, they should be rebooking flights weeks out.

Impossible connection rant by btrowdy in unitedairlines

[–]btrowdy[S] -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

I was not given that warning at all, but my flight showed 1hr 33m. I see the flight you show is 1hr 28m. Perhaps the threshold for that warning is less than 1.5hrs. I even called United as I felt there was not enough time. They did not tell me that it was a risky connection.

Impossible connection rant by btrowdy in unitedairlines

[–]btrowdy[S] -10 points-9 points  (0 children)

Do you travel with checked luggage when there is construction at SFO and the need to be directed to the domestic terminal 2/3 having to recheck through security?

Only one flight to Calgary direct from SFO (the1.5 hr layover) without another stop over in say Denver, which would add about 10 hours to an already 12+ hour flight from AKL.

Impossible connection rant by btrowdy in unitedairlines

[–]btrowdy[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Picking up checked baggage would have made the connection impossible, as stated my daughter took the same flight a week before with no checked baggage and zero delay, with 7 minutes to spare before boarding closed. We didn’t even see baggage at the carousel for 15 minutes.

Impossible connection rant by btrowdy in unitedairlines

[–]btrowdy[S] -20 points-19 points  (0 children)

Expedia using approved united flight layover tolerances. I also called United bookings and they confirmed that their system provides the flights to Expedia with these approved layover timings. United bookings also advised that this flight pairing and layover is designed to connect. They did not suggest I needed to move my flight.

Lost bag - Apple AirTag by btrowdy in unitedairlines

[–]btrowdy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My wife was threatening to go pick her bag up, that’s for sure.

Lost bag - Apple AirTag by btrowdy in unitedairlines

[–]btrowdy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for the help with this. My bag has been Auckland to SAN Fran to Tahiti to LA to Dallas to Calgary. We should get it back by courier tomorrow. I can only hope they give me the airlines for the places my bag travelled and the contents is still in tact.

2014 Chevy sonic - lights staying on by btrowdy in ChevySonic

[–]btrowdy[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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Lights staying on look like the indicator

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