Connecting Flights - A Reality Check
Saving on ones holiday cost is the primary reason why travellers often prefer to book connecting flights. Such savings mostly result from nothing but the comforts and the services that we choose to renounce. Find out the factors to book connecting flights such as VISA, Time, Baggage, Airline, Tickets, FAQ and other information. Date : Thursday, January 13, 2011
Connecting flight involves disembarking your plane at an enroute airport and embarking on to other for the second leg of your travel to the final destination. It may either be a shift to another aircraft of the same airline or to a different airline altogether.Both direct and connecting flights have their own set of pros and cons. Reducing ones travel cost has always been the primary reason behind many travellers booking tickets on connecting flights.
Savings on our travel mostly result from nothing but the comforts and the services that we intentionally choose to renounce. Deciding to book or not book a cheap connecting flight is based on how prepared is one to give up on these comforts and facilities. Hence travellers must go for connecting flight booking if they feel that the related hassles and contingencies are well worth the money saved.
Connecting flights and Travel Duration
Connecting flights undoubtedly add to the duration of travel. In fact, the cost of the connecting flight has been mostly found to be indirectly proportional to the length of the duration or the time gap before boarding your connecting flight, which is probably why those who want to pay the lowest on their flights would not mind a very long connection time.
Connecting flights and Baggage Claim
While disembarking from the previous flight, it is the passengers task to visit the baggage claim for retrieving their baggage barring some exceptions. The airline is not aware of the passengers who would be boarding some other connecting flight operated by different carrier. This means that baggage is not always automatically shifted to the connecting flight. The airlines simply send the baggage to the baggage claim as the point where the passenger disembarks is considered to be the passengers’ final point of destination by the airline.
However, there is an exception to the rule. Airlines do take care of baggage transfer if the connecting flight and the previous flight are part of an alliance or codeshare.
Check-In and Security
This step comes in after baggage retrieval. After retrieving the baggage, passengers need to check-in with the connecting airline and get a new set of boarding passes. Finally, after getting the boarding pass, passengers are required to undergo the complete security screening process all over again before being allowed to board the connecting flight.
Minimum Connection Time
As passengers are required to repeat these steps of baggage claim, check-in and security before boarding their connecting flight, it is absolutely imperative that there must be ample time to complete these steps. Passengers must carefully check at the time of booking, the guidelines about minimum connection times at the airports they are transiting.
Schedule changes affecting flights
Passengers must be prepared to face long waits, delays or in worst cases flight cancellation in the unfortunate instance of a connecting flight experiencing schedule changes due to operational reasons, local issues at the connection point such as renovation at the airport or the acts of gods. The recent Icelandic volcano eruption is a perfect example with a number of travellers still waiting for refunds.
Connecting flights and Contingencies
Your level of information about the place you have taken a connection at and your preparedness to arrange and afford an accommodation for an overnight stay and/or the next available flight in case you miss your connecting flight would also be a factor that will determine if you should book a connecting or a direct flight.
Travelling with Family
In case, you are travelling with kids, the elderly, or someone physically unfit, connecting to an onward flight could be a daunting task. Also, at times the concept of ‘minimum connecting time’ does not allow a snack break or meal between flights. Make sure that your hunger for a quick bite or the hassle of getting your elderly co-traveller to switch the planes is well worth the money you save on booking connecting flights.
Connecting flights - VISA / Transit VISA
It is essential for every traveller booking connecting flights to enquire about and be aware of the application of transit visa in the country that the traveller is passing through on way to the third destination. The guidelines and application of transit visa vary from one country to another for which travellers must consult the relevant consulate or embassy. Booking cheap connecting flights on your own online and without giving due consideration to the requirement of a transit visa may result in last minute inconvenience at the departure airport and travellers are at times denied boarding too. The situation becomes even seriously grave if you have booked individual legs of your connecting flights separately on the internet and are allowed to fly the first leg of travel however, face detention or denial to board the connecting flight at the transit airport due to lack of transit visa.
