Changing Planes SEA

[weissjaz]

Headed to Anchorage from Tuscon for several days before our cruise out of Seward, and it seems like most flights (primarily looking at United) are routed through Seattle with less than an hour to change planes. Is this enough time? My other option is to stay overnight in Seattle with a hotel that provides a shuttle and fly to Alaska the next morning. Although this would be a safer bet, it means more time going to airports, clearing security, waiting around, . . .

 

Has anyone made or missed a short connection here? Any other options I should consider?

[Arusha]

The bottleneck is TSA at SeaTac. This post echoes my experience at SeaTac this May:

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g28968-i73-k6505473-SEATAC_Airport_Security_Delays_Current_info_needed-Washington.html

[Gardyloo]

Headed to Anchorage from Tuscon for several days before our cruise out of Seward, and it seems like most flights (primarily looking at United) are routed through Seattle with less than an hour to change planes. Is this enough time? My other option is to stay overnight in Seattle with a hotel that provides a shuttle and fly to Alaska the next morning. Although this would be a safer bet, it means more time going to airports, clearing security, waiting around, . . .

 

Has anyone made or missed a short connection here? Any other options I should consider?

Changing planes airside at SEA is very easy. If it's United > United you'll probably just move to the adjacent gate, or it might even be the same plane, just with a different flight number.

[Glaciers]

If you are transferring from United to United an hour is plenty of time since you won’t need to go through TSA security, if your flight is on time. Each airline has minimum connection times. If your connection was less than what is required you wouldn’t have been able to make the reservation.

[kenish]

All connections at SEA are airside, in other words behind security. You won't need to consider that in the connecting time.

 

There is an exception that doesn't apply here, but thought I'd bring it up. If you break your trip into two separate tickets, and/or you connect to or from either JetBlue or Southwest to another airline, you will have to claim your bags and check them back in at the connecting airline's counter. At SEA that means going outside security. Since JetBlue and Southwest don't interline baggage you have to transfer it yourself if a second airline is involved.

[weissjaz]

Thanks for all the information!

[Cruise_More_Often]

We originally had a short connection on Alaska Airlines, and shortly before the flight, Alaska changed us to a later flight, leaving us with a 4+ hour wait at the airport. SeaTac is a very nice airport, but 4 hours was a long wait when we wanted to get to Anchorage.