Portland airport--enough time to change planes?

[Kellie in Texas]

In June 2020, we're flying from Austin, Texas, to Vancouver BC on Alaska Air.  There are no nonstops so we'll have to make a stop somewhere.  One of the choices is to change planes in Portland but there's only 45 minutes between flights.  Is that enough time to get to our second gate?

[martincath]

PDX is our second 'home' airport and by far the nicest one in the whole US of A. It's also pretty compact, and you can get from any gate to any other without needing to go back through Security - on foot your worst case would be <15mins between the furthest-possible gates, so I'd be very comfortable making a connection there in 45mins. Of course if you do have the option of a longer layover take it purely so you can enjoy the many and varied food and entertainment options!!!

 

PDX truly represents the region when it comes to airport dining - in fact the most recent expansion had such demand from top-notch local chefs that several VERY popular and talented folks were refused. It's actually now the only place you can get Country Cat's fried chicken since the original resto closed but they kept their PDX one open! Blue Star donuts - arguably the best artisanal donuts in the city, which means also among the best in the world - are far better quality than the ridiculously over-the-top creations of VooDoo who still get most of the press downtown (you'll see a sea of pink VooDoo boxes being carried onto the flight to Vancouver; anyone else you see with a Blue Star box will exchange a knowing eye-roll and glance at them with you). Art and live music performers change regularly, and there's even a cinema screening short movies about the PNW.

 

The website is pretty informative, right down to little videos to guide you around the map. And given that your only other likely routing option is via SEA (blech!!!!) unless you want a two-stop route, it should be real no-brainer decision in terms of actual-airport-itself annoyance minimization.

[lax19]

Agree with martincath. 45 minutes is plenty for a PDX layover.  

[Kellie in Texas]

Thank you both!  The flight times that included the PDX stop were my first choice, so glad to know we should have plenty of time.  As always, we're flying in the day before the cruise, so we've got a backup plan, just in case.