Charlotte Airport

[jack dcruiser]

We are flying American Airlines with a 40 minute layover in Charlotte.  Anyone tried this and did not make their flight?  Do not know the terminals/gates as to where the planes would be until we get closer to the date.  Any tips would be appreciated.

[bbwex]

Back when USAir was separate, and before they took over American, they would allow these type of connections, and then when you couldn't get there in time, they would tell you that the connection was "illegal," even though they posted it in their schedule and ticketed you!  You can only hope that the planes are close together at the gates, and that your first flight is on time.  As a positive note, they do add lots of extra time in their schedules so that the flights are technically "on time," so you do have a cushion.  Best of luck.

[Flatbush Flyer]

19 minutes ago, jack dcruiser said:

We are flying American Airlines with a 40 minute layover in Charlotte.  Anyone tried this and did not make their flight?  Do not know the terminals/gates as to where the planes would be until we get closer to the date.  Any tips would be appreciated.

Best tip? Way too short a layover anywhere.

[jsn55]

2 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Best tip? Way too short a layover anywhere.

I agree.  Airlines couldn't care less if you make your connection or not.  They seem to think it's fine to 'just take the next flight out', like we have nothing else to do but diddle around trying to reach our destination.  

[Hlitner]

This topic is better on air forums but here goes.  Airlines publish Minimum Connection Times (MCTs) for each airport.  I think (not 100% positive) that AA is 25-35 min for domestic depending on the flight numbers.  At CLT you only have one terminal so the good news is no terminal change. The bad news it can be a long walk to your connecting flight although decent walkers can get to just about any gate in 15 min or less.  AA uses 4 concourses (B, C, D, E) at CLT.  

 

These days, tight connections are never great.  If you miss your connecting flight AA will generally rebook you (automatically) on the next flight with available seats.  If they cannot get you on a flight until the following day there are several rules that come into play.  But if the airline blames the missed connection on any kind of weather delay they normally will not pay for a hotel (you still might be able to get them to cough up a meal voucher).

 

Last year we missed a Saturday evening AA connection at DFW.  AA was not able to get us on another flight until Tuesday night.  This kind of thing is not unusual because so many flight are completely booked.   I think things have improved (a little) since last winter/spring, but flying is still an "adventure."

 

Hank

[notscb]

10 hours ago, jack dcruiser said:

Anyone tried this and did not make their flight?

 

How far are you flying in from? My recommendation would be to download the AA app, if you miss your connection or it looks like you're going to miss it, the app will let you know and offer you options (most of the time in my experience at least, YMMV). Charlotte really isn't that difficult to navigate- you can get from A-D in less than 20 minutes with the moving walkways.

[jack dcruiser]

17 hours ago, notscb said:

 

How far are you flying in from? My recommendation would be to download the AA app, if you miss your connection or it looks like you're going to miss it, the app will let you know and offer you options (most of the time in my experience at least, YMMV). Charlotte really isn't that difficult to navigate- you can get from A-D in less than 20 minutes with the moving walkways.

Thanks for the good advise.  We will definitely use it.  On AA it shows the second flight is late 80% of the time, so there is hope.  I wish we could see the gates far in advance, but that will just make it more interesting at the end of the vacation.  There was literally no other option, we could have opted for 2 stops on the second flight, LOL

[klfrodo]

In instances like this, I research terminal maps on google and I use FlightAware and Flightradar24 to look at the history of past arrival and departure gates and past history of arrival and departure times.

The past history does not give an exact answer for your travel day but can help determine a plan of action.

Does past history indicate that the incoming flight is in a different terminal than the outbound flight? Do I need my running shoes?  Are my flights normally early or late. By looking at the terminal maps you can see what transportation options are available if changing terminals. You can see where the closest toilet is. Maybe where the closest coffee shop is. etc.

[donaldsc]

You also have to consider how many passengers are on your 1st flight and how far back in the plane you will be.  It can take long time to get all the passengers off a plane.  We were recently on a trip where we had an unplanned very short international transfer time.  The plane was a stretched single aisle plane with about 280 passengers.  Luckily we were at the front of the plane so we made our connection but can you imagine how long it took to get the last few rows of passengers off the plane.

 

One other thing.  What is your plan B if you miss the plane especially on how missing the ship might impact your chances of catching up w the ship.

 

DON

Edited November 9, 2022 by donaldsc

[kiwimum]

Where is your connection headed.  We recently flew from Fort Lauderdale to Charlotte to San Diego.   No issues with the 40 minute connection as it was the same plane.  

[notscb]

8 hours ago, donaldsc said:

You also have to consider how many passengers are on your 1st flight and how far back in the plane you will be

 

This is an excellent point, and OP could probably benefit from forking over the extra for main cabin extra or premium seats to make sure they're far enough forward to ensure the best use of time between.

[6rugrats]

On 11/8/2022 at 11:38 AM, jsn55 said:

I agree.  Airlines couldn't care less if you make your connection or not.  They seem to think it's fine to 'just take the next flight out', like we have nothing else to do but diddle around trying to reach our destination.  

Honestly?  How you "feel" has nothing to do with reality.  What sense does it make that airlines "couldn't care less" if you make your connection.  Do you think it's a wise use of company resources to have employees spend hours rebooking passengers that miss their flights as if they have nothing else to do but "diddle around" because you didn't make your connection?  What's the upside for that?  Your post is absolute nonsense.

[notscb]

2 hours ago, 6rugrats said:

How you "feel" has nothing to do with reality.

 

Feelings offer useful information (it's kind of what makes us human).

 

From an economic and business perspective, you're right. Airlines don't have any real added value in having us hanging out in their hubs for hours on end or making a scene or throwing something negative up on social media about them.

 

YET- at the same time, passengers are often left in these exact situations and the airlines don't do well enough to make sure folks are treated as if what you said is actually true.

 

In this case, their "feelings" paint a bigger picture, especially when reality doesn't match the business or economic argument.

 

 

[jack dcruiser]

18 hours ago, donaldsc said:

You also have to consider how many passengers are on your 1st flight and how far back in the plane you will be.  It can take long time to get all the passengers off a plane.  We were recently on a trip where we had an unplanned very short international transfer time.  The plane was a stretched single aisle plane with about 280 passengers.  Luckily we were at the front of the plane so we made our connection but can you imagine how long it took to get the last few rows of passengers off the plane.

 

One other thing.  What is your plan B if you miss the plane especially on how missing the ship might impact your chances of catching up w the ship.

 

DON

Good point about the seat selection.  I may have to pay extra and move up in the plane.  Thanks for that point!

[FlyerTalker]

6 hours ago, notscb said:

YET- at the same time, passengers are often left in these exact situations and the airlines don't do well enough to make sure folks are treated as if what you said is actually true.

 

Aha...."don't do well enough" is a far cry from:

 

On 11/8/2022 at 9:38 AM, jsn55 said:

I agree.  Airlines couldn't care less if you make your connection or not.  They seem to think it's fine to 'just take the next flight out', like we have nothing else to do but diddle around trying to reach our destination.  

 

Which is spoken by someone who only views the world from their own singular perspective.

 

Sure, an airline could have hundreds of extra staff on duty, just waiting for the irops, weather or mechanicals to occur, so they could instantly jump to fill your every need.  OTOH, to pay for all those extra bodies, your ticket price would likely double -- oh no, can't pay more!

 

6 hours ago, notscb said:

In this case, their "feelings" paint a bigger picture, especially when reality doesn't match the business or economic argument.

 

Feelings are merely emotional reactions to situations.  They have little to no relationship to cold hard facts.  The question is:  Do you want to live a life governed by your feelings or by the reality of the world around you.

[Zach1213]

On 11/8/2022 at 7:27 AM, jack dcruiser said:

We are flying American Airlines with a 40 minute layover in Charlotte.  Anyone tried this and did not make their flight?  

 

I transit through Charlotte a decent amount as an AA frequent flier. I've had many 40 minute layovers. I've made all but one or two. It's busy but efficient, and if you're mobile, it doesn't take too long to get around. No time for the rocking chairs or Bojangles, though.

 

There are always going to be people who missed their 40 minute connections, but most will make them. 

 

 

 

[notscb]

1 hour ago, FlyerTalker said:

The question is:  Do you want to live a life governed by your feelings or by the reality of the world around you.

 

This is an unrealistic question, as we all live our lives based on our own perceptions of feelings and reality. It's always both- like it or not.

 

Your distinction  between "don't do well enough" and "couldn't care less" is closer than you think it is, especially when the staff in the airport are the one's responsible for showing customers that they (the airline) do care about irops. Not only that, but if airlines were truly incentivized to "care", their call centers wouldn't have 4 hour wait times where you get hung up on when your call does get answered.

 

If we were to think this through- take your "reality based" approached- if airlines did care, why would they pretend they can operate at 100% capacity when clearly that's not the reality in any industry (especially the cruise industry, where we've been seeing reports of lack of service on every major line).

 

I stand by what I said- putting down the original commenter's feedback because it was based in feelings doesn't negate what they said. Go to a major airport, cruise port and terminal, restaurant, [insert any service related industry here] and tell me that they care about anything more than their balance sheet, I'll wait.

[notscb]

1 hour ago, Zach1213 said:

No time for the rocking chairs or Bojangles, though.

arguably the best part of the charlotte airport- those rocking chairs and apron views 🙂

[jsn55]

11 hours ago, 6rugrats said:

Honestly?  How you "feel" has nothing to do with reality.  What sense does it make that airlines "couldn't care less" if you make your connection.  Do you think it's a wise use of company resources to have employees spend hours rebooking passengers that miss their flights as if they have nothing else to do but "diddle around" because you didn't make your connection?  What's the upside for that?  Your post is absolute nonsense.

Sorry you don't understand my point.  Insulting me is not a valid response to my opinion.  If you flew half as often as I do, it might be more clear.  With airlines, a traveller needs to be super proactive and figure out the best approach themselves.  You can't count on the airline to take care of you.

[Zach1213]

6 minutes ago, jsn55 said:

If you flew half as often as I do, it might be more clear.  

 

I'm not going to get involved beyond just pointing out that most of us who post regularly on this board either (a) practically live on planes, (b) work in aviation, or (c) both. 6rugrats is definitely one of the heavy hitters on this board. 

[FlyerTalker]

10 minutes ago, jsn55 said:

Sorry you don't understand my point.  Insulting me is not a valid response to my opinion.  If you flew half as often as I do, it might be more clear.

 

Actually, we probably DO fly as often as you.  And maybe more.

 

10 minutes ago, jsn55 said:

With airlines, a traveller needs to be super proactive and figure out the best approach themselves.  You can't count on the airline to take care of you.

 

Just like life.  Unless you believe that adults need to be in the care of a nanny-state environment.  Too many want to just offload responsibilities to others.

Edited November 10, 2022 by FlyerTalker

[notscb]

1 minute ago, FlyerTalker said:

Just like life.  Unless you believe that adults need to be in the care of a nanny-state environment. Too many want to just offload responsibilities to others.

 

Now I'm confused. you're saying you agree with the original comment then? Or do airlines "care"?

[Globaliser]

3 hours ago, notscb said:

If we were to think this through- take your "reality based" approached- if airlines did care, why would they pretend they can operate at 100% capacity when clearly that's not the reality in any industry (especially the cruise industry, where we've been seeing reports of lack of service on every major line).

 

1 hour ago, notscb said:

Now I'm confused. you're saying you agree with the original comment then? Or do airlines "care"?

 

Yes, airlines care. But they don't pretend that they can operate at 100% capacity, and they never have. Neither do they pretend that they will offer a perfect service. They play a numbers game that is far beyond the ability of any customer to comprehend.

 

And that means that there will always be some people who will misconnect. The airline cares because if the number of misconnects is too big, it costs the airline extra money. But if it eliminates all misconnections, that also costs the airline extra money. The airline is always looking for the numerical sweet spot of exactly the right number of misconnections to minimise those additional costs.

 

How the misconnecting passengers "feel" about it is of almost no concern to the airline. It's just an emotion that has no relevance at all to the huge numbers game that they are taking part in. The emotion contains no useful information whatsoever. What every passenger really needs to understand is that individually each of them is a near-inconsequential piece of self-loading cargo that is handled as part of that game. The airline cares about the misconnection, but not about the passenger's feelings.

[notscb]

3 minutes ago, Globaliser said:

How the misconnecting passengers "feel" about it is of almost no concern to the airline.

 

So you agree with the original comment we were responding to as well it seems. Glad we're all on the same page now 🙂

 

>But they don't pretend that they can operate at 100% capacity, and they never have.

 

Without getting too into it, they've been "pretending" this since their covid-comeback and it's caused massive amounts of delays and cancellations over the past few months. You can't ignore that. *the same way cruise lines have been doing this and sacrificing guest experience as a result.

Edited November 10, 2022 by notscb
*

[Globaliser]

On 11/8/2022 at 4:38 PM, jsn55 said:

Airlines couldn't care less if you make your connection or not.  They seem to think it's fine to 'just take the next flight out', like we have nothing else to do but diddle around trying to reach our destination.  

 

23 minutes ago, notscb said:

So you agree with the original comment we were responding to as well it seems.

 

If the quote above about "airlines couldn't care less" is the original comment" you're referring to, then I completely disagree with that. Airlines care a great deal about whether you make your connection. What they don't care about is your feelings.