Best, worst airports for connections

07-30-2006

 

	Tips for planning smooth connections Allow adequate time between flights. One hour is generally the minimum necessary to allow for the possibility of a delayed arrival, to make your way from one gate to the other, and to have your checked luggage transferred between planes. Some airports require greater margins even for domestic flights, and more if the journey involves an international connection. Be wary of signing up for routings that involve tighter connections. This is even more important these days, when fuller planes make it harder for airlines to put passengers who miss their connections onto later flights. Airlines are not required to hold planes for incoming passengers on delayed flights, although they do so on occasion. Consider the size of the airport when accepting minimal connection times. At big hubs, airlines do not necessarily assign arrival and departure gates based on the convenience of connecting passengers. Check out your flight's on-time performance history. Some flights almost always arrive late, and airlines are required to provide statistics on late arrivals. Understand the difference between "direct" and "nonstop." Flights listed as "direct" will make stops en route but will continue with the same flight number. During severe travel disruptions, even direct flights can have a portion of the route canceled. Avoid flights during peak travel hours, and seek out those that depart early in the day. Flight delays tend to get worse as the day goes on. Flights that start the day at an airport are listed as "originators" and are less likely to be delayed since they don't depend on a plane to arrive from another location.

In air travel, as in life, it always pays to have good connections.

As US Airways and other airlines using Pittsburgh International Airport eliminate more and more nonstop flights, changing planes on the way to someplace else is becoming more the rule than exception for many travelers.

So, where are the best and worst airports to make a connection?

Of the 22 airports that are primary connection hubs for the 10 carriers flying from Pittsburgh International, O'Hare and Midway in Chicago had the most flight delays. The data are from May, the most recent month for which information is available. Such delays could disrupt tight schedules and wreak havoc on your holiday or business plans.

Minneapolis and Cleveland airports had the fewest delays, according to the latest U.S. Department of Transportation Air Travel Consumer Report.

In overall passenger satisfaction, the Las Vegas McCarran International and New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport ranked first and second, respectively, among large airports rated in the latest J.D. Power and Associates 2006 North American Airport Satisfaction Study. They received top marks in airport accessibility, check-in/baggage check, terminal facilities, food and beverage, retail services and baggage claim in the survey that polled 9,800 passengers between January and May 2006.

Of the three main hubs served by U.S. Airways, Philadelphia came in with the third-highest rating in passenger satisfaction among large airports in the Power Report. Phoenix, its hub in the west, came in at the middle of the pack.

Charlotte ranked 19th out of 27 medium-sized airports measured, with its highest rating coming in security checks, and weakest in terminal facility.

But these surveys don't tell the whole story.

Frequent travelers form their own persistent impressions of airports in which they connect, especially when they wind up spending more time there than they'd prefer.

A recent informal Post-Gazette poll of local travelers showed that familiarity often breeds contempt and dissatisfaction; the airport people experience most frequently gets panned. It also seems that one traveler's bane is another's boon. For each of the airports that had a severe critic, there was someone else who cited it as their favorite, with two notable exceptions.

By wide margins, respondents named Philadelphia and Chicago's O'Hare as the worst places to make a connection.

Other airports receiving pointed criticism included Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit, Dulles, Minneapolis and Newark. But these airports -- with the exception of Dulles -- also were listed as favorites by other Pittsburgh area travelers. Denver and Phoenix also received kudos.

Alan Charness of Oakland, who flies 50 weeks a year as a consultant for Diamond Management and Technology Consultants, Inc., described Philadelphia as one of his "nightmare" airports -- despite its high ranking in the J.D. Power passenger satisfaction report.

"It's very spread out, with clueless gate employees and evil baggage handlers," he said. "Only check your luggage if it can survive a free fall from 5 feet. There is limited food variety and tons of aggressive salespeople hawking stuff from the small kiosk sales desks. And always give yourself an hour if connecting to or from an international flight."

Washington Dulles didn't fare much better in his criticism. He described the airport's Terminal G as "an overcrowded zoo which most of my colleagues dub the bus terminal." His favorite airports for connections are Seattle and Chicago Midway (despite its high number of flight delays).

"Denver would be in the good group had they not sent me for secondary [security] screening when I wore a Steelers jersey coming home from the AFC championship game," he joked.

James Strother of Ross, another business traveler who flies 30,000 to 35,000 miles a year as executive director of the Western Pennsylvania chapter of the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors Association, generally picks his flights based on convenient itineraries, but he tries "to avoid flying through Philadelphia at all costs."

Chicago O'Hare comes in a close second for his disdain. "I typically figured I had an hour more between flights than my itinerary read," he said. "Many times I've sat on a plane on the tarmac waiting behind 25 to 40 other planes waiting to take off. And heaven forbid that a storm or something else pops up that holds up traffic. It will have a ripple effect all over the country."

Ray Steffanacci of Herminie in Westmoreland County is on the road nearly every week inspecting new stores for 84 Lumber. He was critical of Atlanta and Dallas/Fort Worth, but had nice things to say about Cincinnati's new "C" Concourse.

"It's a pretty decent connecting airport, with plenty of room to sit and more than a few eating choices, and it also has a smoker's area. It is well marked and has wide enough aisles to allow everyone to move at their own pace."

Bob Mallich of Hampton works for EnteGreat, a Birmingham, Ala., software management company that has him traveling around the country about 50 percent of the time. He praised the Northwest Airlines WorldGateway terminal in Detroit.

"It's relatively new, spacious, bright, open, with plenty of seating at each gate and many shops and restaurants. Since the terminal is laid out in a straight line, it's easy to navigate, with moving sidewalks and a tram similar to the ones connecting Pittsburgh's land side and air side terminals. Also, because Detroit is a major Northwest hub, there are connections to many destinations in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Asia."

Often it's the special amenities that attract attention. Susan Cleary, a self-employed certified public accountant who lives in Beechview, praised the Charlotte airport.

"What I really like is the opportunity to rest in one of those Carolina rockers in their food court area while enjoying a Mango-A-Go-Go smoothie from the Jamba Juice. Why can't we have a Jamba Juice in our neighborhood?"

Still the connecting airport is largely a consequence of which airline you fly. Although most passengers choose a flight based on ticket price, seat availability, carrier preference and schedule, rather than a particular connecting airport, it's worthwhile to be familiar with the options.

For details on the primary connecting airports served by the carriers that fly from Pittsburgh International, look at the accompanying chart on this page. It also include details on which airlines serve that airport nonstop from Pittsburgh, along with the number of weekly flights it operates, an indication of how easy it will be to get a reservation there.

In addition to providing a perspective of the connection options, the information can help you decide which routings make the most sense for your next journey, in terms of comfort, convenience, money and time.

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