No - if we take the flights we will fly from Baltimore to Charlotte, with only a 35 minute layover, and then on to Calgary.
You may want to check how frequently the Baltimore to Charlotte flight is delayed.
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In the end, it doesn’t matter. The airline sets the schedule. You choose to buy the ticket. It can work or they wouldn’t do it.
If it doesn’t work, they’ll find an alternative. Lots of things can go wrong - but these flights are often great - shorter overall.
On my last (and I mean last) SW flight, I had a 3 hour and 45 minute layover in Baltimore. I have no idea what was up, but my first flight was delayed by about an hour…then more…and then they took us all off the plane and told everyone who had a connection to go to the customer service desk. So…I did.
Well…I was going to miss my connection. SW was going to give me transport to a hotel, the hotel, and two meal vouchers. I’m sure I was offered those because I was dressed so nicely😉
I mean, there’s weather, maintenance and now we will see Airbus cancellations. So much is unknown when you buy a ticket - and even that day. I read 1400 flights were cancelled due to weather. .
If the airline errs, you get the meal voucher and hotel.
None are perfect.
But if you miss the connection, then it can be much longer overall.
You can have a two hour connection and still miss. Or your next flight could be delayed. There’s a lot of would’ve, could’ve, should’ve.
If the 35 minute connection is $200 abd the two hour $350, it’s not hard to guess what 90%+ would choose.
We had tight connections went we went to Quebec. The costs were crazy. The cheapest economy was $2500 for two tickets from RDU. And we had one connection there and two back. All were under an hour, though I don’t believe they were 35 min. More like 45 min. But that was the best option. The other flights got us there super late and we were only going for a long weekend.
Everything did work out but I was so stressed the entire time. I didn’t sleep at all the night before both flights. I told H next time I was driving
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Duffy isn’t going to change a single person’s behaviour. He does not command respect. He is purely a politician (who will no doubt run for higher office when this gig is over) who stood there smiling and nodding, when his boss declared that “DEI” and “woke” was the cause of the helicopter/American Eagle collision that had just killed so many people. I lost all hope for him then.
People saying, “thank you”, and “please” to the flight attendants and dressing nicer isn’t going to change other people’s flight experience. What could change the experience is airlines doing a better job not packing people into airplanes, and training their employees to treat the passengers better. Blowing off service for a long flight, sitting there playing with their phones and ignoring passengers, leaving the seatbelt sign on for hours with no turbulence, being rude to customers at the gate put people in a bad mood. Telling passengers to behave better is ridiculous. Treat the customers better, and they will respond in kind. That is, if the airlines actually care about more than making a buck.
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That is one of my pet peeves on flights. Don’t bring on hot food. Ever. And for God’s sake, never, ever, eat Cool Ranch chips on a flight.
Other pet peeves, the gum smackers, constant sniffers, and the card shufflers, who have to shuffle ten times, very loudly, with each game they play. And the farters, yeah, we know who you are. But these are individual vices, some people are going to be oblivious no matter what, and a lecture from a buffoon will do absolutely nothing.
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I tried to meet a friend for a long weekend in Quebec City a couple of years ago. Not only were the flight costs crazy (from Charlotte) but on the way back, my only options made for a 14-hour travel day with two connections and my first flight left at 5am. I concluded that Canada must not want American tourists from the southeast (this was pre tariff). If I’m going to have to endure 14 hours of air travel, I’ll go to Europe.
Which is why I would never wear clothing that requires my bare legs to rest on the airplane seat.
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I would not do this. The doors to your second flight will likely close 15 minutes before takeoff. There is probably not another nonstop flight to Calgary later in the day (but you can check that) should you be delayed. (And agree you should see how often your incoming flight is delayed although even a short, non-reportable delay could be an issue for you.)
I’d probably be considering a flight the night before to Charlotte and an airport hotel. Yes, adds to cost and hassle but so much better than getting stuck in Charlotte. Or going via an airport with more service to Calgary.
Years ago, I flew to Calgary often (15+ times/year) and became a fan of an evening flight to Toronto and staying in the airport hotel there. Got to clear customs in a leisurely way and had lots of options to Calgary the next day. Sounds clunky, but pretty much always worked.
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These are the cases where I’d take a non stop and drive. By the time you connect, it’s the same time wise and likely cheaper. In this case, I’d have flown to Montreal.
Sort of like when I go to Tucson, I fly to Phoenix and drive.
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I considered that, but we were only there for a weekend. And we were staying in the city center where there is no parking and we would just walk from there on. I didn’t want the hassle. Plus the possibility of their being ice and snow on the drive made me nix that idea.
Also, less risk for flight issues like missing a connection. One time, I went on a business trip where the options were:
- Non-stop to MDW, drive for 2 hours.
- One stop through ORD to a small regional airport that was nearest to the destination, drive for 45 minutes.
The one stop flight had a high risk of being stranded at ORD because ORD had a high risk of flight delays, in addition to being a longer itinerary overall.
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Jeans, tank top with sweater over it, sneakers. Having lived with an aerospace engineer- practical shoes and nothing nylon in case of an accident. Always know where the exits are!
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Wouldn’t a Nomex suit be the safest thing to wear if the airplane catches fire?
I was going to ask about the nylon too. Is that because of fire?
I’m thinking because nylon tends to melt and stick to skin if it catches fire. The burns can be horrific.
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Along with knowing where the exits are, knowing how to open them, particularly if you’re sitting in the exit row. Sitting in the exit row means looking at the instruction card every single time, because emergency exit windows aren’t all the same. I go through rehearsing the motions of opening that emergency exit and which way to direct people, so I could do it in the dark, in a smoke filled aircraft, when people are in a panic, potentially injured, and hanging upside down. Worst scenario, you know.
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