5 Things to Consider When Booking Connecting Flights

There are so many things to consider when you are booking flights, especially when you are looking at long haul flights.  You need to compare prices, connections, type of aircraft, which airline, along with other things.  Add to that that the way pricing can vary from day to day and sometimes it even changes within hours.   It can be very overwhelming.   For me personally, booking flights is my least favorite part about planning travel - yes I think the picking flights is even worse than the flight itself.  

Today I want to focus on the oh so fun topic of connecting flights and how to make the best choice.  Of course we would all prefer to be able to go non-stop everywhere but that just isn't really possible.  When it comes time to sort out your options for connecting flights there are a few things you will want to compare.  

Number One - How long is the time between flights?
Too short of a time between could mean a greater chance you will miss that flight and too long of a time between could mean you end up camping out in the airport for hours.   Really be sure to pay attention to the times because one time I almost booked myself a flight where I thought the connecting flight left at 11 am which was perfect but then I realized it was 11 pm which would have meant about 13 hours of sitting around the airport.  

Number Two - What does the connecting airport look like?
You might be somewhat familiar with your home airport but when it comes to connecting not all airports are created equal.   Many times airlines will connect at one of their hub airports which means it is most likely a huge airport.   For example, I recently had a connection in Dallas Fort Worth.   I had a little more than an hour between which I thought would be OK.  Unfortunately the first flight was a little delayed so my connecting time was cut a little short but I still had just under an hour so I thought no problem.   Well I had never been to DFW before and had no idea how huge it was and how not easy it was to get from one terminal to another.  Even with very fast walking I just barely made it to my gate so it took me about 45 minutes just to get from one gate to the next.  In the future I think I will try to avoid connecting in Dallas if possible.  Connecting in a small airport can also have issues such as the airline only has that one flight out so if you miss your connection you could be stuck awhile.  
Another thing I look at is if the connecting airport is sort of in the direction I am headed.   I really hate the idea of making a connection that takes me hours in the opposite direction I am going which just means more time in a plane for me.

Number Three - Think about breaking things up
  If your travel dates are a little flexible you might want to consider breaking up your flights and spending a night or 2 in the city you connect through.   This works nicely if you have a long distance to fly and you might need more than one connection.  It also helps if you just can't deal with spending so many hours in one day stuck on a plane.  Both times I have flown to Alaska I broke up the long distance with a stay over in Seattle.   Getting to Fairbanks, Juneau or any other city in Alaska there is pretty much only one airline - Alaska Airlines.   This means that if you are looking for flights from your home airport to a city in Alaska it might really narrow down your options.   Whereas if you look at flights from your home to a hub airport like Seattle you will probably have a lot of options and then you can book the flight to Alaska separately.   Booking the flights separately also works out really well for adding in some time to stay over in the connecting city.  

Number Four - What type of plane is used for each flight
Checking on which planes will be used along with which seats are still available can really help too.   If you have a shorter connecting time, having a seat all the way in the back of your first flight could make the difference in making or missing that connection sometimes.   Also if you have a fear of flying then ending up on a very small plane for your connection might not be good for you. 

Number Five - Be Flexible 
   If possible try to be flexible and think about other options.  Maybe you can change your dates just slightly and that could open up totally different flight options.   Also don't forget to think about other airports in your area.   You might have to drive a little further to get there but if it opens up more options or even better pricing it could be worth it.