Short layover question

[daisycat]

How short is too short? I usually like to have at least an hour if changing planes, just long enough to grab something to eat and use the facilities. But I am looking at a flight to Hawaii that would have only a 40 minute layover at LAX. That seems like it doesn't leave enough time. Any thoughts?

[GilliC]

For domestic flights, I prefer a minimum of 60 minutes, and 45 is my absolute limit. I'll only take 45 if it's a popular enough route that there are multiple later flights. If the 40-minute layover is outbound LAX-HNL then no way. One tiny delay for your inbound flight, and you're likely to miss your connection. Especially at a large airport like LAX.

(For international, I prefer at least 1:30 and would rather have 2hrs. My bare minimum is 1:05, and only if I'm familiar with the airport and know I don't need to change terminals, clear immigration, etc.)

[shorty20]

That's pretty short, especially considering how big LAX is, so I don't think I would risk it. I had one issue of running through the airport trying to catch my flight and it was pretty stressful. You never know if your incoming flight will be delayed or whatever.

[Susie]

My sweet spot is 60-90 minutes. More gets boring, less is stressful. For international flights I'd want more.

I did book a 30 minute layover in February (through ATL) on my way home from Puerto Rico. Even going from one terminal to another, we made it. But I was prepared not to.

[sillygoosegirl]

I figure if they will sell me the ticket on one reservation, then it's possible to get where I need to be in time. I've only ever missed a connection when my first flight was late... And when the first flight is late, even a 90 minute connection is generally not enough.

[mdgirl]

40 minutes would make me a bit nervous, but whether I would NOT book it depends on a lot of things (I'm procrastinating at work so I just typed everything out ):

the airport I'm coming from (I've never gotten out of Newark on time, but I rarely get delayed out of SeaTac),

what time of year (de-icing, thunderstorms, holidays),

what time of day (later flights get backed up more, and thunderstorms pop up in the afternoon),

how many flights are available later (although really this doesn't matter too much anymore since they're all so damn full),

cost/timing difference (if the next flight means a 3 hour layover or more than $100),

how much a missed connection would mess up the first day of my vacation (if there's some sort of transfer or I'd be arriving in the middle of the night and not be able to get my rental car)

[juliabug]

I don't do any shorter than 2 hours anymore. I missed an entire day of my trip to Brazil a few years ago because my first flight was late and the 2nd flight only went out once per day.

Nowadays, I have a toddler in tow so I don't do layovers if I can avoid it.

[basilosaurus]

Exactly what mdgirl said. There are a lot of factors going into whether I'd consider it.

When the airline says it's doable, they mean if everything is as scheduled. Unfortunately, not everything is always on time.

Coming to Hawaii, I wouldn't go with 40 minutes. There just aren't that many other flights if you miss yours, plus you'd have to hang out in LAX instead of lounging on a beach, umbrella drink in hand.

[aurora]

I agree with mdgirl's list of factors.

I was pleasantly shocked to make a 40-min connection in Frankfurt, though, heading into the U.S. and having landed at a different concourse (I had booked a different itinerary but was switched without a choice when the schedules changed). So, occasionally miracles do happen! The point is, though, that even when you try to do it right the airlines can do pretty much anything they want to change your ticket as long as you're still within the legal time for the given airport.

[omeomi]

40 minutes is pretty much my bare minimum connection time. And if you're flying 2 different airlines (connecting to a different airline at LAX) then I'd say definitely go for a longer layover.

LAX is pretty easy to get around, but if you're coming into, say, terminal 1 and need to switch over to terminal 6, it's definitely going to be a bit of sprint. If you're flying the same airline all the way through, it could be doable since airlines generally aren't broken up at LAX, but I'd still opt for the longer gap.