Flight changes & tight connection in Charlotte - any advice

[klpca]

We are supposed to be taking our covid delayed trip to the BVI's in November. Since it looks like we *may* be able to go I am finally starting to pay attention to the details. Of course in the past few months our flights have changed multiple times and I haven't worried about it too much because I figured that there was no point worrying about it until I knew that the trip was on. It takes three flights to get between San Diego and Tortola, so there are a lot of combinations of flights going on here.

I just checked the AA site and there is yet another change but this one actually matters. We are down to a 40 minute layover in Charlotte on the return flight. I have looked online and I honestly don't see any other flight options that help. If anything it appears as though other flights have been eliminated, so I think that we are stuck with this. I even looked at connecting through a different city and everything involves an overnight layover. We aren't checking bags are are pretty mobile but our seats are in the middle of the plane so we definitely won't be the first ones off. I suppose that we can pay to upgrade our seats to something closer to the front of the plane but even a short delay on the outbound flight will probably kill the connection anyway. Is a 40 min connection in Charlotte actually doable? According to the schedule we land at 5:58 and depart at 6:38. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

 

[amycurl]

Yes, 40 minutes is doable esp between AA flights (i.e. you're not changing airlines.) I've definitely made tighter connections in CLT. I would, though, just be sure not to check bags in case you end up having to spend the night. (Or make sure you don't have any pressing appointments at home the next day you might miss.)

 

[Talent312]

BVI is a foreign country. Where do you expect to pass immigration + customs?
If CLT is your U.S. port of entry, you'll need 90 minutes (w/o luggage), at least.
Wherever it is, you may want to prepare to spend the night at an area hotel.
.

 

[b2bailey]

I'm thinking it would be the responsibility of AA to provide you with a hotel if you don't make the connection -- assuming both flights are AA.

 

[klpca]

BVI is a foreign country. Where do you expect to pass immigration + customs?
If CLT is your U.S. port of entry, you'll need 90 minutes (w/o luggage), at least.
Wherever it is, you may want to prepare to spend the night at an area hotel.
.

We will go through immigration in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Yeah this flight from SJU to CLT shows an 81% on time record. So 80% chance that we make it, 20% chance that we have an unplanned layover in Charlotte. Not the end of the world. But I never schedule anything with a tight layover because I hate to rush for anything.

 

[klpca]

Yes, 40 minutes is doable esp between AA flights (i.e. you're not changing airlines.) I've definitely made tighter connections in CLT. I would, though, just be sure not to check bags in case you end up having to spend the night. (Or make sure you don't have any pressing appointments at home the next day you might miss.)

Thanks for the real world experience. We haven't used Charlotte for any connections but I chose it on purpose for this trip because it is a smaller airport (compared to Atlanta or Miami). I sure hope that it works out!

 

[Talent312]

I'm thinking it would be the responsibility of AA to provide you with a hotel if you don't make the connection -- assuming both flights are AA.

I once arrived in Atlanta, only to find out that Delta cancelled my last leg home.
They blamed the weather, so no hotel, no food, just a next day flight.
But I noticed an earlier flight was delayed at the gate. The gate agent found a seat.
They are the gods of the airport.
.

 

[tiel]

A LOT of the connections in Charlotte are tight with AA. We usually avoid them, but I understand it may not always be possible. In a case like yours, we would pay to move our seats up, just for a little less stress. But it won’t necessarily make a difference. We’d be interested in hearing if you make it ok, and if you switched seats. Just curious. We fly through there most often.
Good luck!

 

[sfwilshire]

The worst connections in CLT are from big planes to small or vice versa. If both legs are on big planes, you'll be fine if your flight is on time. That's always iffy in CLT, but I only travel on domestic flights. If there's a thunderstorm, the rampers can't park the plane, but then your departing flight will also likely be delayed. Delays on the tarmac are not uncommon. I've missed several connections in CLT through the years, but I'll take it over many of my other options.

Sheila

 

[cissy]

I agree. The walk between the gates for small planes to the large planes is very long. It wil be a tight connection even if there are no delays.

 

[CPNY]

You should be fine. But with a tight connection time like that there is no real way to know until day of. Any hiccup could cause a missed connection. It could also work in your favor, a hiccup with your connecting flight can result in a delay giving you more connecting time. Not checking luggage helps. If I were you I’d move to the front of the plane. You’ll get extra legroom, sit near the front saving you 5-10 minutes of deplaning time as well as access to overhead bins earlier. That last part is key since if it’s a packed flight they may make you gate check your carry on.

It also depends on which gates you’re arriving and departing from. If you’re landing in E and departing out of a D gate you should be fine. C gates to B gates are also easy to get between, C gates to D gates can be a longer walk. The moving walk ways speed things up slightly.

 

[klpca]

The trip is coming up in Nov so I will keep you guys posted. I truly appreciate the data points. I know our airport pretty well and figured that I would find some folks here who know CLT pretty well . The original layover was about 2 hours +/-. Not in a million years would I have booked a 40 min layover. I have looked into other flights going through Miami and Atlanta but AA told me that this is a legal connection (and we will be fine!). I can change the flights but need to pay the fare difference, which at this point is substantial. I have been too busy at work to try calling again - I have already spent hours on hold with our tech support and calling vendors during the work day and can't bring myself to spend more time on hold with AA at home. Luckily we have no time constraints with the return so if we have to stay overnight it wouldn't be a big deal, just an annoyance.

 

[rapmarks]

I know you are not in same situation but wheelchair assistance would get you to the new gate fast and perhaps keep contact with airline personnel to get you on that plane

 

[pierrepierre]

I would call the airline ASAP and ask what they call a legal connection time since you arriving out of the country.

 

[easyrider]

We are about 80/20 on catching these types of flights. Usually we make it but sometimes our luggage doesn't. I use the flight scanner provided by the Gogo flight app while on our flight to see our flight and connecting flight. Sometimes they change the gate for our connecting flight which has caused us to miss it is why I use this app. For us it usually weather that causes the delays and missed flights.

Bill

 

[klpca]

I know you are not in same situation but wheelchair assistance would get you to the new gate fast and perhaps keep contact with airline personnel to get you on that plane

My 82 yo mom just did this getting to/from all of her flights to the Galapagos. She is still pretty mobile but gets easily turned around in unfamiliar places.

 

[rapmarks]

My 82 yo mom just did this getting to/from all of her flights to the Galapagos. She is still pretty mobile but gets easily turned around in unfamiliar places.

I do it to corral my husband

 

[klpca]

I wanted to close the loop on this thread. Unlike some of the other folks on our Tradewinds cruise, AA was flawless on our return trip. No delays, and we actually landed about 15 min early into Charlotte on the return trip, so our 40 min layover was closer to 1 hour. Our gate on arrival was B13 and our outbound gate was B14. We even had enough time to grab dinner. It was so close that I rejected the wheelchair (broke my foot in the BVI's) because I was able to limp the short distances, but in Puerto Rico the wheelchair was an absolute necessity. Btw we had about 2 hours in Puerto Rico and any less would have been touch and go because of immigration and customs - and the distances between gates.

I do wonder if AA tries to give the flights with tight connections closer gate assignments? After all of this worry, it was a big nothingburger. Thanks again for all of the help.

 

[Luanne]

I wanted to close the loop on this thread. Unlike some of the other folks on our Tradewinds cruise, AA was flawless on our return trip. No delays, and we actually landed about 15 min early into Charlotte on the return trip, so our 40 min layover was closer to 1 hour. Our gate on arrival was B13 and our outbound gate was B14. We even had enough time to grab dinner. It was so close that I rejected the wheelchair (broke my foot in the BVI's) because I was able to limp the short distances, but in Puerto Rico the wheelchair was an absolute necessity. Btw we had about 2 hours in Puerto Rico and any less would have been touch and go because of immigration and customs - and the distances between gates.

I do wonder if AA tries to give the flights with tight connections closer gate assignments? After all of this worry, it was a big nothingburger. But thanks again for all of the help.

Sorry about the broken foot!

 

[klpca]

Sorry about the broken foot!

Thank you. It's always something, lol. I'm in a boot until New Years and I can't drive. This is such a weird experience. But despite the broken foot I made it to the Soggy Dollar (I was the only person there who legitimately needed a painkiller) so not all was lost

 

[Luanne]

Thank you. It's always something, lol. I'm in a boot until New Years and I can't drive. This is such a weird experience. But despite the broken foot I made it to the Soggy Dollar (I was the only person there who legitimately needed a painkiller) so not all was lost

What is the Soggy Dollar?

 

[DaveNV]

What is the Soggy Dollar?

Google showed me this: https://www.soggydollar.com

Dave

 

[klpca]

It's a swim up bar in the best sense of the word. They are famous for their Painkiller drinks.

Swim in from your boat, wave to your friends on the webcam, drink Painkillers - pay with your soggy dollars. https://www.soggydollar.com/webcam