How To Survive Flight Connections, And What To Do If You Don’t

Avoid connections altogether: best way to avoid the stresses of a flight connection is to not have a flight connection at all. Only choose a connection if it will really save you money since a connection means double your chances of something going wrong

Book an early flight: when you do have a connection, timing is indeed everything. It’s in your best interest to choose the first flight out of the day

Don’t be tempted by short connections: don’t choose the shortest connection time allowed because if your first flight is delayed, you’re going to be stressed as there aren’t many empty seats on airplanes anymore

Book both legs of your trip on the same itinerary:if you book the various legs of your trip on different airlines or on different itineraries the second airline may not be obligated to wave change fees if the first one makes you late and you need to be rebooked. If you can, stick with the same airline or partner airlines

Look up a map of the airport in advance: make a plan of action. Even without delays you don’t want to get to an airport with only minutes to spare and find out you need to change terminals and maybe go through security again!?

Choose airports with good weather and avoid notoriously difficult airports

If you do miss that flight, know your rights and rebook quickly.  Your advantage is always calling the airline’s customer service vs. trying to find an airline employee at the airport