Avoid This Dangerous Reservation Mistake

By Don Nadeau, on December 29, 2008, in Airfares

I flew into Los Angeles International on Qantas on Christmas Eve morning. A very nice person several seats over had saved money by booking a separate ticket on Southwest Airlines from LAX to Sacramento, instead of using a higher "through fare" on one ticket. The problem was that she had allowed only 90 minutes for this connection. A bus had to take us from where Qantas parked to the international terminal. Then we had to stand in a long line to clear Immigration. Then wait and wait for our bags. (I don't usually check bags, but overseas rules for carry ons tend to be more restrictive.). Then we had to clear Customs, which is separate from Immigration, after standing in another long line. By the time her luggage came, there were just 30 minutes left for her to clear Customs, reach the Southwest terminal, go through security, and reach her gate. By that time, of course, even if she somehow reached the gate prior to departure, her seat had likely been given to a standby passenger on this super busy travel day. By not allowing adequate time, I fear this nice person had a terrible day. For example, how many later flights were full, when she tried to stand by? Did Southwest honor her original low fare? After all, it was not responsible for the delay. In this travel environment, especially during school holidays and especially when using two separate tickets for your trip, you have to cushion your connections.