If domestic connections stresses you out, than I cannot imagine what an international one will make you feel like! Yesterday my brother asked me what I thought about a trip to South America which required transiting in a major Hub known to have a lot of delays and other issues. I hope this post provides you things you should consider before booking international travel that includes a connection.

Why Not Just Book Direct

Before we dive into key considerations for transiting, let’s first address flying direct. For the purposes of this post we are discussing long-haul international flights. Miami to Cancun is not what we are discussing. Think more like Boston to Tokyo or San Francisco to Paris. The reality is outside of New York, LA and a few others, direct long-haul international flights are hard to come by in the United States. When you do find a direct flight it can often be outrageously expensive (as the airline knows they are the only direct option). For example, a direct flight on United Airlines between Houston and Rio is over 1,000 each way in Economy. I can fly to Lisbon from Newark on TAP Portugal in Business for that price!

Why are International Connections Risky

International connections are risky for precisely the same reasons as domestic ones,

• Short connections = missed connections
• Dealing with 2 aircrafts which means more potential for mechanical and staffing issues
• More chances for bad weather
• 2 OPPORTUNITIES OF SITTING NEXT TO A PASSENGER WITH A BABY, THE HORROR!
• Etc.

However what makes international connections more ‘fun’ is if you do end up missing a connection or deal with a cancellation your next flight is likely on a different day which means you are now staying in this foreign country.

Key Considerations

When looking at flights and I determine an international connection makes sense I factor in the following (in no particular order);

• Price
• Location of connection
• Length of connection
• Airline
• Airport
• Same Reservation

Price

It goes without saying that if a direct flight costs less than a few hundred dollars more than connecting than I am flying direct. A few hundred dollars is worth convenience of one flight and reduced risk. However if a connection is dramatically cheaper than of course I will connect.

Location of Connection

This one may seem obvious, but you would be surprised. Did you know Istanbul is not very close to Zurich or Bogota is VERY far from Sao Paulo? Please look at a map before booking anything as you don’t want to add countless hours on a plane just to save a quick buck. Make sure your connection is on the path or near your destination to ensure your flights are equal length OR one leg is very short. For example we are flying through Paris on our way home from Barcelona in a few months which is technically out of the way, but the flight is less than an hour so it’s fine!

Another key consideration here is make sure you are connecting somewhere you would be willing to stay the night in with easy entry. If it requires a visa, don’t transit there. If it is a country that you have political or social reasons to stay away from,  please don’t transfer there. I would not fly Air Saudia even if it is much cheaper since they are a dry airline….and I like men. I would rather not spend the night in Saudi Arabia if there was an issue.

Finally, if it makes sense, always fly through the EU. They have much stricter consumer protections for stranded passengers that includes hotel accommodations AND 600 dollars in reimbursement per passanger.

Length of Connection

Please do not book an international connection with a transit time of less than I 90 minutes. Remember you still have to go through customs and a lot of times you are dealing with massive airports where the shorter flights can be quite a long walk or bus ride away. However sometimes connections can also be well over 12 hours so keep an eye out for that too as that can potentially be way too long, unless you wanted to use the long connection to see another city, but than airport location comes back into play as we all know JFK doesn’t provide much access to Manhattan.

Airline

This goes without saying but a sh*ty airline probably provides sh*ty transit services. Make sure the airline has a good reputation. For example Aeromexico provides a lot of connection opportunities to Latin America through Mexico City, but due to their current safety reputation I would avoid.

Many airlines also have business models that are all about connections. Did you know the following airlines operate in pretty easy airports, provide free stopovers if you want to check out for free another country and are generally cheaper than the competition because their business model is all about easy connections for their passengers,

• TAP Portugal
• Copa Airlines
• Iceland Air
• Azores Air
• Turkish Airlines
• Korean Airways

Airport

While airports like Heathrow can connect you literally anywhere….do a quick google search and avoid airports known to be a nightmare for connections. You may also want to check and see what the lounge situation, hotel choice and general neighborhood of a potential international connection airport in case you have to stay the night.

Same Reservation

DO NOT BOOK CONNECTIONS UNDER TWO DIFFERENT RESERVATIONS. Two different airlines under the same reservation is totally fine, but do not go on delta.com and book Atlanta to London and then Luftansa.com to book London to Frankfurt. You will have to check in twice, check luggage twice and if you miss a connection, it is your problem as the airlines will not recognize it as a connection. Delta was flying you to London remember, they don’t care about your flight to Frankfurt. 

In Conclusion

Hopefully this guide will be helpful as you assess whether an international connection makes sense. If you follow these guidelines, you should have a pretty good experience, even if complications arise. What are some of your tips for connections?

Bon Voyage,

Andrew

PS Try not to check bags for international connections.