American is giving me 11 minutes to connect in DFW

[DandyDon]

Not American but looks like United Saturday flights have better connection times through Houston from Lubbock Not certain about cost difference (and bag fee difference ) and whether Saturdays work for you. Goal would be to get refund on American for ridiculous connection time obviously. Understand that may not work for a variety of reasons but figured I would throw it out there.

Ok, yeah, it looks like United has Saturday itineraries without overnight stops both ways. I can either arrive on my birthday or leave on my birthday which means I don't dive on my birthday which ruins my tradition of August trips every year. Get my $200+ back from American and pay United $339. I already have a $100+ voucher with American for rebooking this trip at the lower fare and a pending refund request for our canceled trip to California to see the Giant Trees and Kings Canyon recently opened after they changed those flights & times significantly - but we're really afraid to fly in those Petri dishes, then get to-go meals for the weekend. So much to keep up with.

I absolutely hate the layover hotel though..

Yeah, me too, but the Cancun return would be tough. To catch an American flight at 11 am, I'd need to be at the airport by 9 am, which means leave PDC at 8 am, so I'd need a ferry leaving Cozumel no later than 7 am, so leave the hotel at 6 am. I'd hate that if it was possible, but neither of the ferry companies shows crossings leaving before 9 am.

The bag drag isn’t that bad if you have never done it. Although is more expensive. Looking at somewhere in the range of $100 return to the ferry for a private car . $30 return for the ferry and $30 each way for the porters at playa ferry dock. Then say $15 for your cab on Cozumel...so yeah I suppose it does add up.

Oh, I've done it, but your prices are way too high. Ultramar is quoting 250 Pesos = $11.20 USD and Winjet is quoting $10 USD. I stay at a downtown hotel so my cab car would be around 110 Pesos or $5. I have a cheaper van guy I use and I am not tipping porters $30 at each dock. The timing doesn't work tho.

 

[Saxonjd]

Hi Don,

Exact same thing happened with me on my flights. Was leaving CZM on AA and had a 3 hr layover in DFW before my flight to SEA that same night. Canceled that flight (last one out) and put me on the earlier flight with a 10-15 min. layover. No way one can make a connection like that (or even 40 min if you need to clear customs, recheck your luggage, and re-clear security).

Instead, I didn't make any changes until 2 weeks prior to my flight as I wanted to get close enough to departure time that most of the issues with canceling and rearranging flights were worked through. Plus prices seemed to be pretty stable as I researched closer in flight prices. I did not want to have to deal with an overnight on the way home (I already have one on the way down because I hate redeyes), so I canceled the return and got my points back (mileage ticket).

I then booked Sun Country at 11:15 out of CZM, and have a 3 hr. layover in DFW and then a flight on AS that will get me into SEA at 8 PM. All in with seat assignments and luggage costs will be about $350. Looking at the bag drag, to get home same day, the flights out of CUN would be around 1pm at the latest, and with the limited ferry schedule, I would have had to stay the night in Playa or by the airport, which I didn't want to do.

Downside with my plan is that I had to extend my trip 2 days since Sun Country only flies 2x/week (I guess that's a downside??), and if there's an issue with my Sun Country flight then my AS flight isn't protected since they are separate tickets on separate carriers. I do have travel insurance that can help cover me if needed though. Oh, and I have to transfer terminals outside security to check into AS and check my luggage. Sun Country was $120 before paying for seats and bags, so pretty reasonable. You could book that flight and then connect onto an earlier AA flight, and if issues change your AA flight to later if you don't book the last one of the day.

Good luck! Heading down tomorrow!

 

[Ministryofgiraffes]

yep, doesn't look likely with those times unfortunately/fortunately ( as it helps make your mind up i suppose)

and just for clarity. i usually tip $15 each side for around 150 lbs for porter $30 would be too rich for my blood too..

 

[skippy311]

That must be a joke? A connection at Heathrow takes well over an hour!
Best to contact the airline and ask to be put on a different conncection.

That sounds kinda tight, doesn't it? That includes clearing Immigration and Customs. I hope I don't have to change terminals.

It seems that the 3:52 pm departure from CZM to DFW has been pushed back to 4:11 pm for all of us who have to go thru there. That plane still arrives in CZM at about the same time of 3:13 pm, but they insist that they now need longer to turn it around - a margarita break? Then the 9:00 pm departure to Lubbock just doesn't anymore. The last flight to the Hub City is now at 7:16 pm, and they expect me to be on it. I checked their site and all DFW to Lubbock one-way tickets are also priced at $876! For that price, I'd expect round-trip travel to Europe, but that'd be a same day trip since they wouldn't let me in.

View attachment 596205


Well, at the worst I suppose I could use this as grounds for a cash refund on my ticket if I chicken out on going. I still hope to go even tho I fear riding in the flying Petri dishes, so for now I think I need to shop for a DFW hotel. Thinks I can get them to pay for it?

 

[BRT]

Ok, yeah, it looks like United has Saturday itineraries without overnight stops both ways. I can either arrive on my birthday or leave on my birthday which means I don't dive on my birthday which ruins my tradition of August trips every year. Get my $200+ back from American and pay United $339. I already have a $100+ voucher with American for rebooking this trip at the lower fare and a pending refund request for our canceled trip to California to see the Giant Trees and Kings Canyon recently opened after they changed those flights & times significantly - but we're really afraid to fly in those Petri dishes, then get to-go meals for the weekend. So much to keep up with.


Yeah, me too, but the Cancun return would be tough. To catch an American flight at 11 am, I'd need to be at the airport by 9 am, which means leave PDC at 8 am, so I'd need a ferry leaving Cozumel no later than 7 am, so leave the hotel at 6 am. I'd hate that if it was possible, but neither of the ferry companies shows crossings leaving before 9 am.


Oh, I've done it, but your prices are way too high. Ultramar is quoting 250 Pesos = $11.20 USD and Winjet is quoting $10 USD. I stay at a downtown hotel so my cab car would be around 110 Pesos or $5. I have a cheaper van guy I use and I am not tipping porters $30 at each dock. The timing doesn't work tho.

i'd bet that for around $100 a Cozumel taxi driver would take you to the airport.

Editrobably $125

 

[DandyDon]

Instead, I didn't make any changes until 2 weeks prior to my flight as I wanted to get close enough to departure time that most of the issues with canceling and rearranging flights were worked through. Plus prices seemed to be pretty stable as I researched closer in flight prices. I did not want to have to deal with an overnight on the way home (I already have one on the way down because I hate redeyes), so I canceled the return and got my points back (mileage ticket).

Yeah, the airlines are still in chaos, and their computers can't keep up with the changes, so I am hesitant to even try now.

I then booked Sun Country at 11:15 out of CZM, and have a 3 hr. layover in DFW and then a flight on AS that will get me into SEA at 8 PM. All in with seat assignments and luggage costs will be about $350. Looking at the bag drag, to get home same day, the flights out of CUN would be around 1pm at the latest, and with the limited ferry schedule, I would have had to stay the night in Playa or by the airport, which I didn't want to do.

Downside with my plan is that I had to extend my trip 2 days since Sun Country only flies 2x/week (I guess that's a downside??), and if there's an issue with my Sun Country flight then my AS flight isn't protected since they are separate tickets on separate carriers.

Who is AS? I'll keep it in mind, but I don't really want to fly Sun Country then change airlines.

I think that this might work if I can get American to keep my one-way flights to Coz and refund the difference...

Two one-ways with two airlines.

 

[Saxonjd]

Sorry, AS is Alaska Airlines. Good luck!

 

[DandyDon]

The two one-ways would work, at a higher cost for plane travel plus $60 more to get to Canun ($10 dock porter, $40 van ride, $10 dock porter), but a cheaper taxi ride leaving the hotel at lest. Be at the airport by 1:45 pm to check-in, leave PDC by 12:30 pm, and take whatever morning ferry there is that day. I don't think I want to go thru the hassle of changing now tho as so much is changing. I think I'll wait a month and see.

 

[chillyinCanada]

The two one-ways would work, at a higher cost for plane travel plus $50 more to get to Canun ($10 dock porter, $30 van ride, $10 dock porter - maybe more for the van?) , but a cheaper taxi ride leaving the hotel at lest. Be at the airport by 1:45 pm to check-in, leave PDC by 12:30 pm, and take whatever morning ferry there is that day. I don't think I want to go thru the hassle of changing now tho as some much is changing. I think I'll wait a month and see.

Sometimes the ju8ce ain't worth the squeeze

 

[agd]

It looks like any permutation or combination of flights have grief somewhere, whether it be the layover, the bag drag or red-eyes/early mornings. So, although inconvenient in another way, what about biting the bullet and doing the 4 1/2 drive to DFW each way? One check-in, one flight leg right to CZM, no connection anxiety when delays creep in. Sure it is a longish drive, but door to door probably not much more than doing a bag drag with allowances for bus/ferry waits or doing a lengthy airport connection. And in the comfort of your own car instead of crowded and noisy public facilities.

Of course AA might want to double the cost of the ticket when originating at their hub compared to connecting through from elsewhere. But otherwise, it might be a consideration as the least undesirable of all the inconvenient options.

Andy