What does it mean when a flight "connects"?

Question

Be patient with me, I haven't been on an airplane since I was four years old. I was looking at booking a flight to California for a surprise trip for my fiancee. But several of the flights on the travel site connect in other cities. What does that mean? Does that mean that you have to get off the plane and get on another plane or does the plane stop and other people get on the plane (without us getting off the plane) I've never done this before so explaining what I would do when a flight connects would be very helpful. How do you know what to do and where to go if you have to get off the plane and get on anther plane? Is it confusing? Is it easy to get lost? Is it scary? I'm really nervous about getting lost in strange places when I travel. I've noticed that flights are much much cheaper when you connect, is it worth saving the money? Please help!

Answer 1

When your flight "connects" it means YOU get off the plane and get on another plane.

When other people get on your plane it's called a "stop over".

When they talk about a "layover" it means that you could have several hours wait between the plane you got off to the "connecting" flight.

Airports nowadays are pretty well laid out and information is easy to come by, signs everywhere, gates are numbered and information monitors are all over the place. In the big ones there's cops all over the place, in addition to airport and airline staff that know the place like it's their backyard, so there's plenty of people to guide you. Even in smaller airports you will ALWAYS find someone to ask questions.

Some of the bigger airports are old and not as well laid out, and not much to do, so waiting between planes can be a challenge and really, really boring, take a book or something to do, plus something warm to wear, because sometimes they set thermostat for a terminal full of people, people generate heat, but if it's late at night and all those people are gone, it can get cold in some of these places.

Also take something to snack on, power bars, cookies, or something like that, in some airports it's amazingly difficult to find something to eat, or there will be plenty of eateries BUT most of them will close way before the last passengers are gone.

Most airlines operate in a hub & spoke system... visualize a bicycle wheel, the hub is the center of the wheel, all points outward are the spokes. In other words the airline picks a large city or airport as it's "center of operations" (some airlines have more than one) then they fly you from a smaller city to the big city, there you get off your plane, get on another plane and  from there they'll fly you to your destination.

Here's an example, there ARE NO direct flights from Baton Rouge to Las Vegas, first you fly from Baton Rouge in a small jet (50 passengers) to Dallas or Houston, there you get off, you wait a couple of hours then you get on a larger plane to go to Las Vegas. Unless of course you are flying Delta, in which case you first go east (?) to Atlanta in order to go west from there. Most Delta flights stop over in Atlanta.

Sometimes it gets crazier than that, take Ft. Lauderdale to Kansas City. Ft. Lauderdale to Tampa (not enough time to open your peanut bag), from Tampa to Dallas and from there to KC, it was winter, there were delays, I could have driven there faster, they lost my luggage (what else is new) in one flight the one of the toilets broke and the plane stunk. Not all flight experiences are this bad. :)

Bu there is a joke: a guy goes to the ticket counter and says to the rep "I'd like to book a flight from New York to Los Angeles, I want my luggage to go to Miami and I want to end up in New Orleans", the ticket agent looks at the guy like he's nuts and says "sir, we can't do that", the guy answers "I don't see why not, you did it last week..."

Answer 2

Whoa, so many questions! Just kidding with ya.

1. When a flight says it "connects" in a city, it means that you'll have to get off of your first plane and get on a different one. For example: I flew from Paris to New Orleans, and my flight connected in Miami. I had to change planes in Miami.

2. Once you land in an airport, there are usually (almost always) gate agents that will help you find your next flight. Just tell them your destination and they'll tell you what gate it is and, if necessary, how to get there.

Connecting flights 101:

- Once you arrive at the connecting airport, look for flight status boards as soon as you disembark the plane - they'll either be flat-screen TVs or tube-style TVs and are located throughout the terminal. Find your destination on this board (e.g. Los Angeles) and look for the gate number - should be listed right next to it. If there has been a gate change, the new gate will be listed up there. You'll also want to note the status - On Time, Delayed, etc. If the flight has been delayed, the new departing time will be displayed. ALWAYS go by what the screens say, NOT what your boarding pass says, because it's subject to change.

- Keep that gate number in your head and look for signs overhead that will direct you to it. If you have to change terminals, look for signs that lead to the terminal *first*, then follow the signs to the gate once you're in the new terminal.

- It's only easy to get lost in an airport if you can't (or don't) read the signs. There are directional signs EVERYWHERE. When in doubt, look for one.

- If you do get lost or are unsure that you're going the right way, just ask a nearby gate agent for directions to your gate.

Connecting flights are definitely worth saving the money - they're not hard at all. Just find your gate, take a seat, and wait for your plane to start boarding.

Hope this helps. Have a great trip!

Answer 3

When ur flight connects, that can either mean you switch planes or stay on the same plane and others get on. Check your plane number and see if the airplane number or name is the same after you land in a city. If it's different then you're gonna be changing if it's the same then yah. Your staying on the plane.  

Answer 4

It means that you get of of one plane in a place and get on another plane about half way to your destination. Like if you left from Gander Newfoundland and stop in Ontario and get on another plane and it takes you to your destination.

Answer 5

It means you stop at one of the airline's hubs. In case you don't know what a hub is, it is the airline's main city where most of their planes stop. For example, AirTran's hub is Atlanta. Northwest's are Detroit, Minneapolis and Memphis.  

Answer 6

It could mean either. You might be able to stay inside the plane, or possibly would have to get off and change planes. Look at the itinerary-- if it has a different departure time and differend airline/flight number, then you will have to get off and check into a different flight.

If you do have to get off and onto another plane, you should give yourself at least 2 hours time. If it's less than that, you may want to reconsider the flight and choose another one. Unless you know the airport well and have experience flying, it can be confusing. You never know how many terminals you have to walk through to get to your next flight. In most connecting flights you DONT have to get your luggage to transfer, but it's still stressful if you have to get off, go through security-- sometimes even passport control if you're flying internationally, just to get into a connecting flight.

If in doubt, call the airline, and they can give you more information on the connection.