I don't mine connections if they keep me on my preferred airline. Need to chase that elite status...

Anonymous wrote:I keep getting screwed by paying more for nonstop and then the airline changes the ticket and adds a stop. It’s infuriating.

That happened to me last summer. I ended up scratching the plan and going somewhere else. I was able to apply the flight credit to a different itinerary. But yeah, a 4 hour nonstop turned into 7 hours or so. No thanks, not with kids and for only five days.

Take the nonstop. It's better for the environment and much less likely to be delayed or have lost luggage. Your time is valuable.

For those of you who avoid connections, what do you do about places that require it, like Alaska or Kauai? Do you just not go? There are so many places with no direct flights from DC.

I keep getting screwed by paying more for nonstop and then the airline changes the ticket and adds a stop. It’s infuriating.

It totally depends but I would not pay $1K more. Times 4 people that is my budget for an entire vacation.

I don't fly well so I generally choose direct if it's an option.

Depend on the length of the trip, if time is tight, like a long weekend trip, I am willing to pay a lot more.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nonstop always and especially if the airport transfer is Charlotte.

Is Charlotte worse than Atlanta? I changed planes there once and vowed never again. Charlotte is another option for my typical destinations.

I’ve never had a Charlotte connection that wasn’t on the entire opposite side of the airport. Plan for time if you choose Charlotte if yours have been like mine.

As someone who flies through Charlotte constantly, I couldn't disagree more. Charlotte is one of the few airports where even if your connection is on the opposite side of the airport, you can actually make it if you simply bust a move. No trams or shuttles to wait for, you can rely on your two feet and nothing more. Familiarity obviously helps so study the map ahead of time if you need to.

Agree. Charlotte is a piece of cake compared with trying to transfer at O'Hare. At O'Hare, they never plan enough time and you are going like 18 miles to get from one gate to another there. It's huge, the trip between terminals is not easy or fast and you always seem to get one end of one terminal and the opposite end of the other terminal so you are going across the entire airport to get from one gate to another.

O'Hare is the one that I avoid. Midway is bad, but so, so, so much better than O'Hare.

Sometimes you have no choice on destination, such as with a family reunion or wedding. In those cases, I will pay a good $150 or so per ticket to get that nonstop, especially with kids in tow and especially if the connection appears terribly short or horribly long.

In other cases, I just change the destination to one with nonstops just about all the time. I'm fortunate to live 30 minutes from a major airport. We're going to Panama this spring break, for example. Why? Because the tickets were nonstop and under $600 RT. And I'm taking a short solo trip to Paris, which I wouldn't have picked if I couldn't get a reasonable nonstop flight.

I was okay with occasional stops before kids and before travel got SO MUCH WORSE. Heck, I once flew 35 hours from Chicago to Bangkok including five airports to get there using miles. But I was in my 20s, close to broke, solo, and had plenty of time. Things are just a bit different now.

Anonymous wrote:Nope non stop only.

Same. So much so that I’ll change destinations or travel dates to avoid a stop. Getting on and off of flights is the most stressful part, so I’ll pay to avoid doing it more than once. And dealing with customs during a layover on the way home from an international trip is miserable.

If you plan on checking bags take the nonstop back so you don’t have to pick up your bags and recheck.

Going you don’t have to worry about it as they’ll transfer your bags through.

Nope non stop only.

I use my hourly salary to determine how much my personal time is worth. If I make 80 dollars an hour, then I would pay up to $160 to avoid a 2 hour layover.

With 4 of us, I usually try to find a cheap nonstop but if planning doesn't work out in my favor, I will just take the stop. Not for something short, though. Yesterday I booked a flight with a stop for this summer on a route I usually fly nonstop, but the price difference was 300/pp and the stop is relatively low risk.

I really try to avoid layovers in notorious airports during winter.