Questions and Answers

I am flying from Cincinnati to Florence with my husband and our 16 month old son on Feb 6th ..So excited!!!

We booked a flight from EWR to FLR (departing EWR at 6:15 PM on Feb 6) with TAP Portugal (TP 202) and we are on a separate ticket with Delta from CVG to EWR, DL3423 (departing CVG at 1:15 PM on Feb 6, scheduled arrival at EWR 3:15 PM). So with our plan we should be at the airport 3 hours before departure which would be perfect but I have been tracking the DL 3423 flight and that’s often been delayed more than 2 hours in the past week. Per TAP the gates close 45 min before the take off (which is strange but that’s the answer I got).

Both these flights will be at Terminal B at EWR. Even if we decide to take only carry on so we can directly get to gate instead of trying to go through baggage claim and security, I feel very nervous if we will be able to make this flight. We will be taking a stroller which we plan to gate check.
Since these are two separate tickets, I don’t know if Delta or TAP will offer us another flight or we will be stuck.

I called Delta with this and they said they can book me on an earlier flight which departs CVG at 6 AM after paying the $400+ difference so that would leave us at the airport for 12 hours with a toddler and exhausting recipe for upcoming vacation.

Please help!! Thanks so much for any tips you can provide or please wish us luck that we make it there on time:)

Wanted to add, we are not loyalty members of either airlines but we paid using Chase Sapphire Reserve card (point for EWR to FLR and money for CVG to EWR). Both are on my husband’s credit card.

With the Polar Vortex affecting a large number of flights this week I don’t know if that can really be used as a good baseline. That said, booking these flights with only a 3-hour gap was a fairly tight connection since most airlines want you checked in 2 hours ahead of time (assuming you have checked luggage). However, looking at Delta’s non-stops to EWR, I see why the flight you booked looked attractive.

If the full cost of changing the tickets is $400-500 then it may be worth it. United has a flight leaving just after noon and arriving just after 2 PM for $350 so if your change fees are going to be more expensive than buying new tickets you may want to consider that. I did not check to see whether or not the United flight has been running on time or not but again, due to the weather it may have had the same issues. Flight Aware can track more than a week so it might be worth it to check FA for both flights and see how things were working awhile back.

Good luck!

Have you explored other options with Delta that would put you in Newark the evening before (for perhaps the same ticket price) and then getting a room in one of the many hotels near the airport with free shuttle service?

Not wanting to give you a false sense of security, normally weather events result in delays and cancellations across most airlines transiting the airport, whether inbound or outbound. Many times I landed at an airport seemingly too late for my connection only to discover that my outbound flight was late and I was “on time,” for the delayed departure of my connecting flight. If you can’t find a reasonable work around with Delta, I’d just go with your current arrangements.

[QUOTE=”MidSouth Skier, post: 62579, member: 184″]With the Polar Vortex affecting a large number of flights this week I don’t know if that can really be used as a good baseline. That said, booking these flights with only a 3-hour gap was a fairly tight connection since most airlines want you checked in 2 hours ahead of time (assuming you have checked luggage). However, looking at Delta’s non-stops to EWR, I see why the flight you booked looked attractive.

If the full cost of changing the tickets is $400-500 then it may be worth it. United has a flight leaving just after noon and arriving just after 2 PM for $350 so if your change fees are going to be more expensive than buying new tickets you may want to consider that. I did not check to see whether or not the United flight has been running on time or not but again, due to the weather it may have had the same issues. Flight Aware can track more than a week so it might be worth it to check FA for both flights and see how things were working awhile back.

Good luck![/QUOTE]
Thanks so much for your reply. Seems like the United flight you mentioned has better track record that the Delta. We’ll definitely look into it.

I was wondering if you can provide any insights into what would be our options in case we miss our flight from EWR due to delay caused by Delta. We plan to have carry on only. Either airlines try to get us to our destination or trip delay/ interruption protection?

[QUOTE=”Gia, post: 62581, member: 1566″]Have you explored other options with Delta that would put you in Newark the evening before (for perhaps the same ticket price) and then getting a room in one of the many hotels near the airport with free shuttle service?

Not wanting to give you a false sense of security, normally weather events result in delays and cancellations across most airlines transiting the airport, whether inbound or outbound. Many times I landed at an airport seemingly too late for my connection only to discover that my outbound flight was late and I was “on time,” for the delayed departure of my connecting flight. If you can’t find a reasonable work around with Delta, I’d just go with your current arrangements.[/QUOTE]

Thanks so much for your reply Gia. Delta hasn’t been very helpful saying they will accommodate us in case of a delay but since our ongoing flight is not with Delta, I’m skeptical and worry we’ll start our vacation on the wrong foot. The flight out of EWR has been departing on time the past week; since I’ve been tracking it every day 🙂

Thanks a lot for your input!

If you miss your flight on TAP most airlines will generally work with you to try to get you on the next flight but that may be the next day. You’d need to contact your hotel to make them aware of a late arrival too.

I think Gia’s suggestion of getting to EWR the night before is a good one. You could also stay in the hotel until at least noon which would be less time you’d have to spend in the terminal with the baby.

[QUOTE=”MidSouth Skier, post: 62591, member: 184″]If you miss your flight on TAP most airlines will generally work with you to try to get you on the next flight but that may be the next day. You’d need to contact your hotel to make them aware of a late arrival too.

I think Gia’s suggestion of getting to EWR the night before is a good one. You could also stay in the hotel until at least noon which would be less time you’d have to spend in the terminal with the baby.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for getting back to me. I’ll explore this option more.

I think everyone’s advice here is spot-on and worth exploring, but I would also say that looking at the previous 2 week weather and on-time report is slightly skewed. The weather on the east coast has been absolutely horrible, and especially the polar vortex areas, have been wreaking havoc on air travel.

Looking quick at New York City area weather for the next 7 days, show sunny skies in the 50s through to February 6th when you are traveling.

[QUOTE=”rickyw, post: 62596, member: 1436″]I think everyone’s advice here is spot-on and worth exploring, but I would also say that looking at the previous 2 week weather and on-time report is slightly skewed. The weather on the east coast has been absolutely horrible, and especially the polar vortex areas, have been wreaking havoc on air travel.

Looking quick at New York City area weather for the next 7 days, show sunny skies in the 50s through to February 6th when you are traveling.[/QUOTE]
So true. Thanks for your reply.

We wndee up booking the United flight at noon just to be safe and so we can check in a bag. Thanks so much for your help guys!

As a follow-up, was the Delta CVG-EWR flight the first leg of a round-trip? As in, did you have an EWR-CVG leg booked for the return on the same reservation? If so, that will be cancelled if you don’t take the CVG-EWR leg. Wouldn’t want you to arrive back from Europe only to find you were stuck in Newark.