Missed your connecting flight? Take a breath, because what happens next mostly comes down to how you booked. If both flights are on one ticket, the airline is responsible for getting you to your destination, and it'll rebook you, usually for free. If you booked two separate tickets to save money, you may be on your own.
That one detail decides almost everything, so it's worth knowing which kind of trip you're on before you land.
One Ticket or Two?
One ticket means you booked the whole trip in one go, with one confirmation number. If your first flight is late and you miss the second, that's the airline's problem. It'll put you on the next available flight to your destination, and if it can't get you there until tomorrow because of something within its control, many airlines will cover a hotel and meals. The rebooking applies whether you missed the connection by two minutes or two hours.
Two tickets means you booked each flight separately, often on different airlines, because it was cheaper. Here, the second airline doesn't know or care that your first flight was late. To them, you just didn't show up. You may lose that ticket and have to buy a new one, which is the hidden risk behind a lot of "too good to be true" fares.
If you're not sure which you have, check your confirmation email. One booking number for the whole trip almost always means one ticket.
What to Do the Moment You Miss It
Don't join the giant line at the customer service desk first. Do three things at once instead:
- Open your airline's app. Most big US airlines automatically rebook passengers who miss a connection, and the new flight often shows up in the app before anyone at the airport can tell you about it.
- Call the airline while you walk. If the app hasn't rebooked you, a phone agent can often do it faster than the airport line. If the US line is jammed, airlines' international numbers sometimes pick up quicker.
- Look for other options yourself. If you see a better flight, including on a partner airline, ask for it by flight number. Agents can often do more than they offer.
If the delay was the airline's fault and you're stuck overnight, ask about a hotel and meal vouchers. In the US, that's usually airline policy rather than law, so it helps to be polite and specific.
How to Avoid It Next Time
The simplest fix is time. Airlines will sell you connections as short as 30 or 40 minutes, but at a big hub that can mean a train ride between terminals. Giving yourself at least an hour on domestic trips, and two hours on international ones where you may clear immigration, takes a lot of the panic out of it.
Sitting near the front of the plane helps too, and so does skipping the checked bag on tight connections. And if your inbound flight is running late, tell the crew before landing. They can't hold the next plane for you, but they can sometimes let you off first.
If your flight ends up canceled rather than just missed, it's worth knowing what airlines owe you in that case too.
