Flights on separate airlines

Humblebrag alert!

Good luck with only a 30-min layover.

I presume because this a beach vacation, you'll be carrying on rather than checking luggage. Midwest-to-PHX-to-LA sounds like a real slog to me. Consider flying the day before on SWA to LA, and on to Tahiti the next day, if you can afford it. It would relieve a lot of stress and make for a better vacation. I wouldn't bother on the return trip.

PHX airport is massive with people movers between terminals. Just so straight to LAX for so many reasons.

30 mins in Phoenix is too risky - takes up to 10 mins to just get off the plane unless you're in first.

Remove the risk and the stress - it's always worth it. An awful way to start your holiday.

Different airlines usually means different terminals. Sky Harbour is a big airport. Thirty minutes will be tight. Do the math, dummy.

Or you can just miss your flight and learn your lesson. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes, as they say.

I was assuming there wasn't a change of planes in PHX, and the stopover was to pick up more passengers.

You ASSumed wrong. There haven’t been such flights in the US for decades. Dumbest post of the day^

r7 You ok?

This sounds like a junior high math problem and it shut my brain down. Sorry, can't help.

If your first flight is even a little late, you’re screwed. If it were the same airline, I’d have more faith they’re wait for you

From what dead burg can you fly to PHX but not directly to LAX?

0/10 EST

First world problems.

I'm seeing trouble ahead.

Are you insane, R7? A couple of years ago, friends of our and we were going to the same event. Their plane stopped at our airport, and continued to our ultimate destination. We were able to hang on the plane with them. The people on the first leg can't deplane. You dumb fuck.

Passengers on direct (not nonstop) Southwest flights do not have to deplane during stops, e.g., a flight from Midway to LAX with a stop in PHX.

Southwest does not fly to Tahiti, so once at LAX, you would need to claim your bags at Southwest in T1 then make your way to TBIT to check in with Air France or Air Tahiti Nui at least two hours prior to departure for the next flight.

If you will have three hours between arrival at and departure from LAX, it’s possible. But I wouldn’t risk the flight to LAX being late.

OP with all due respect if you're concerned at the additional cost of an SWA flight and possible overnight in some basic LAX hotel you really should be reconsidering Tahiti - if, indeed, you were ever really going there - it’s horrendously expensive.

The people in first class are jews. The dress is blue? I'm not sure.

[quote]The people in first class are jews. The dress is blue? I'm not sure.

Oh, I see the fucking Nazi contingent has arrived. Whatever would we do without them?

If you're checking luggage, I would allow at least 3 hours in case of delays to ensure your luggage makes it.

Also, I'd make sure to pack a change of clothes and toiletries into carry-on luggage in case your luggage doesn't make it.

Personally, I'd rather be sitting around the airport than stressing and running from one gate to another, especially in bigger airports on different airlines. Or worse, missing the flight and having to scramble to rebook, most likely on a flight the next day for a place like Tahiti.

I just looked on Expedia. Flights from Chicago to Tahiti are cheaper than from LAX . Midweek departure in November 1077 vs 1454. 1 stop in SEA. I sugest you engage the services of a travel agent. Nobody in their right mind would plan a trip as you propose.

I have a sibling who proudly books the cheapest, most circuitous flight options and takes a strange pride in saving nominal amounts of money navigating tight (or sometimes very long) layovers. It’s like a game, and it sometimes includes leaving late for the airport and often in the least expensive Uber option. Every time she travels, there is a story about how they almost missed a connecting flight, and she’s usually indignant about everyone involved (“this FAT couple was moving so slow!”, “the gate agent was so RUDE to me!”., etc)

She’s also willing to call relatives and sometimes friends of friends to say “Hi! We’re coming to ______ for ____ on ______. Will you be around?” Yet by asking that, she actually means “Can we use your guest room, arrive near midnight and leave early that next morning for the city that you happen live near?”.

How old are you, OP?

r21 It's fun to embellish, isn't it?

OP, you're planning a trip for next winter this far in advance? Fine, but draw a line under how far you will go to save a few coins or an hour -- assuming everything goes absolutely perfectly.

Don't skimp of things that make every stop a mad race and complicate the possibilities of fuck ups. A half hour to change planed and airlines is ridiculous unless it's such a backwater that it's the only possible flight connection of the day.

Booking everything with one airline has the advantage 1.) that they will try to be of some help in sorting you out when you land in a mess, and 2.) avoids one airline saying it's the fault of the other and washing their hands of you. If booking through a single airline is not possible, you have to allow a reasonable amount of time for at least a minor delay in arrival and deplaning, and for finding your way to the next leg of your journey. Thirty minutes was almost certainly insufficient in anything but a stroke of sprinting and extreme good fortune of all delays falling in your favor. Take a book, take a nap, but don't take it for granted that you can get from one arrivals get to another departure gate in 39.minutes, even at the same airport. Many small flights complete boarding 30 minutes before departure time, in which case you're fucked even if arrival and departure gates are next to one another.

“ OP, you're planning a trip for next winter this far in advance?”

Not OP. But my partner tries to plan 9 months out. He’s a doctor with a patient schedule that he swears fills up that far in advance.

Also, when you book this far in advance, whatever flight times you pick may be substantially rearranged by the time you actually leave.

And if you are flying on different airlines, then you might end up totally fucked because the airline that takes you Tahiti will not give a single shit about the fact that your Southwest airline made you delayed. So get travel insurance.

Never, ever book connecting flights between two U.S. cities unless nonstop flights don’t exist in your city.

Never.

In this thread, there's a lot of patient advice FOR morons as well as hysterical advice BY morons.

Is all of this one ticket? If so, then the airlines probably have partnership agreement which will help if things get screwed-up. Are you checking any bags---good luck because two connections ups the odds of lost luggage esp. with a close connection.

I never leave less than an hour for a domestic connection; I'm usually on the same carrier the whole way and try not to check any baggage on my way to a destination.

Booking far ahead isn't a bad idea--it's often the only way to book popular routes with miles and the prices often are lower than if you book closer to the date. Still, doing a direct flight to LAX makes more sense than having a domestic connection, esp. on that's pretty close to LA anyway.

r28 You doing ok, sweetie?

OP, why bother with Tahiti when you can enjoy Hawaii which is practically the same. Just fly to hawaii.

Dangerous. Very dangerous. If the Southwest flight is late and you don’t make the onward flight, you will lose the entire value of your ticket as you will be a no show for it. Southwest doesn’t interline with any other carriers, so it’s impossible this could be one one connected ticket.

[quote] OP, you're planning a trip for next winter this far in advance?

I have two cruises in 2026 that I’m planning for. I’ll be booking 2027 later this year. I booked flights for a May, 2026 cruise as soon as they became available, 330 days out.

Fly to LAX. stay overnight and fly to Tahiti the next day. Or take a redeye to LAX, then book Tahiti for afternoon.

[quote] OP, why bother with Tahiti when you can enjoy Hawaii which is practically the same. Just fly to hawaii.

Everyone should be focused on getting OP to give up on going to Tahiti and getting a refund or flight credit for his mistake.

R35: Or hope he gets stuck in Phoenix on the hottest day of the year. That will teach him.

I wonder if OP has a fully refundable ticket or one that only allows a credit. If you're going to be cheap, don't be so cheap as to limit your options.

OP Pete Buttigeig insisted the Airlines adopt certain rules. Go check them out so you know your rights. You could get money.

Mayor Pete advocated for common sense rules for how airlines should treat passengers. He did not advocate for rules about how passengers who deliberately book dumbass itineraries should be relieved of the obligations that come with booking dumbass itineraries.

OP here. Thanks for the info.

I ended up changing it to depart on Christmas instead of 12/26. I will have 3 nights in Papeeti instead of 1. AA would not let me change it to starting from LAX instead of here, so I couldn't do the SWA to LAX.

r38 Unclench, sweetheart - seems like OP was just asking a question. If this topic is so triggering, why visit?

Bless your heart OP / R39 and I hope you enjoy Papeete (note spelling) which is a shit hole before you can get away to Bora Bora or somewhere else. Better brush up on your French and start saving - Taheedi is expensive!

Booking a separate flight on Southwest to LAX is a bad idea, unless it’s the day before and you’re staying overnight. If ANYTHING goes wrong with the Southwest flight, you are shit out of luck and your next airline will cancel your entire trip if you’re not at LAX ready to board on time.

That said, a 30 minute connection in PHX is also stupid. Although American offers a ton of those very tight PHX connections for some dumb reason. The next flight will already be boarding before you’re even supposed to arrive at your gate. You would have to be a moron to book that.

[quote]If ANYTHING goes wrong with the Southwest flight, you are shit out of luck and your next airline will cancel your entire trip if you’re not at LAX ready to board on time.

I've never not been accommodated on a later flight if I miss a flight. However, if one realizes they are going to miss a flight, they have the option to cancel it before the flight and usually get at least flight credit.

R38 Did Mayor Pete advocate these things while he was on paternity leave and watching Chasen breast feed or when he was on one of his many "vacations" while the airline industry imploded? Asking for a friend.

r44 You seem lost and unhinged. Are you ok?

Asking for a friend.