To book a flight with a 45 minute connection?

[coffeeforone]

Looking at long haul flight options from London and one of them has a 45 minute connection in Warsaw. What do you think are the chances we will make this connection? Would the airline wait for us?

We are travelling with a toddler and a baby, so not sure if it's worth the risk of being stranded overnight. The next overnight flight is 24 hours later. The flight is much cheaper than some of the other options but not sure if it's worth the stress?

I think you know this won't work

I wouldn't with a 24 hrs wait for the next flight. You may well not get the pushchair back either. 24 unexpected hrs in Warsaw with kids, no lugage and no pushchair is a no from me.
Can you book an earlier flight into Warsaw?

PS 13 mins across Schipol is my record! The luggage didnt make that, but it was all my dirty washing, so I didn't really care. I just wanted my bed, and not to spend another 24 hrs with my boss!

Does the airline sell this as a connecting flight? If so then they must expect it to be doable and they'd be responsible for getting you to the final destination if you missed the flight. But with kids it's been a pain if you were stuck there overnight or if your luggage didn't make it to the next flight.

If not then you'd be chancing it. Our travel insurance requires 90 mins for connecting flights though i've done less. I'm another one who's sprinted through Schiphol (on more than one occasion) and generally KLM have got luggage onto the flight too. So it can be done.

We have 1hr 20m transfer time in Dubai, on the way to Japan, on Saturday/Sunday. I'm already feeling a bit stressed about it as it feels so short, but the airline claim its enough and it is within he same terminal. Eek! Not sure I could cope with even less time.

When we flew earlier this summer a number of people on our flight were having a relatively short transfer time and our plane was slightly delayed. They did, however, hold the other two planes and there were staff on hand at the gates to guide these people through and direct to their next plane. Assume transfer luggage must be placed together on the plane so its easier to transfer to the second flight.

If you get seated at the back of the plane, it can take 15 mins to even get off. Far too tight in my opinion.

As a single traveler that it would be an adventure if you missed the plane and you could manage without your luggage for a day - maybe!

With toddler and baby - hell no!!!!

I do a long-haul flight once a year with a 1-hour connection in Amsterdam - same airline - and have never not made it (my bags have always arrived, too). I know do it on my own or with one older child in tow but have done it with 3 young children and been okay.

I had a 45 minute stopover in Europe on a flight from London on same airline. So no immigration, luggage checked through, airline had responsibility to get us there.

First flight took off 30 minutes late. On landing in Europe, cabin crew said a staff member would meet us at the Gate to guide us to our flight which would wait for us.

Nobody was at the Gate. We sprinted through the airport, made it to the Gate just after it closed and were told they had never intended to carry us as no time to transfer luggage.

The airline rerouted us with two additional stopovers, we spent the night sleeping on an airport floor waiting for one connection, they couldn't book our vegetarian meals and our luggage had been left in the European airport and showed up five days later!

I think KLM must be the pros at this as, like many others, I've gone long haul with them with a short connection time in Schipol. It's usually 1 hour for my flights but I'm a smoker and manage to slip into the smoking room for a quick cigarette while walking through the terminal and have never missed my flight or my bags! But again, as other's have pointed out, that's just been me alone and I wouldn't want that kind of rush with small children.

I used to routinely do this but it was same airline and same terminal and no having to re-check luggage etc. Oddly I never missed a connection, although I was so sure every time that I would!

Yes, I go with KLM, Asta. TBH, I won't use any other airlines for long-haul unless absolutely necessary because I'm a real 'Flying Blue' fan .

timshelthechoice Yes I like KLM. I usually go with them via London City as opposed to Heathrow, which I love as LC is so much smaller and easy to get into and out of quickly!

You have to learn your airport. I've had short connection times at LAX but I knew my arrival and departure were right next to each other.

I did this once at Frankfurt and as a solo traveller. I would not recommend it, at all. Luckily I made it, but certainly wouldn't do it again.

We once booked two flights with one and a half hours in between. There was a problem when we landed, we had to wait for steps to the plane. It took 45 mins and we missed our connection and had to stay for a night in a hotel. The insurance wouldn't pay out as they needed a minimum of two hours between the flights.

No chance.

Is it a connection, or two separate flights? Miss the second and you will lose your money. How many flights are there to your onward destination from Warsaw? Is that somewhere you potentially want to be stranded for a few days?

Aragog I regularly do 90 mins at Dubai, with kids. Dont plan to stop, but you usually can - especially if you are coming from the UK, as they seem to land early. Unless, you are on an A380 ex Manchester, in which case, pack your toothbrush and clean pants in your hand lugage!!!

i love the thought that people think an airplane will 'wait for you'

No.

Last flight I took, it took them 30 minutes just for them to bring stairs out so the passengers could disembark, that was followed by a 5 minute bus ride to get everyone to where they were supposed to be. We then had to all go through security again, and run to the gate which was another 30 minutes.

i love the thought that people think an airplane will 'wait for you'

me too

I too have done Schipol! We were delayed by 3 hours taking off due to a situation at Schipol. We missed our connection as did thousands of others who all needed redirecting. It took 4 hours in a queue to be redirected to another country and then a further flight to our destination as there were none that day to our destination. 36 hours travelling and no bags at the end was not pleasant. With children in tow....it would be awful!

When DH and I were eloping we had a one hour transfer flying Glasgow to Heathrow to JKF. We were ten minutes late taking off, stuck in the air for an extra ten minutes due to missing our runway slot and then it took an age to disembark because we were at the back of the plane.

We ended up with twenty minutes to get across the terminal to our gate (via an internal train!) and when we got to the gate they said they’d seen our plane land and didn’t think for a second we’d make it. They ushered us in and shut the door.

Our cases (which had my wedding dress in it! 😩) didn’t make it on the plane and had to be flown over later that night.

I’d rather wait three hours in an airport than go through that again!

It’s doable at Warsaw Chopin even from north to south. Only one terminal there.

Rainorsun- thanks. Flying emirates from Stansted to Tokyo, with transfer in Dubai. The short one is on the way our. On the way back it's over 4 hours.

I'm another person who has done this at Schipol and it was insane - 4 kids and a semi awake DH with me shouting go! go! go! as we sprinted through the airport. It was like herding cats. Never ever again.