US 734/US 735 - Can you miss the connection?

[Dads_Taxi]

Does anyone know if flights US734 and US735, which fly MAN-MCO via Philadelphia, will always guarantee that the second leg won't depart until the first leg passengers have made it across Philadelphia airport? I really can't believe that two aircraft can be in the sky simultaneously with the same flight number, but I'd like a second opinion!

[vickk]

We flew us 734 last year (and will do this year) . Last year they did not have the connecting flight on the same number and our connecting flight was a 4 hr layover. Due to flight delays and chaos at immigration we missed our connection and had to stay over at the airport hotel. When we were looking this year I saw the one flight number on offer but because of last year I declined and went for a later connection. I would also be interested in knowing the answer to your question. I suspect it would still leave

[Katys Grandad]

There's no link between the 2 flights other than the number. They're different aircraft and they won't guarantee that those on the international flight will make the domestic connection. The cynic in me says that US Airways give the same number to give the impression that they have a direct service to MCO (AA used to do the same thing up to a few years ago).

I don't know when you're going but you might not be aware that US are merging with American and it's highly likely that they'll consolidate their schedules to some extent. That might mean changes to booked itineraries in coming months.

[shockey]

The cynic in me says that US Airways give the same number to give the impression that they have a direct service to MCO

Or maybe it's so that you only get frequent flyer miles for a direct MAN-MCO flight instead of for two flights.

[Katys Grandad]

Or maybe it's so that you only get frequent flyer miles for a direct MAN-MCO flight instead of for two flights.

Possibly, but i doubt there's 100 miles difference.

[vickk]

We go at the end of July and I am keeping my fingers crossed they don't put me on an AA flight. I was less than impressed with the quality of the plane when we used AA to new York. They have already made 3 changes to the internal flights but that has been to do with changing the plane to one with WiFi. However they have changed the seats each time and split 6 of us to single seats. Mainly because we booked on discount codes the gave us last year when the delay meant we missed the connection. Great discount but the system treated us as 6 individual bookings

[Tonish]

That's our route of choice these days, and you definitely can miss the connection. For that reason we book the earlier US Airways flight out of MCO than the one they label 735 (I think we usually get the one numbered 1590). There are quite a few departures through the day to choose from. It gives us time to have a meal and a martini or two in one of the bars we like in PHL airport and removes some of the worry about missing the flight.

[carolmc]

We've had quite a few nights at the hotel courtesy of US Airways and missed connections...still, always handled very well - no dramas and we are flying again in August with US Airways.

[Philomena]

We have flown the Manchester route with US on 2 or 3 occasions and have never had any problems with connections. In fact we often recommend them to guests who are travelling during peak periods as they tend to be a good deal cheaper then flying direct.

Philly is a really nice airport with a number of bars and eateries so you should have no problem filling your time if you have a couple of hours to kill.

[ellie]

We have missed similar flights on occassion and I am sorry to say that they have never held the next flight for those travelling on to Orlando. After all, many of those on the first leg will be either staying in Philadelphia, or catching another connection to various airports across the USA. So there may, in fact, be very few people on that flight actually travelling all the way to Orlando. Delaying a flight costs money, so it is unlikely they would be eager to incur extra fees just for the sake of a few passengers who miss the 'plane.

Having said that, we have always found the airlines to be helpful in making sure we reached our destination, and if there has been a long gap between flights we have been given food and drink vouchers.

We would always try to have a reasonable gap between planes for just this scenario. It gives time for a relaxing meal or drink before you catch the next flight.