Multiple tight connections

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pippen_2k

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Hi, I have an upcoming flight with two connections that will be tight.

My flight is all booked on 1 ticket through Qantas (Sale Ticket):

QF823 Canberra to Melbourne - 1945 (wed) - 2055 (wed)
Transit 1hr 40 min
QF49 Melbourne to San Francisco - 2235 (wed) - 1745 (wed)
Transit 2 hours
UA5374 San Francisco to Salt Lake City - 1945 (wed) - 2245 (wed)

What are my chances of getting to SLC on the Wednesday night ?

A few more questions I have:

If I rock up to Canberra early and request an earlier flight do you think they will accommodate this as I have an International connection ?
Is 2 hours in SFO enough to get through immigration etc and make Terminal 3 for my UA flight?
If I miss my flight in SFO who would I talk to in regards to a possible Hotel ? UA or is there a Qantas desk there ?

Thanks in advance.
 
… QF49 Melbourne to San Francisco - 2235 (wed) - 1745 (wed)
Transit 2 hours
UA5374 San Francisco to Salt Lake City - 1945 (wed) - 2245 (wed)

What are my chances of getting to SLC on the Wednesday night ? …
Regarding SFO, the last time that I transited SFO was QF>AA and I looked for a 4-hour connection to increase my chances of making that flight. Although 2 hours is doable (but too tight for me), it just depends on what you are comfortable with, all things considered (e.g., will QF49 be on-time or late, arriving into SFO? Who knows).

Edit: Also, collecting any checked luggage, immigration, go to the UA terminal. If you miss that flight, you will be put on the next available UA flight to SLC anyway.
 
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Assuming the flight from CBR-MEL is on time you'll be fine. MEL is probably the best airport in Australia to do a DOM-INT transfer. It is a five minute walk under the same roof. It doesn't hurt to ask if you can fly ahead, do it at check in and be prepared for a no.

With the SFO-SLC connection it will be tight but you're protected so less of a worry than being on separate PNRs.

Do you know what time the next SFO-SLC flight is? That night or next day? That's your alternative if you miss your connection.
 
If I rock up to Canberra early and request an earlier flight do you think they will accommodate this as I have an International connection ?

You most certainly can ask to fly ahead and in some cases the agent who is checking you in might even offer to fly you ahead depending on how full the earlier flight is.

In my experience, flying out of SYD to MEL and SIN, the agent who was checking me in suggested that I fly ahead, just to be sure and I accepted the offer.
 
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Is 2 hours in SFO enough to get through immigration etc and make Terminal 3 for my UA flight?

Walk quick and get ahead. Good guide to airport wait times at US airports here: Airport Wait Times Based on average wait times between 1800 & 1900 at for SFO Terminal A over last month, for non US citizens, 50-60 mins to clear immigration would seem realistic.

MEL is probably the best airport in Australia to do a DOM-INT transfer.

That title would surely have to go to either ADL or CBR? :p
 
The issue may be more about SFO than MEL transit.

According to EF, the average delay for QF49 is 15 minutes over the past 2 months. SFO is much larger and busier than MEL. SFO is the 7th busiest airport in the USA and in the top 25 worldwide.

In the worst case you may be stranded overnight. If things don't go as planned, either set yourself up in the airport or book a hotel once the next day's flight is sorted. The hotels aren't far from the airport boundary. Not walkable, but within about 10-15 minutes by shuttle, depending on where your hotel is in the drop-off/pick-up order. Hotels shuttles usually service multiple hotels. Or take a cab.
 
When we flew into SFO recently whilst waiting in immigration they were advising people with tight connections that they’d be booked on next available flight. We waited in immigration queue for around an hour and a quarter.
 
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Thanks for the replies. In all honesty if I just made SFO and missed the SLC flight, I wouldn't be that upset. As long as I got there early the next morning.

Do you know what time the next SFO-SLC flight is? That night or next day?
My booked flight is the last one for that day so would be the following day. Would UA or Qantas organise accommodation for me ?
 
Thought I would revisit this thread post trip:
I arrived to Canberra airport early and asked if they could put me on an earlier flight due to the sub 2 hour connection and was denied. Oh well worth a shot. That being said my Canb - Melb flight left on time and I still had 1 hour to chill in Melbourne at the lounge before my next flight.
QF49 was delayed by about 45 min so I was thinking that my next flight from SFO - SLC could be in question, however the pilot said that we will make up the time during the flight and we ended up arriving in SFO at the anticipated time. Customs etc was a breeze in SFO, got through in about 20 min. It took about 15 mins to walk to United Airlines Domestic and security there took about another 20 min giving me about half an hour before boarding.
So overall all the connections were perfectly fine in this instance.
 
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