I’m taking a trip in September - redeeming some Delta Skymiles for a weekend transcon jaunt. I’m timing it on a holiday weekend to help maximize my chances of volunteering my seat on an overbooked flight to get some less-restrictive travel vouchers in compensation. Also to maximize my chances, I chose the route options with the MOST number of flights to my destination - three going out, and three coming back.
A computer called a couple of days ago to inform me of some changes in my intenerary - among other minor changes, they added a flight on the return! So now it’s three going out and FOUR coming back! I’ll throw in the fact that all seven legs are within 36 hours
So, As a passenger on an airliner, what is the most number of stops and/or plane changes you’ve made to get to your destination? What was your origin, destination and how long did it take?
Although I am starting this poll, I will not cast my vote until after my journey is completed as further changes may be made before it is completed.
We wanted to go from Austin TX to Seattle and we got a cheap flight(s).
We traveled Southwest from Austin to ElPaso to Las Vegas to LAX (40 minute layover in LAX - smoke break outside the terminal), then changed Southwest planes form LAX to SanFrancisco (Oakland) to Seattle. I sorta remember that the clock time from Austin to Seattle was about 5 hours
We were tired when we got to Seattle
The flight(s) back were Seattle to LAX to Las Vegas to Austin. There was a two hour layover in LasVegas due to a mechanical problem and we played the slots.
Tried to get bumped on Continental a few years back coming back from Hawaii on a rewards ticket. Because I was already on a free ticket all they would offer me was a first class upgrade. Not sure if that is their policy on rewards tickets or if it still depends how desperate they are.
3 stops has been tops for me. About 10 years ago was supposed to fly from KMCI to KEWR to KBOS on Continental. When I check in in KC the woman said something about a yellow code (I think she said yellow). I asked her what she meant and she said they could not guarantee my connection in KEWR due to storms. Tells me I need to get on the Cleveland flight an she calls the gate and has them hold the plane. As she escorted me to the plane she told me I was to sit in any open seat and get my seat assignment in Milwaukee for both this flight and the flight to BOS. I said what about Clev. She said this plane stopped in Milwaukee first. So I stop in Mil. and when I get to Cleveland I find my gate for my flight to BOS. I walk up to the gate and ask the gate agent if my frequent flier numbers was transfered to my new flights etc. She said it had so I told her what had happened and I ask her if there are any upgrades available. With a southern drawl and a big smile she says, “Honey this whole plane is first class, its a 50 seast turbo prop.” So of course my next question is, where else do we stop. She informed me it was Syracuse. In the end I landed in KBOS just under an hour after I was originally was supposed to. Not to bad considering that she could have had said nothing to me back in KC I could still have been circling KEWR or waiting for my connection to take off.
Yeah, one time they had to take the plane to get maintenance and they had to bring a smaller jet. We were asked to stay another night in Florida. Of coarse we said yes! Can’t beat first class on the next flight and a free night in Florida!
In the mid-'80s, I was scheduled for a flight from Los Angeles to Stavanger, Norway, with a two-hour connection at London Heathrow. For duration, it wasn’t anything extraordinary from US West Coast to Europe, maybe some 8 or 9 hours or so.
Well, the first leg had hydraulic problems and TWA left LAX some 4 hours late. I knew my connection had been blown and the only other London/Stavanger flight for the day left from Gatwick several hours later. It turned out that flight was full. So this is what happened…
LAX - LHR (Heathrow) on TWA
LHR - GTW (Gatwick) by helicopter charter
GTW - CPH (Copenhagen) on SAS
CPH - Odense, and connections beyond, cancelled at departure time, mechanical
CPH - Kristiansand, Norway on SAS
Kristiansand - SVG (Stavanger) on Busy Bee
Duration:
Takeoff to final arrival: about 23 hours
Initial scheduled departure to final arrival: about 27 hours
The one I most remember is when my BDA-BOS US flight was delayed so I we couldn’t catch our NW BOS-DTW flight. This was circa 1996 and I was about 12 years old.
so we ended up going:
BDA-BOS US B727 (delayed 2 hrs due to inbound weather)
BOS-PHL US MD80 (my first time on an MD80)
PHL-DTW US B734 (delayed 2 hrs due to crew delay yet somehow our bags didn’t make it on the flight, also my first time on a 737). We left our hotel in Bermuda sometime around 10 AM and got home in Detroit around 2 AM. Pretty absurd for a ~1000 mile nonstop flight if it were offered.
SEA-IAH CO (might have been a 73*)
IAH-LHR CO 777 (first time on a 7, LOVED the 777 but not the 9 hr. flight)
LHR-DXB EK A330 (first time too, 8 hr, got so board looking at that winglet.)
DXB-SAH IY A310 (first time in a 310 and in Yemen)
I had that mentality when I booked my flight for Christmas of 2004. Going home was RDU → MEM → MLI and coming back was MLI → DTW → CLE → RDU. I thought, “Awesome, more time in the air, and more FF miles!” That was also the year that there was the major ice storm at, oh say, MEM, baggage handlers at PHI took a vacation, and all hell broke loose. Needless to say I was sort of regretting that decision, and while my flight out was cancelled completely, I took a $300 credit on my (very delayed) return trip and instead did a MLI → DTW → RDU. Of course, my new return flight got delayed as well and I got to spend the night in DTW for free.
If you’re doing it in hopes of giving up your seat and getting some sort of voucher it’s the right way to go. If you’re just looking to get home, well, you leave yourself pretty wide open to getting screwed over. If it weren’t significantly more expensive for me to tack on the extra leg I’d probably do it if time wasn’t a concern, but considering I don’t get that much vacation at work I’d rather get where I need to be going than work the system and lose time with my family.
So now it’s three going out and FOUR coming back! I’ll throw in the fact that all seven legs are within 36 hours 
