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If your connection was on a single ticket, the airline is responsible for getting you to your final destination and will rebook you at no cost. If you booked two separate tickets, the second airline owes you nothing — this distinction is the single most consequential thing to understand about connections.
Key Travel Facts & Insights
This is the distinction that determines everything. On a single ticket — even one involving two different airlines under a codeshare or interline agreement — the carriers are jointly responsible for delivering you to your final destination. Miss the connection and they rebook you at no cost.
On two separate tickets, the second airline has no relationship with the first. If flight one is late, your flight two reservation is simply a no-show, and you have forfeited it. You will be buying a new ticket at the walk-up fare.
A single ticket has one confirmation code covering all segments and one ticket number. Two tickets have two separate confirmation codes, usually two separate charges on your card, and bags that are not checked through.
Several booking platforms sell "self-transfer" or "virtual interlining" itineraries that look like one journey but are legally two tickets. Some offer their own protection guarantee — read what it actually covers, because it is a commercial promise rather than an airline obligation.
In most cases you will be rebooked automatically while still in the air, with the new boarding pass waiting in the app when you land. Check the app before you join any queue — a large share of misconnected passengers are already rebooked and do not realise it.
If the automatic rebooking does not work for you, or none happened, go to the transfer desk in the arrivals area rather than back through to departures.
If the delay that caused the misconnection was within the airline's control, US carriers' published commitments cover hotel accommodation and ground transport. If it was weather or air traffic control, they do not, though a distressed-passenger rate is usually available on request.
On an international itinerary, check whether you need a transit visa to leave the airport for the hotel. In several countries you do, and it is not always obvious.
On a single ticket, the airline rebooks you to your final destination at no cost, usually automatically before you land — check the app first. On two separate tickets, the second airline owes you nothing and you will need to buy a new ticket.
Published minimum connection times are the legal floor, not a comfortable margin. Allow at least 90 minutes for international-to-domestic in the US, where you clear immigration, collect and recheck bags, and re-clear security. Domestic-to-domestic at a single terminal can work on 45 minutes.
They are legally two separate tickets, so a delay on the first leg leaves you with no recourse against the second airline. Some platforms offer their own protection guarantee — read the terms, because it is a commercial promise rather than an airline obligation, and the coverage varies widely.
Our US travel consultants handle changes, cancellations, refunds and claims directly. No charge to ask.