Flying through Denver on United concourse B

[cpotisch]

The famous one is the Khyber Railway (part of erstwhile North Western Railway, now part of Pakistan Railway) crosses the main runway of Peshawar International Airport. The trains have to get clearance from the Airport Tower before proceeding across the runway, on their way to Landi Kotal at the mouth of Khyber Pass near the Afghan border on the Durand Line at Torkham.

There's also Gisborne Airport in New Zealand, which still has an active rail crossing.

 

[PRR 60]

The bridge is off the mezzanine level, two levels up from the inter-terminal train station - same level as the USO, Delta and American clubs.  You can use multiple escalators or  one of the elevators.

 

[saxman]

Be careful about taking the train to the main terminal. You may be forced out with the crowd at the main terminal and then be forced to exit the secure area of the airport. If that happens, just stay on board the train. Denver airport does a bad job to remind unseasoned travelers that this can happen and probably happens everyday.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

You may be forced out with the crowd at the main terminal and then be forced to exit the secure area of the airport.

How are people "forced" to exit secure area?  Do you simply mean that people who blindly follow the crowd might inadvertently walk outside security?

 

[oregon pioneer]

OK, he's been eastbound through Denver, and is returning home today -- at least, he is trying. His flight leaving Kansas is 2 hours late, and he's going to miss his flight out of Denver. Subsequent flights out of Denver today are already full, and he noted east bound that the line at the help desk is about a block long. Any advice? PLEASE HELP!

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Step #1: Calm down and accept that he might lose a day getting back.  It's unfortunate but sometimes unavoidable.

Step #2: Self-check your expectations for practicality.  You don't want to be a pushover or an impossible solution.

Step #3: Call United and check the app/website for re-booking options while he waits in the customer service line.

If you have status call the number associated with that status level.  If not wait and hope for the best.

 

[jebr]

The best strategy is to wait in as many lines simultaneously as possible, so to speak. Check the app - if there's wifi aboard the flight, typically the carrier's app is available to check options. Once on the ground, call the customer service number while waiting in line at the airport service desk, and if the call answers first start seeing if they can rebook you.

It can help to try and find some alternate routings, even that aren't necessarily direct or pre-populated, to tell to the agent. Perhaps there's an option from San Francisco or Los Angeles back to your home airport, and there's also openings from Denver to one of those airports. The website may not pull these automatically, but they may help to get him home faster. Also check and see if there's any routings on Delta or American. Depending on the delay, United may be willing to rebook on another airline if they can get him home significantly faster.

 

[oregon pioneer]

No status. United in Kansas is not being helpful at all. I have a question about the help desk: if you stand in the line, and they put you on standby for next available flight (the last one of today's will have left while he's in the line), and you miss that next flight because it's already overbooked and/or everyone shows up, do you have to go back and stand in the line again?

I can see two options here at home:

• Go to Denver, and take his chanced with the help desk.
  
• Rebook on the next flight EAST bound, which goes to Chicago, and then the flight (nonstop) from Chicago to Boise tomorrow AM. That is currently available, if they will let him have it.
  

 

[Devil's Advocate]

In my experience you can usually request two recovery bookings in person (if you're calm and respectful).  That allows you to try for the best option and if you succeed the first boarding process will automatically cancel the second pass.  If you are unable to reach/use the first option the second later option will remain ready and valid.  Online or over the phone you typically get one recovery option at a time.  It has been a long time since I've had Airline A "sign over" my ticket to Airline B.  It's still technically possible but so far as I can tell it's no longer part of the standard resolution process unless you have status or are in a premium cabin.

 

[oregon pioneer]

Thanks for the advice. He's calling United's customer care line right now, as he's still sitting in Kansas. I found two other options supposedly available later today, one on United/Alaska, and one on Delta. I bet, given that he has the ultra-economy ticket, they won't let him have either.

 

[jebr]

I'd probably call and see if they can put him on standby for the 6:55 PM flight to Boise and, if that doesn't clear, book him on a flight tomorrow from Denver to Boise. It looks like there's still availability on all the flights out of Denver tomorrow. Since, either way, you're having to do an overnight, getting closer to home is better than backtracking if possible. It also looks like there's more options with more capacity out of Denver than O'Hare, which gives more wiggle room to rebook passengers.

 

[jis]

Following up on DA's comment, usually the ultra low fare tickets are non-endorseable. Under exceedingly rare circumstances exactly once in my 40 years of flying I have managed to get such a ticket endorsed to another airline that does not have some special deal with the original airline, and that was because of a phenomenal screwup at the original airline, and they were worried about getting sued in the US. It is exceedingly unusual. So probably multi-airline or a different airline solution won't work without buying a new ticket.

A flexible fare ticket or higher OTOH may be endorseable, specially in IRROP situations. The fare rules are incredibly opaque and you have to read through many pages of gobbledegook to figure it out. And of course, almost anything can be overridden by a sufficiently high up muckity-muck.

 

[oregon pioneer]

Thanks for all your advice. He got on the phone with Customer Care, and they re-booked him for tomorrow's 5:30am flight out of Kansas. The agent joked "if you miss your (tight) connection in Denver, you'll have all day to get re-booked."

Tomorrow's early morning flight originates at the Salina airport (which the afternoon flight does not -- it originates in Chicago. Was that the problem today?). He should get to Boise at 10am if all goes well, with the rest of the day to drive the four hours home to eastern Oregon. I checked this morning's status for him, and the arrival and departure gates for tomorrow. He should be able make the connection unless there's another glitch.

 

[jis]

Usually a 5:30 am would have its equipment overnighting at the airport, which means it is more likely to depart on time than a flight that uses an aircraft coming in from somewhere else for a tight turnaround at the airport.

While the gate information for Denver for tomorrow may remain as is, don't be surprised if they change several times before the actual flight happens.

 

[oregon pioneer]

Thanks, Jishnu. We're already familiar with the gate roulette. His eastbound flight arrived at the C concourse in Denver, instead of the B concourse where it was scheduled. Luckily he had plenty of time for the transfer. And yes, the flight from Chicago originated in State College PA this morning, and arrived at Chicago on-time. Who knows what the problem was? Looks like it is on the ground in Salina now, but he's not getting on it. The agent at Customer Care told him there were already standbys hoping to get on the later Boise flight from Denver, and he didn't stand a chance.

I am glad he decided to spend one more night with his family, rather than in an airport motel in Denver, and try again tomorrow.

 

[oregon pioneer]

Oh, you will all laugh... when he first called me, and things looked bleak, he was saying "the train goes through Newton at... tonight. I could still make it."

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Sounds like things are working out alright after all.  Or, put another way, all's well that ends well!  ^_^

Under exceedingly rare circumstances exactly once in my 40 years of flying I have managed to get such a ticket endorsed to another airline that does not have some special deal with the original airline, and that was because of a phenomenal screwup at the original airline, and they were worried about getting sued in the US. It is exceedingly unusual.

It was easy to know if your ticket was being endorsed back during the negotiable paper coupon era.  Back then Airline A would call Airline B and confirm space was available.  Then Airline A would physically sign the paper ticket over with a stamp, billing code, and signature.  At that point Airline B owned your ticket and any remaining responsibility to transport you to your next ticketed destination.  These days it's all done on the computer so it's hard to know precisely what's happening between the two airlines.  I've experienced a few similar examples in the era of e-tickets, at least in the sense that I was given the opportunity to re-book missed connections on other airlines without additional cost or penalty, but since I can't actually see what's happening it's entirely possible that rather than formally endorsing my ticket it's simply being converted under a negotiated multilateral resolution matrix.

Usually a 5:30 am would have its equipment overnighting at the airport, which means it is more likely to depart on time than a flight that uses an aircraft coming in from somewhere else for a tight turnaround at the airport. While the gate information for Denver for tomorrow may remain as is, don't be surprised if they change several times before the actual flight happens.

First flight of the day is the most likely to be at the gate before scheduled departure.  Unfortunately it's also the flight most likely to discover a new technical issue.  Or at least that has been my experience. -_-

 

[oregon pioneer]

Only bad part so far is the day's delay and hey, that can happen on a train too. Here's the trip report: no problems getting out of Salina in time, but the poor folks on the ground in Hays were left standing at the gate for another several hours, as the plane could not land and went straight to Denver, arriving early. They are having some nasty weather in Kansas today, thunderstorms and then flood warnings later in the day, more of the same and high wind tomorrow. So glad he got out, and got to Denver in time for an easy connection.

He's landed in Boise now, and says he's rummy from getting up at 2:45am Central time. It's a 200 mile drive home and, unlike yesterday, there are snowy roads between there and here. It'll take some kind of an emergency that I can't currently foresee to ever get him to fly again. We are both REALLY looking forward to our next Amtrak trip in December where, if we get stuck anywhere, it'll be on a train.

 

[saxman]

How are people "forced" to exit secure area?  Do you simply mean that people who blindly follow the crowd might inadvertently walk outside security?

The way the train is set up at DIA. At it's last stop in the main terminal the door open on one side allowing the crowd to exit. There you put into a holding area that leads to escalators that only go up. After you get up the escalator it's only a few feet to the exit ropes Once you're beyond that you can't turn around. The only way to remain in the secure area is to know to stay on the train, but the PA system doesn't really say this. (I don't think) Either way, to the laymen traveller, it's not obvious how to stay inside.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

The way the train is set up at DIA. At it's last stop in the main terminal the door open on one side allowing the crowd to exit. There you put into a holding area that leads to escalators that only go up. After you get up the escalator it's only a few feet to the exit ropes Once you're beyond that you can't turn around. The only way to remain in the secure area is to know to stay on the train, but the PA system doesn't really say this. (I don't think) Either way, to the laymen traveller, it's not obvious how to stay inside.

I watched some videos and I see what you mean now.  By the time you get on the escalator you're basically screwed.  It looks like an intentional design choice, although I can only guess at their reasoning.  In the case of DEN I'm usually connecting or exiting through Customs & Immigration where there is no expectation of being able to remain airside.  Reading about some of the more unusual features is interesting (I like the unique taxiway bridge and I'll probably never forget Blucifer) but DEN's weird combination of sluggish yet aggressive security, their lackluster in-terminal vendor selection, and the mile high pricing puts them near the bottom of my connecting airport list.

 

[frequentflyer]

Concourse B has the best food court out of all the concourses.

 

[chakk]

It sure seems longer than this to me, and I consider myself a reasonably quick walker! (Fortunately, there are some moving sidewalks for parts of the terminal.)

Not sure if your husband has any health issues, but he may start feeling some effects of the altitude the more he walks. The airport's official elevation is actually higher than the city of Denver's (5,431 feet versus 5,280 feet).

Most commercial jet aircraft are pressured to 7,000 feet, so the altitude at Denver should be OK, unless he’s planning to run through the terminals like O.J.

 

[john h]

at least if your a smoker Denver has a smoking area inside security one of the few airports in the US

 

[Deni]

at least if your a smoker Denver has a smoking area inside security one of the few airports in the US

It's been years since I went through there and even longer since I was a smoker, but is it still in that bar area where you have to buy a drink to stay there and smoke?

 

[Asher]

The air in those smoking zones will impregnate a rock let alone your clothes.