What if a first plane is delayed past the second plane?

Basically, I'm talking about layovers. Let's say you have two flights. The first flight is late, so what happens if you are late for the second flight? Do they accommodate you to another plane or is that plane waiting for you?





Also, any advice on how much time to leave between flights is very appreciated.|||Nako is right that airlines will not typically hold a flight unless there are a number of passengers connecting. If you miss a flight because of the airline, they will help accommodate you by putting you on another flight. If you have to overnight, ask the airlines to pay for your hotel and ask for a meal ticket.





As for connection time, it depends on the airport and if it is a domestic or international connection. For busy airports such as New York's JFK International, you want extra time because the air space is pretty congested and it is not uncommon for delays. I would easily budget at least 1 hour if you are connecting in a busy airport. For international flight connections, many times they say to allow for 2 hours. This is in case you have to go through customs and immigration. If you are connecting to an international flight, you want extra time as well to check-in and retrieve your boarding pass. Also you want to give some time so the airlines can transfer your luggage from one airline to another.|||Typically, airlines do not hold flights for delayed passengers on connecting flights except in limited circumstances (for example, if there are significant numbers of passengers making the connection or there are no more flights to that destination until the following day). More commonly, the delayed passenger will be reaccommodated on another flight, either later that day or on the following day.





As for the proper amount of time to leave between flights, that really depends on the specific circumstances of your journey (such as whether it's a domestic connection or a domestic connection from an international flight), whether you're changing airlines or flying on the same airline, the time of year, and the airport you're flying in and out of. For example, for a domestic connection in Chicago, I'd probably allow 45 minutes during the summer and at least an hour during the winter for flights on the same airline, but for circumstances where there are different airlines or international connections, I'd probably allow more time.