Allow Plenty Of Time For Connections!

Oh goodness I am sorry you had such an anxiety-inducing situation with your uncle.

Is this your uncle who you have talked about before about getting him to Germany to see family but he wasn’t getting his passport etc? Or am I thinking of someone else?

Hope you have a great trip after the shaky start!

Yes, the same uncle. Fortunately (?) he has Alzheimer's and forgot about his intense fear of flying. He was a little nervous, but did very well. It was fortunate that he didn't take the trip last year. It was after that when I became aware of his condition. I've moved him from Kansas to an assisted living facility close to me. He is quite enjoying his 23-month-old twin grandsons.

Your connection time on the way home could be dicey if you are not seated up front, if the lines at passport control are long, baggage claim is slow as you will have to re-check your bags, and if security lines at SFO are long. Plus you have a walk to the domestic gates.

Are there additional flights to Sacramento after your scheduled one in case you both miss it? Even though you are each on one ticket, if you both miss your connection, seats on later flights to Sacramento may be oversold and you may have to spend the night at the airport on your dime if the reason for missing the connection isn’t a specific result of the airline like mechanical issues .

It might be worth it to change to a later flight to Sacramento for the sake of your uncle especially given your experience already when you didn’t even have passport control, baggage claim and additional security lines at SFO and yet you almost missed that flight.

Follow your own sage advice given in the thread title; give yourselves more connection time at SFO than you have right now.

Hi Andrea,

If you have not already, please consider "wheelchair assistance" at the airports. Your uncle may be okay to walk, but rushing, stress and crowding may overwhelm him; especially since his diagnosis now.

He will be escorted with his carry on. As his guardian on this trip, I would think you would be able to be expedited through PC also since it won't be good to leave him alone while you are in the regular line. I have seen this (service) at airports. It is worth asking about at the check in.

Oh, and before you land, ask the FA to call ahead for the wheelchair so it will be ready for him when he departs the plane. The escorts wait off to the side as you cross over to the boarding/de-boarding bridge.

He is quite enjoying his 23-month-old twin grandsons.

Very nice to read your Uncle is enjoying the toddlers!

Andrea so glad you made it after the 2 hour (!) fog delay. I guess it can happen at any time of the year. If you do change your return flight SFO to SMF to a later flight and get wheelchair assistance for your uncle it might take away a little bit of stress for you over the next couple of weeks. Also your uncle may be more physically tired after this big change in his routine in Germany. Your trip sounds amazing and like a gift to all of these family members ❤️.

I would second the recommendation for wheelchair assistance. Very very helpful. We used it with my dad- I was allowed to stay with him. We were taken to a separate (faster) passport control line and also security. Greatly facilitated making the connection. You should contact the airline before arrivieng at the desk if possible. We request it when booking the flight or when doing the request for meals etc on line.

Also- doesn't apply to you in Sacramento- but we are now choosing the direct flight even if more expensive ( if reasonable). At this point in Dad's life ( and bank account) , being able to avoid multiple security checks, rushing and worrying about connections is almost priceless.
This is one of those items which in a "how are you traveling differently now that you are older" topic

That is wonderful that you have brought him to visit. What a beautiful thing to do.

I hope that the transfer upon return will go easier.

Also Andrea FIY when we returned from Paris to SFO in August we were in line 50 minutes at Passport control with the granddaughters. I know that this varies greatly depending on #of flights and #of stations open. Luckily we were taking BART to their house so we didn’t have a connecting flight to make.

If you can add Wheelchair Services in the middle of your trip, do it.

Seriously, if the wheelchair operator meets your uncle at the jetway as the door opens in SFO, you both have a chance to be the first to deboard and that may be the best way for you to make your connection because wheelchairs often do not wait on regular lines; they can be expedited. Not always so you cannot depend on that.

Also keep in mind that you and your uncle could be the VERY LAST off the plane because of the wheelchair. That happens to me on many occasions.

I really do think you should change your connection to a later flight to Sacramento.

Thank you everyone for your advice and nice thoughts. I will request wheelchair service today for San Francisco. We don't need it for Frankfurt or Sacramento. If for some reason we miss our connecting flight in San Francisco and there isn't another one available that evening (our flight is supposed to arrive in SF at 4:30 p.m. and the flight to Sacramento departs at 7:00 p.m.) I can have my brother, who lives in the East Bay, pick us up and drive us home.

Sounds like a solid plan, now go have fun!

You are good to go! Enjoy! ✈️