YourBestFlight › Case study: rejecting a "valid" connection
Case study: why we rejected a connection the schedule called valid.
Most tools would have sold this itinerary. Here's the analysis that made us throw it out and recommend a different flight instead.
Illustrative example built from the exact mechanics YourBestFlight uses. Times and flight numbers are representative, not a specific passenger's booking.
What the schedule said
A traveler needed to get from a delayed inbound into an onward connection. On the booking site, one itinerary looked ideal: arrive, then a comfortable window to a 6:10 PM onward flight. Every published time lined up. A conventional search engine — and most travelers — would take it.
| Leg | Published time |
|---|---|
| Inbound arrives | 4:55 PM |
| Onward departs | 6:10 PM |
| Buffer on paper | 1 hr 15 min — looks safe |
What the aircraft said
Then we looked at the things the schedule leaves out:
- Inbound aircraft: the plane assigned to the onward flight was still completing an earlier trip and running late — it wouldn't reach the gate until about 6:20 PM.
- Turnaround: the airline needs roughly 40–45 minutes to deplane, clean, board, and push back. Add that to a 6:20 PM arrival and the earliest plausible departure is about 7:05 PM.
- Airport conditions: a departure delay program was adding to the pressure, not relieving it.
| Published | Adjusted (realistic) | |
|---|---|---|
| Onward departure | 6:10 PM | ~7:05 PM earliest |
| Verdict | Valid connection | Not the flight to rely on |
The decision
The itinerary the schedule called valid depended on a 6:10 PM departure that the aircraft simply could not make. YourBestFlight rejected it and instead recommended a different onward flight — one on a plane already positioned at the airport — with a materially higher probability of actually departing and getting the traveler home. That is the whole point: a recommendation grounded in what the aircraft are doing, not what the schedule wishes they were doing.
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