An airline marriage definitely not made in heaven

A relatively new addition in the long list of travel jargon terms is the “married segment.” As with many airline creations, the concept was invented to increase revenue. But in the worst case, married segments can also result in booking a ticket that could wreck your trip.

A little background. Travel agents are sneaky. Well, many of the best ones are, anyway. Years ago, some agents figured out that if a client wanted a flight, for example, from San Francisco to San Diego, and it was sold out in all but the highest fares, that same flight might be available in a lower class of service if booked as a London to San Francisco to San Diego trip.

In this case, it was because the airline would give better availability to a passenger flying a longer distance with a more expensive trip.

And then once that trip was booked, if the agent hypothetically canceled the London to San Francisco flight, the client would be left with a cheap seat from San Francisco to San Diego. This loophole may have also been available to travelers booking online at the airline sites.

The airlines, however, deciding that they wanted to make sure that passengers and agents booking connections couldn’t play any games like this, came up with the concept of “married segments.” This means that for example, anyone trying the above mentioned London to San Francisco to San Diego idea, would have to cancel both segments if they tried to cancel London to San Francisco.

So far, so good, and while the practice might be annoying, it’s hard to argue with the concept of closing a loophole that cost the airlines money. The problems arise, as with many airline things, in the execution.

Say a passenger doesn’t want to cheat at all, but simply thinks that 45 minutes in the dead of winter is not a safe connecting time in Denver. Or that an hour in Rome to transfer between terminals with luggage isn’t worth risking, especially when you’re trying to make a tour departure.

Or for that matter, say a traveler is not that familiar with an airport, and assumes the connection shown is plenty of time, even for a family or elderly person.

A booking site, however, may show the short connection only. And it can be impossible to cancel the connecting flight and book a flight an hour later. Sometimes, you can book the connection you want one segment at a time, but sometimes that lower fare may not be available, unless you take the married segments.

Travel agents can try to get around the problem, but our hands are often tied, too. Some reservations systems simply lock you into the suggested connections; Delta, American and British Airways can be especially intractable.

In other cases, the available connection might be longer than a passenger wants. A flight from Los Angeles to Dallas to Boston, for example, might be available with a three-hour connection, but even though there are earlier flights from Dallas to Boston with plenty of availability, the system will not let you have a seat on the Los Angeles to Dallas flight without taking the later flight.

And it’s not even as if the airline reservationists themselves can override the system, as many travel agents and passengers will attest when a schedule change messes up a “married segment,” and it takes 30 minutes with a supervisor to fix the flights.

What to do? Mostly, it’s simply a case of “buyer beware.” If you see a connection that looks too tight or one that simply makes you feel uncomfortable, try or ask your travel agent to try to get a longer connection. If the “married segments” make that impossible, try a supervisor and plead your case.

If if all else fails and a lousy connection is only way to get the fare you want, try to pack carry-on luggage, this both allows you not to worry about being separated from your bag, and to standby on a different flight if needed.

And wear comfortable shoes that allow you to move quickly. You may need them.