Not sure if this should be in people talk or here, but since ultimate destination is SXM, I'm putting it here.
Last July, I booked my outbound flight from Portland to SXM. Routing was on Alaska from Portland to Phoenix with a 95-minute layover in PHX, followed by a redeye on American from PHX to MIA and on to SXM. All of this was booked using Alaska miles, and first 2 legs were first class.
I recently received notice that my flight from PDX to PHX was changed, leaving PDX several hours earlier and resulting in a 12-hour layover in PHX. My initial flight from PDX to PHX was still operating; it just arrived in PHX 5 minutes later than I was initially booked.
When I called Alaska to see why the change and if I could get back on my original flight, I was told that after Alaska changed their flight, it resulted in a "misconnect." After pursuing this further, I was told that the required layover with airline change in PHX was 120 minutes. I pointed out my initial booking was a 95-minutes layover and, with same flight, would be now be 90 minutes, which is more than adequate per the PHX website. "Well, the FHA could have changed their rules." I was on the phone with Alaska for at least 30 minutes, including discussions with a supervisor. Bottom line is that Alaska says this is a FAA rule and they simply could not book the flight.
I've done some searching and can't find anything in the FAA rules regarding required layovers. Most of the flights still available using miles at this point are not attractive routings.
I know I could purchase a ticket. There's also a Delta option PDX - JFK (required overnight) - MIA, which costs double the miles. Neither are ideal although I may end out doing one of them if I don't get anywhere after calling Alaska and hopefully getting a different agent.
My questions are: Do you know where I could find FAA rules re required minimum layovers? have you ever heard of a required layover this long?
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