Airlines love to dictate how you should book a connecting flight with at least a three hour safety window to make sure you don’t miss it. Well, that’s a bunch of poppycock. Often, you can find cheaper air fare by booking an “illegal” connecting flight that leaves as little as 45 minutes after the first leg of your flight lands at the airport. Apparently, airlines don’t trust themselves to stay on schedule and the thought of hundreds of travelers sprinting through the airport simultaneously in a mad dash to connect fills them with trepidation. Plus, what better way to force you to drop some bills on local food, beverage, and book vendors than “encouraging” you to hang around for three hours? Got the waiting-around-the-airport blues? Here’s what to do. Normally these too-close-for-comfort flights don’t show up on computer schedules generated by third party aggregates like Travelocity or even the airline’s own website. But you can call your handy-dandy travel agent and have him book two separate tickets. The second is a flight that commences at your connecting city. See how that works? Instead of waiting for three hours in Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago or some other God forsaken airport, touchdown, grab your bag and go. The cost to book your trip this way should be no more than a traditionally booked flight. If you happen to miss your connection, simply turn in your ticket at the counter and have them book you on a later flight. Using this method, you’re really rolling the dice if you check baggage. Chances are that’s not going to work out well for you. Go the carry-on route and make sure it’s something you can move fast with.