Do they ever hold flights if enough connecting flights have not arrived

Do they ever hold flights if enough connecting flights have not arrived?
My boyfiend is trying to get back to Virginia from Las Vegas. Most of the flights coming into JFK (where his layover is) are delayed today by an hour or more because of storms (including his flight.) If his flight out of JFK leaves on time, he'll never make the connection. But I would imagine that a significant number of people scheduled for that flight are coming from other connecting flights that are delayed as well. Do airlines ever delay flights to wait for passengers if enough of them are missing from a flight ?
Air Travel - 4 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Sometimes they'll hold for a few minutes, but they try to keep as much on schedule as possible.
2 :
Most like NOT! Unless a V.I.P is travelling and/or it connects to an international flight that will otherwise delay everyone for one day. In any case, the delay will be for not more than 15 minutes, not to disarrange the whole flying schedule. In this case most likely he will booked on the next available flight!
3 :
Schleppy, this is a decision that is made by the coordinator of the station where the miss-connection is going to occur. There are a lot of factors to be considered, so there is no flat answer to this question. Airlines do try their best to have passengers connect when flights are late, if at all possible.
4 :
Ever? Yes. I've seen it happen. But usually only when holding an otherwise ready to leave flight for 20 minutes or less will make a difference. Also consider the fact that the plane leaving JFK will have come in from somewhere, and might we'll be one of those coming in late. (The flight and/or cabin crew could also be late in arriving.) So there's a significant chance that his connecting flight will be delayed, either unavoidably or to accomodate connecting passengers. But there's also a very real possibility that he will miss his connection.