41 minute lay over at ATL. WOULD YOU?

[MacDalt]

I’m looking at flights for October. We usually go with Southwest but my flights would be $2000 for 2 people. $500 each way! There’s a flight with decent times and in our price range that has a 41 minute lay over in Atlanta. We would be going from a Delta flight to another Delta flight. Carry ons only, no kids, just 2 adults. Early morning-land at 7:44 am take off at 8:25 am. What do you think? Too close? Would you do it?

 

[peabody58]

No problem if your Delta to Delta. The Atlanta airport is very efficient and laid out well.

 

[LadyBeBop]

In your situation, yes. You won't have the hassle of children and possible lost luggage. And in the highly unlikely event that you miss the 8:25 flight, Delta will put you on a later flight. Probably about 9:30.

 

[sam_gordon]

Assuming the two adults have no mobility issues, I would risk it. There is a decent likely hood of having to change concourses. There are some steps you can take to help...

1) Try to get a seat toward the front of the first plane if possible.
2) Once you've landed in ATL and while you're taxiing, launch the Delta app on your phone (install it before the trip and get logged in). You should be able to see what gate you're arriving at and what gate you're departing from. Mentally prepare for where you'll need to go.
3) When you get off the plane, quickly compare what you saw in the app to one of the monitors.
4) Go directly to the departing gate. Do not stop for the bathroom or food.
5) Once you get to the departing gate, see where they are in the boarding process and then decide if you have time to go to the bathroom/get food.

 

[Earningmywings]

All Delta domestic flights in Atlanta are in the same concourse (usually), so distance between gates should not be an issue.

 

[decheez]

I wouldn't worry so much about maneuvering through the airport (I know it's possible to change gates in that amount of time), I'd be more worried about what happens if your first flight is delayed and how important it is to you to get there on your original schedule. I used to book flights for our guests for a company that ran pop culture conventions across North America and we tried to never book anything with less than 60 minutes between flights, regardless of the airport. Just too many things that could go wrong and less than 60 was very iffy.

 

[spiders]

There are no shortage of people who make connections in under 60 minutes in ATL.

There are very few delays in October, especially early in the morning. Spring/summer in the afternoon is when it gets dicey because of storms. ATL has 5 parallel runways…it’s built to handle a whole bunch of airplanes.

 

[disney_runner]

I've done that short of connection there, maybe even shorter, with three kids and was fine. Early in the morning helps you out there too, with a less likely chance of a delay. True, you never know, but really should be just fine! Hustle, and if you're lucky you might even have time for a bathroom break.

 

[sam_gordon]

All Delta domestic flights in Atlanta are in the same concourse (usually), so distance between gates should not be an issue.

TOTALLY incorrect, could not be further from the truth. Delta has flights on every concourse, yes, domestic.
https://apps.atl.com/Passenger/Flig...=D&SearchAirline=DL&SearchFlight=&SearchCity=

 

[Robbydj13]

TOTALLY incorrect, could not be further from the truth. Delta has flights on every concourse, yes, domestic.
https://apps.atl.com/Passenger/Flig...=D&SearchAirline=DL&SearchFlight=&SearchCity=

Yes, this. I had a flight from Florida to ATL to Oklahoma one time and my connecting flight was on the opposite side of the airport, which is fine except the tram was down so everyone had to walk. Not a big deal as I had a huge layover, but there were lots of people running.
Not saying this would happen, but I have always tried to have an hour and a half to 2 hour layover for all my flights. It just makes life easier

 

[sam_gordon]

Yes, this. I had a flight from Florida to ATL to Oklahoma one time and my connecting flight was on the opposite side of the airport, which is fine except the tram was down so everyone had to walk. Not a big deal as I had a huge layover, but there were lots of people running.
Not saying this would happen, but I have always tried to have an hour and a half to 2 hour layover for all my flights. It just makes life easier

Not saying a longer layover isn't desired, but I once made a connection in ~5 minutes, and that included changing concourses. I had some things going for me...

1) I was by myself
2) I had my carryon with me (as opposed to a smaller plane where carryons are stored with regular baggage and you have to wait for them to be delivered to the jetway.
3) Both gates were close (like 1-2 gates away) from the "central" part of concourses, so easy to get to the plane train
4) Plane train pulled up as I was going down the stairs, and the doors closed as soon as I boarded
5) I only had to go one concourse

 

[Robbydj13]

Not saying a longer layover isn't desired, but I once made a connection in ~5 minutes, and that included changing concourses. I had some things going for me...

1) I was by myself
2) I had my carryon with me (as opposed to a smaller plane where carryons are stored with regular baggage and you have to wait for them to be delivered to the jetway.
3) Both gates were close (like 1-2 gates away) from the "central" part of concourses, so easy to get to the plane train
4) Plane train pulled up as I was going down the stairs, and the doors closed as soon as I boarded
5) I only had to go one concourse

Oh you can absolutely make it, especially on an airline with reserved seats and be fine. I was mainly pointing out, that flights from the same airline are not always near each other. Sometimes gates can be across the airport and throw a monkey wrench in the whole operation.

 

[Cheburashka]

I’m looking at flights for October. We usually go with Southwest but my flights would be $2000 for 2 people. $500 each way! There’s a flight with decent times and in our price range that has a 41 minute lay over in Atlanta. We would be going from a Delta flight to another Delta flight. Carry ons only, no kids, just 2 adults. Early morning-land at 7:44 am take off at 8:25 am. What do you think? Too close? Would you do it?

Absolutely. It's Delta to Delta in a Delta dominated airport. They'll get you where you need to go. Bonus is that it's morning, the time of day when delays are least likely. But even if there were a delay, it would be their responsibility to get you to your final destination, and with so many Delta flights out of that airport, getting you on another plane shouldn't take too long.

 

[Orion Nebula]

I hate layovers but for that much savings I would 100% do it. Plus a 40min layover is nothing.

 

[spiders]

Yes, it's Delta to Delta in a Delta dominated airport. They'll get you where you need to go. Bonus is that it's morning, the time of day when delays are least likely.

It would be preferable for you to carry your bags than check them, though. The one thing I'd really worry about in this scenario would be my checked luggage making the second flight, too.

On Delta tags, you'll see "HOT" on many of them. That means the bag has less than a 60 minute connection. If the other airport did it's job correctly then the hot bags should be in a separate bin or otherwise loaded last so that way they are offloaded first unless there just aren't that many bags to begin with. It doesn't really take that long to offload...you're just throwing (I mean gently placing while wearing white gloves) onto the belt to get them off.

 

[Robbydj13]

I hate layovers but for that much savings I would 100% do it. Plus a 40min layover is nothing.

See...I love layovers lol...not 5 hours, but 2 and a half is perfect

 

[Orion Nebula]

See...I love layovers lol...not 5 hours, but 2 and a half is perfect

What do you go eat or something?

 

[Robbydj13]

What do you go eat or something?

Usually eat, have a drink, maybe shop around....really depends on the airport. There are some airports I avoid

 

[kdonnel]

The minimum connection time Delta will sell for connections in ATL is 35 minutes.

Delta also pads their flight times to ensure their on time numbers look good so a flight scheduled to be at the gate at 8:25am is likely to be at the gate 5-10 minutes before that time.

 

[EACarlson]

My only concern would be when is the next flight to your destination. If this is to MCO than I wouldn't have a problem booking it, worst case you miss your scheduled flight and DL puts you on the next flight to MCO, they pretty much run hourly. If it's ex-MCO I would consider when the next flight is. I'm flying through Atlanta on my way home in October, if I miss my connection I've got 14 hours overnight until the next one.