Atlanta-MCO frequent flyers

[Stitch's Greatest Fa]

Hi, we are flying in from the UK with Virgin next week, changing at Atlanta down to MCO. We did this in Feb with a 3.5 hr layover and all was fine. Problem is the Virgin through ticket I bought this time would only give a two hour ten min layover, this is not changeable and I know it is extremely tight. We are already sitting right by the door of the aircraft to give us a better chance of getting to immigration in a timely fashion. I’ve just looked at the ATL airport website and yesterday and today the flight we are scheduled on was delayed almost two hours both days (I would love for this to happen on our day). Does anyone know if they do this to allow VA guests to make the plane. Our plane from MAN is full and I’m guessing most of us are on that onward Delta flight to MCO (it was £1000 cheaper than a direct flight). I don’t need tips on getting through the airport etc. as we’ve done all that before. Just wondered if anyone knew if they held the plane if waiting for a lot of passengers in transit. Also the passport kiosks were not in operation in immigration in Feb, anyone know if they are up and running at the present time? Thank you so much x

 

[Papilerg16]

What time is the ATL-MCO flight? We’ve been having pop up storms around the airport the last few afternoons, so it’s more likely that’s been the cause of the delay.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

You also have to factor in that where those planes are coming from could be delayed getting in to ATL because of the weather where they are flying from. Also most of the time the flight crew that will be flying those planes are come from a totally different city then where your plane is coming from. For example we go stuck in Nashville because our plane got diverted to another city and the flight crew got diverted to another city. So we had to wait on the plane then wait of the flight crew to arrive before we could take off.

 

[Stitch's Greatest Fa]

What time is the ATL-MCO flight? We’ve been having pop up storms around the airport the last few afternoons, so it’s more likely that’s been the cause of the delay.

The flight is at 5pm. I really hope it’s delayed next Saturday!

 

[writerguyfl]

Hi, we are flying in from the UK with Virgin next week, changing at Atlanta down to MCO. We did this in Feb with a 3.5 hr layover and all was fine. Problem is the Virgin through ticket I bought this time would only give a two hour ten min layover, this is not changeable and I know it is extremely tight.

Airlines only sell tickets with connections that can be successfully accomplished most of the time. They tend to be conservative on times because if the inbound flight is late, the airline will need to figure out a way to get you to your destination.

Some Good News: The minimum connection time for an international to domestic connection at the Atlanta International Airport is 1 hour 25 minutes. That means you have an extra 45 minutes from the shortest connection sold. If you're inbound flight is on time, you'll probably be fine.

More Good News: Delta has flights between Atlanta and Orlando almost every hour. And they almost always fly big single-aisle jets with many seats...not 60-seat regional aircraft. If you do end up missing your 5pm flight, there are five other nonstop flights that depart later that evening.

Our plane from MAN is full and I’m guessing most of us are on that onward Delta flight to MCO (it was £1000 cheaper than a direct flight).

I could be wrong, but I doubt that most passengers from your flight are heading to Orlando. Delta (Virgin's partner) flies to over 200 destinations from Atlanta. I'd bet that only a handful of passengers will be on the same connecting flight to Orlando.

Just wondered if anyone knew if they held the plane if waiting for a lot of passengers in transit.

It's very unlikely that Delta will hold a flight even if a lot of passengers are missing. The reasoning behind that fact is because they need to maintain the schedule. The 5pm plane that goes from Atlanta to Orlando isn't going to sit in Orlando until the next day. It's actually going to be used for a departing flight somewhere around 8pm or later.

Holding a plane to accommodate a few late passengers usually ends up disrupting hundreds of passengers who are scheduled to fly on that same aircraft later in the day. As such, it doesn't usually happen unless it's the very last flight of the night going to a smaller airport. And even then, it's not likely because the crew on the plane usually are the ones flying it back the next morning and they legally have to have X number of hours of rest between flights on different days.

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TL;DR: You'll probably make your connection. If you don't, you'll still probably make it Orlando later in the evening.

 

[Stitch's Greatest Fa]

Airlines only sell tickets with connections that can be successfully accomplished most of the time. They tend to be conservative on times because if the inbound flight is late, the airline will need to figure out a way to get you to your destination.

Some Good News: The minimum connection time for an international to domestic connection at the Atlanta International Airport is 1 hour 25 minutes. That means you have an extra 45 minutes from the shortest connection sold. If you're inbound flight is on time, you'll probably be fine.

More Good News: Delta has flights between Atlanta and Orlando almost every hour. And they almost always fly big single-aisle jets with many seats...not 60-seat regional aircraft. If you do end up missing your 5pm flight, there are five other nonstop flights that depart later that evening.



I could be wrong, but I doubt that most passengers from your flight are heading to Orlando. Delta (Virgin's partner) flies to over 200 destinations from Atlanta. I'd bet that only a handful of passengers will be on the same connecting flight to Orlando.



It's very unlikely that Delta will hold a flight even if a lot of passengers are missing. The reasoning behind that fact is because they need to maintain the schedule. The 5pm plane that goes from Atlanta to Orlando isn't going to sit in Orlando until the next day. It's actually going to be used for a departing flight somewhere around 8pm or later.

Holding a plane to accommodate a few late passengers usually ends up disrupting hundreds of passengers who are scheduled to fly on that same aircraft later in the day. As such, it doesn't usually happen unless it's the very last flight of the night going to a smaller airport. And even then, it's not likely because the crew on the plane usually are the ones flying it back the next morning and they legally have to have X number of hours of rest between flights on different days.

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TL;DR: You'll probably make your connection. If you don't, you'll still probably make it Orlando later in the evening.

Thanks for all this, what I didn’t include in my original post was that when we did this flight back in February, we stood in lone at the immigration kiosks for 90 mins and at security for 15 mins. If this were the case this time, that gives us 20 mins spare u til flight leaves. I’m not expecting them to hold the flight I get that this is disruptive, I just don’t quite understand the rebooking onto the next flight thing and the being on standby.....standby is not a thing in the UK, you are either on the flight or not! Would we be standby if we didn’t make the flight or would we actually be booked onto a flight?

 

[sam_gordon]

Would we be standby if we didn’t make the flight or would we actually be booked onto a flight?

My experience with Delta is they will book you onto a later flight automatically.

 

[writerguyfl]

I’m not expecting them to hold the flight I get that this is disruptive, I just don’t quite understand the rebooking onto the next flight thing and the being on standby.....standby is not a thing in the UK, you are either on the flight or not! Would we be standby if we didn’t make the flight or would we actually be booked onto a flight?

As sam_gordon notes, you will automatically get booked on the next available flight. Outside of a few unique situations (like airline employees flying on personal travel), we don't really have standby here in the United States any longer, either.

I mentioned all the additional same-day flights to Orlando because it greatly improves your odds of still getting there same-day if your inbound Virgin flight is late. With five flights after your scheduled one, you should be fine unless you have a huge group traveling. Just be aware that if you are late, you may not be able to sit next to your travel companions on the short flight from Atlanta to Orlando.

One recommendation is to make sure you have your Delta confirmation code. This code will be different from the main one issued by Virgin Atlantic. It's helpful to have because if you are delayed, you can go to any Delta kiosk in Atlantic and print out new boarding passes for the automatically rebooked flight.

That said, you can still go to of the Delta Customer Service desks in Atlanta if you want to talk to a live human being. The kiosks are usually faster, however.

Thanks for all this, what I didn’t include in my original post was that when we did this flight back in February, we stood in lone at the immigration kiosks for 90 mins and at security for 15 mins.

Good luck with this aspect. I wish entry into the United States for tourists was less onerous...particularly for residents of our oldest international ally. But, that's a whole different conversation.

 

[SL6827]

90 minutes at immigration? What is the normal amount of time for most folk? Now both times I re-entered the US we had my daughter who was in a wheel chair at the time, and we pretty much breezed through. We waited just a bit with the second trip, but not long.

 

[writerguyfl]

I don't know how accurate this is, but US Customs and Border Control provides past wait times by airport. I'm fairly certain Virgin Atlantic uses Terminal F. (Data is broken down by Terminal.)

US Customs and Border Protection Airport Wait Times: https://awt.cbp.gov/
Because I like math and spreadsheets, I calculated the Average Wait Time and Maximum Wait Time for Non US Citizens using data from that site. The following is for the 2pm to 3pm hour (when you flight should arrive) for July 1st to July 22nd, 2019 (the last day of data).

Since you're arriving on a Saturday, I pulled out the three past Saturdays in July 2019. The averages didn't change much.

Average Wait Time for Non US Citizens between 2pm and 3pm for July: 23 minutes
Maximum Wait Time for Non US Citizens between 2pm and 3pm for July: 55 minutes

Average Wait Time for Non US Citizens between 2pm and 3pm for Saturdays in July: 24 minutes
Maximum Wait Time for Non US Citizens between 2pm and 3pm for Saturdays in July: 51 minutes

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I also used the 3pm to 4pm data to see what might happen if your flight is just a little late. Here are the results:

Average Wait Time for Non US Citizens between 3pm and 4pm for July: 19 minutes
Maximum Wait Time for Non US Citizens between 3pm and 4pm for July: 43 minutes

Average Wait Time for Non US Citizens between 3pm and 4pm for Saturdays in July: 15 minutes
Maximum Wait Time for Non US Citizens between 3pm and 4pm for Saturdays in July: 33 minutes

Calculations can be found here:
Excel Format (xls): http://my-content-locker.com/data/spreadsheets/ATL-July2019-Customs_wait_times.xls
Open Office Calc Format (ods): http://my-content-locker.com/data/spreadsheets/ATL-July2019-Customs_wait_times.ods

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If the data is accurate and nothing unusual is happening (like thunderstorms that cause previous international flights to be delayed), it looks like you should be able to make your connecting flight.

PS: I know that most people aren't comforted by math and spreadsheets, but that's all I got!

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Thanks for all this, what I didn’t include in my original post was that when we did this flight back in February, we stood in lone at the immigration kiosks for 90 mins and at security for 15 mins. If this were the case this time, that gives us 20 mins spare u til flight leaves. I’m not expecting them to hold the flight I get that this is disruptive, I just don’t quite understand the rebooking onto the next flight thing and the being on standby.....standby is not a thing in the UK, you are either on the flight or not! Would we be standby if we didn’t make the flight or would we actually be booked onto a flight?

With Delta we were on standby but we were put at the top of the list. And we were on standby because the flight was already full. If the flight is not full you will be given a ticket