ATL Layover?

[DeadHead]

Hi all, DW & I going to WDW from PHL in Oct via Airtran, going down we have a 53 minute layover in ATL to make our connection to MCO. DW is concerned that it may not be enough time, especially if we have to change concourses. Any feedback would be greatly appreicated.

 

[DonnaL]

I have to agree.......Hartsfield can be a very difficult airport to navigate in that amount of time........this might be one time you hope your first flight arrives a few minutes early and the connecting flight is delayed a little bit! We had an hour several years ago at ATL and by the time we got to our connecting gate the plane was half boarded...... We haven't flown through ATL since that trip........once we did get boarded we had to wait for clearance to take off for over an hour......there were 26 planes in front of us....we counted them as we taxied down the runway from the terminal to the departure runway.

 

[M2DD's]

We flew airtran last yr and had a 52 min layover.We were able to get off the plane and wait for them to bring the stroller up and then get over to our connecting flight and get a new set of tags for our stroller and still had time before we boarded the next flight.If your connecting plane is airtran it will be in the same concorse I believe.You also have to keep in mind that your not going to be the only one connecting so the air line may know to wait for you.This happened on a way back on air tran.Our flight was over an hour late departing and landing and airtran held the connecting flight for everyone eles.I must say that the plane had already been boarded and the other guest had to wait an hour on the ground.I felt bad for them but relieved to say the least.
This is just our expeirence and other may have missed there connection
We are flying delta in 3 wks and have a 42 min layover.
They wouldn't book the flights that close if most people couldn't make them. IMOH

 

[erinch]

it's a crap shoot...if you're delayed in take off or deplaning and the next plane is running on time you might not make it. If there are no glitches, you will. What I'd do first is see when the next flight goes, if you miss your connecting. If there are several follwoing the one you hope to make, then all is likely to be well, even if you get stuck in ATL for ahile. If it's urgent that your timing not be screwed up, I'd talk with them about a longer window at ATL for connecting.

 

[Pirate at Heart]

Hey,

Just got back from Atlanta a few weeks ago; it is a large airport.

I fly often, my advice, alway give yourself at least an 1 1/2 hour lay over. Problems can and do happen, not just in Atlanta but at any airport.

I always feel it's better to be safe than sorry...you don't want to miss your connection...stand by can take hours and hours to find you a seat and your luggage my go ahead without you or stay behind if you just make it in time. This happened to me in LA and I had to wait around for 3 hours for my luggage to catch up!!!

Whatever you decide have a great trip!!!

 

[DrmWvr1299]

If you are only flying Airtran for each leg of your trip it will be on the same concourse. Last year we used Airtran and flew into Atlanta about 15 minutes later than scheduled (we had a 50 minute layover). We were told as we were leaving the plane that our connecting flight was being held for us but do not dawdle and go directly to the gate.

 

[OKW Lover]

Since this trip is on AirTran, you won't have a problem with a 53 minute connection at ATL. AirTran operates out of one concourse so at worse you'll have to walk the length of the concourse - easily done in 15 minutes.

Now if you were flying on DL, my answer might be different.

 

[minie_meese]

I fly a lot and have missed connections on occasion. A 53 minute connection is tight but most of the time it will be ok if both flights are in teh same terminal. I like to have at least an hour, more if I am changing terminals. I hate that feeling of rushing to caach a flight. The airlines do not want to hold flights because they measure success on % of on-time departures. I once missed a flight by 2 minutes. The door was closed on time and there were 8 people on my flight who had connections on that flight. We all missed the connection. A lot of things can happen to eat into the connection - traffic holds, weather, etc.

Theses are some things I do to minimize the risk of missing a connection

Try to get seats near the front of the plane on your first flight.
Minimize your carry ons - hard to do when you've got little ones but at least get bags stored at your seat or in front of you (not behind you).
As soon as you land, check the monitor for your connecting flight (sometimes flights change gates)
If possible, note the next flight on your airline to your destination and its gate.
Go immediately to your connecting gate (don't stop at the bathroom or anyplace else). If you have an adult that can run to the gate have them do so and let the gate agent know the rest of your part is right behind.
Go to your connecting gate even if they announce on the plane that people will miss their connection - I have had flights that ended up having to wait for something else and I made my connection but nobody else on my first flight did.
If your plane has departed ask at the gate where you missed the flight to be put on the next flight or go to the gate for the next flight and see if you can get on the flight. Most airlines can accommodate you at the gate. Not sure about Airtran. Avoid Customer Service lines if at all possible.
If you do miss a flight take a deep breath and don't let it spoil your trip.

Have a great one.

 

[JanB]

Several people have mentioned Airtran all being on one concourse. That is, indeed, the way that the airport is laid out. However, you can't totally rely on every Airtran flight arriving and departing from that one concourse. I recently flew home to Atlanta on Airtran from Milwaukee. We were an hour late (due to a medical emergency on the airplane before Milwaukee -- not Airtran's fault).

Anyway -- by the time we arrived on the ground in ATL, of course the planned arrival gate had long since been assigned to another plane -- there were other flights (on varying airlines) that were late leaving or late departing due to weather -- and so they were having to juggle the gate assignments the best they could. We were an hour late landing -- there were other planes trying to get into a gate -- and we then sat on the tarmac for 20 minutes waiting for a gate to come open. The gate that we finally got to was NOT on the regular Airtran concourse.

There were people on our flight who were making connections. They do hold the connecting flight when they can. But on that evening, the Flight Attendants told us that that was not a guarantee. Their connecting flights were on a different concourse -- and it was late in the evening, so some people were in the position of possibly having to wait until the next day to connect.

With a 50 minute planned layover, it really wouldn't take much to totally change your schedule. All it takes is bad weather in the Northeast, and it affects the entire airport. If you can go with the flow and would not be upset to miss the connecting flight and to hopefully get on the next flight, then go for it. But I think that in Atlanta, a 1-1/2 hr (or even 2 hour) layover is much safer. There are plenty of shops and places to eat if you need to kill time.