Atlanta airport layover...how short is too short?

[DadofChristaSonofRay]

Looking at flying Delta to MCO via Atlanta. One option we like only allows a 45 minute layover. Do you think that is too short of a layover?

If you flight is not late more than a few minutes this is doable with time for a bathroom break. The underground train moves fast and often between terminals if you have a different departure concourse.

 

[AngiTN]

I could see me flying Southwest to MCO with no problem. They actually do have flights to San Diego from Atlanta non stop, but hubby won't fly anything but Delta, and the timing of the non stop flights are mid-day and we want morning. But boy, they are cheaper. Let me ask you, with Southwest flights and it being such a short flight to Disney, do you pay extra for the early bird thing to board early to get dibs on your seats? Me and my teenager would like to sit together on flights but could care less where the seats would be on such a short flight. My husband on the other hand is 6'1'' and 250 lbs and really insists on an isle seat so not sure how that would work out for him.

Nope, never have paid for EB. Never felt a need for it. First, SW makes it too easy to check in at 24 hours exactly, even at Disney, since it's all on the app. In all our flights I've never gotten later than B's and we've always sat where we wanted with B's. I like aisle, DH likes window, so we leave the middle between us open. But, if the circumstances were that we didn't sit together, so what. I'm with him at home daily and we are together nonstop on vacation. I can manage an hour flight away from him. LOL
Even when DGD is with us, she's find sitting on her own. Heck, next week she's flying to AZ alone. She's 11 now, going on 12 in March.

 

[SL6827]

Even when DGD is with us, she's find sitting on her own. Heck, next week she's flying to AZ alone. She's 11 now, going on 12 in March.

Wow, impressive! Good for her!

 

[DebbieB]

Atlanta airport is beyond huge.

I've connected through there many times when I traveled for work. It's huge but it's very well organized. If your next plane is on a different concourse, you can walk or take a train. I've done connections as short as 35 minutes and have never missed a flight. Although my luggage has.

 

[SL6827]

I remember when we went to the Caymans in March of 2018 and then back in December. The first time the concourse was close by, nice. The next time is was the very last one. I wasn't expecting that at all. It was terrible. I felt like it was a mile further out, lol.

 

[Searc]

This is certainly do-able. We have made shorter connections. Just walk quickly to the next gate without stopping to shop, eat, etc.

And hope you don't have to go to a different terminal. I would not be comfortable with anything under an hour through Atlanta.

 

[Searc]

Is there even a Delta flight that doesn't stop in Atlanta? Are there any other airlines that will fly direct to MCO that don't stop in Atlanta?

Yes, there are other airlines that fly direct to MCO without stopping in ATL. Since ATL is Delta's major hub, almost all of their flights go through ATL. Not all airline's go through ATL, as they have different hubs.

 

[Emtgirljen]

Is there even a Delta flight that doesn't stop in Atlanta? Are there any other airlines that will fly direct to MCO that don't stop in Atlanta?

I take a Delta flight directly from DTW (Detroit Metro) to MCO without a stop in Atlanta every time I go to DTW. Not all Delta flights stop in Atlanta.

 

[sam_gordon]

I take a Delta flight directly from DTW (Detroit Metro) to MCO without a stop in Atlanta every time I go to DTW. Not all Delta flights stop in Atlanta.

My kids are flying to/from MCO on Delta with no stop from CVG (Cincinnati).

 

[AngiTN]

And hope you don't have to go to a different terminal. I would not be comfortable with anything under an hour through Atlanta.

For Southwest yes. Because you need to line up and be in your position so far in advance
For other airlines where you already have a reserved seat, it's really plenty of time. Not to stop a lot or anything but to get from gate to gate it is. We have literally gone from the furthest 2 gates there are in ATL and it takes less than 30 min, using the train. And I walk slow (just ask my DH) and I always have to make a bathroom stop.

 

[Lindscap]

Doable, but not comfortable. We had a similar layover last September. We rushed with our stroller gate to gate without stopping for food. We were still the last people to line up for boarding. The people who brought Mcdonalds on the plane were torturing me!! We are opting for a longer layover for our next trip.

 

[AngiTN]

Doable, but not comfortable. We had a similar layover last September. We rushed with our stroller gate to gate without stopping for food. We were still the last people to line up for boarding. The people who brought Mcdonalds on the plane were torturing me!! We are opting for a longer layover for our next trip.

Brings up something to consider when planning, I assume you had to wait on your stroller after disembarking from the first flight? This is a delay that one wouldn't want to have for a short layover. Nor would waiting on oversized bags to be brought out, if you are on one that can't take roll-a-board bags. When we have a short layover we plan ahead and ensure we won't have anything that we have to wait on, so we can deplane and go. If you know you'll have a stroller, I wouldn't want a quick turn around either.

 

[maxiesmom]

I take a Delta flight directly from DTW (Detroit Metro) to MCO without a stop in Atlanta every time I go to DTW. Not all Delta flights stop in Atlanta.

Yep. When I fly Delta from Grand Rapids MI the stops are either Detroit or Atlanta.

We just did an hour layover in Atlanta last week. It was perfect. But we did upgrade to Comfort + on the first leg so we could quickly get off of the airplane.

 

[sethschroeder]

hubby won't fly anything but Delta,

Does he have status? If not I would push him to expanding his horizons especially when it saves headaches that are connections. You are just doubling your chances at delays, mechanical issues, and weather issues.

My husband on the other hand is 6'1'' and 250 lbs and really insists on an isle seat so not sure how that would work out for him.

Even more reason to switch and take that direct Southwest flight. Delta, American, and United all have next to no legroom unless you specially pay extra to have it even then its questionable sometimes. I am 6'2 and will find my knees squarely in the back of the seat in front of me even more so when people recline. I also say personally its better to sit on the window where the window bay is at your shoulder as it gives you more room (this is an issue when preselecting seats though as you don't know the seat alignment to window bays).

do you pay extra for the early bird thing to board early to get dibs on your seats?

Couple ways to handle this.

Take your chances and check in at 24 hours from the flight. If you get a boarding position far enough back (B30+ or Cs) then pay for 1 upgrade to boarding positions 1-15 at the gate (typically available and will run you $50).

Pay for early bird boarding for at least him ($25 each way) and when he boards he should go to the back third of the aircraft where you can then join him. He can simply put something in the seat next to him and save your seat. Since it's a middle seat there is 0 harm in saving that seat as most people don't want a middle unless forced anyways.

 

[sam_gordon]

Even more reason to switch and take that direct Southwest flight. Delta, American, and United all have next to no legroom unless you specially pay extra to have it even then its questionable sometimes. I am 6'2 and will find my knees squarely in the back of the seat in front of me even more so when people recline.

According to https://www.airlinequality.com/info/seat-pitch-guide/, the seat pitch for Delta and Southwest is 32" (economy). I actually took note of how much room there was between my knees and the seat in front of me, and I'd guess about 4-5" (little bit more than my cell phone). I'm 5'9". And this was a CRJ900.

 

[sethschroeder]

According to https://www.airlinequality.com/info/seat-pitch-guide/, the seat pitch for Delta and Southwest is 32" (economy). I actually took note of how much room there was between my knees and the seat in front of me, and I'd guess about 4-5" (little bit more than my cell phone). I'm 5'9". And this was a CRJ900.

The issue is not seat pitch (I personally don't recline). The issue is the actual leg space when seat hitting the seat in front of you. Delta, United, American are going to have roughly 30"-31" and Southwest, Alaska are going to have roughly 33"-34". It doesn't sound like much but it is roughly a 10% additional legroom on Southwest/Alaska.

EDIT: Wanted to just further clarify that when I say "legroom" its the space between your butt to the seat in front of you (in line with your knees).

 

[EACarlson]

The issue is not seat pitch (I personally don't recline). The issue is the actual leg space when seat hitting the seat in front of you. Delta, United, American are going to have roughly 30"-31" and Southwest, Alaska are going to have roughly 33"-34". It doesn't sound like much but it is roughly a 10% additional legroom on Southwest/Alaska.

EDIT: Wanted to just further clarify that when I say "legroom" its the space between your butt to the seat in front of you (in line with your knees).

You do realize that this is the definition of seat pitch right? It is the measurement of distance between two identical parts of the seat, has nothing to do with reclining.

I would not have an issue with a 45 minute connection as long as there are no mobility issues in your party or anything that you have to wait for. But that's my opinion, I also called Delta when the schedule change brought my connection to 55 minutes and they rebooked me on a non-stop, but I also will have a child in a car seat.

 

[k5thbeatle]

Thanks for all the replies! Appreciate it!

 

[sweetpeama]

Since Delta's main hub for the entire US is in Atlanta you should be fine there as long as your not coming in on the last flight of the day they should be able to reroute you if your flight to there is late and you miss your connecting flight.
That said unless you have a non stop to your home airport or your home airport is one that would require you to use an essential airline from a small regional hub which 39% of the flights at my local airport do as we are the hub for 100% of flights on one airline going to 5 towns in the same state; I would see if there is a direct to a hub that you can use.
For example for my local airport I could fly between there and MCO using SLC or MSP both which go direct to either my airport of MCO or I could use one of them and then fly to either Detroit or Atlanta and continue on making it a 2 stop flight. Not happening if I can avoid it which means I just do my search to be 1 stop. I have played around some with international flights and those at least to Europe I would need to use a 2nd hub with most of them being Atlanta, Boston, JFK, La Guardia, and I think one of the DC area airports.
Not only do are there no options for a non stop flight (direct can be non stop but it can also be that there is a stop just that you do not change planes or sometimes necessarily even leave the plane, this was commonly done in the Soviet Era on flights between Europe and East Asia as most western airlines were not permitted to fly over Siberia. Airlines would fly towards the US and over Canada landing in Fairbanks Alaska for a refueling before continuing onto places like Japan and Korea. There is a great video on youtube by windover productions that explains this I believe it is called the worlds largest no fly zone) we also do not have service from Southwest or another budget airline with the exception of Mon and Fri once a day in the summer months only we can fly to Los Angeles on a non stop flight.

 

[sweetpeama]

https://dl.fltmaps.com/en
delta hub map if it helps to see what hubs are close to you