Connecting in ATL

[Jaylie]

We will be flying from Orlando to San Francisco (Delta) and the flight connects in Atlanta which is an airport we have never been in. With only a one-hour layover, I’m worried about making the connection. If anyone has made connections at ATL, can you tell me if the gates are near each other. We will have one carry-on bag and our seats are toward the back of the plane. Thanks for any help!

 

[sam_gordon]

We will be flying from Orlando to San Francisco (Delta) and the flight connects in Atlanta which is an airport we have never been in. With only a one-hour layover, I’m worried about making the connection. If anyone has made connections at ATL, can you tell me if the gates are near each other. We will have one carry-on bag and our seats are toward the back of the plane. Thanks for any help!

The gates can be near each other or they might not. Here's the terminal map:


I have made a connection between concourses in <10 minutes. But, I'm familiar with the layout, both gates (different concourses) were near the escalators, and I caught the "plane train" (the shuttle train between concourses) just right. Barring any mobility issues (strollers, wheelchairs, slow walkers, etc) you should have no problem w/a one hour layover.

The best suggestion is to get off the plane, orient yourself, then go immediately to the next gate (do not stop for a bathroom, do not stop for food, do not stop for shopping). Once you get there, THEN make your bathroom/snack/shopping stops if needed.

 

[Timothy02359]

I agree with Sam. Just head to your gate then hit the bathroom, etc if needed. You should make it no problem.

 

[JBeaty0507]

Honestly, I feel like the Atlanta airport is one of the easiest connection airports I've ever been to. As long as flights are on time, a 1 hour connection is no problem. More than likely you will have to change concourses. Just walk towards the middle (follow any signs that say baggage claim), then go down to the plane train (my father-in-law always wants to know where the fancy train is) and take it to your next concourse. It's super quick and we've never had a problem .

 

[spiders]

It’s not hard and there are plenty of people who make connections with less than one hour.

While anything is possible, chances are that you will arrive and depart from A or B. C is typically all Delta Connection, they only have half of D and E & F are mostly international so unless your plane from MCO is going international afterwards, it will be unlikely to arrive there.

 

[OKW Lover]

We are Delta frequent flyers and regularly connect in ATL. A one-hour connection there is no problem. Its easy to find your way around and even if your gates are far apart you'll make it in time.

 

[georgina]

Someone said it above - AS LONG AS FLIGHTS ARE ON TIME. We have had terrible luck connecting through Atlanta on Delta, weather delays, flight delays, had to find overnight accommodations. But if you miss your connection at least there should be more flights they can put you on.

 

[AngiTN]

We've gone from literally the furthest 2 gates in ATL and made connections that are less than an hour, with time to spare. And I walk like a sloth.

 

[LilyWDW]

I hate ATL... but you will be fine as long as your original flight is on time.

 

[spiders]

I'm a little bias since I live in ATL and I'm an air traffic controller here but I think ATL is a fantastic airport. We run a ton of flights here and the overwhelming majority are on time. At Atlanta Center, which is a larger radar facility covering both the Atlanta and Charlotte hubs and of course all overflights, it handled over 3 million flights last year.

If you really want to see how everything compares, here it is:

https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/by_the_numbers/media/Air_Traffic_by_the_Numbers_2019.pdf

 

[AngiTN]

I'm a little bias since I live in ATL and I'm an air traffic controller here but I think ATL is a fantastic airport. We run a ton of flights here and the overwhelming majority are on time. At Atlanta Center, which is a larger radar facility covering both the Atlanta and Charlotte hubs and of course all overflights, it handled over 3 million flights last year.

If you really want to see how everything compares, here it is:

https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/by_the_numbers/media/Air_Traffic_by_the_Numbers_2019.pdf

The only thing that ATL has going against it is it's in Atlanta, LOL
I wouldn't mine flying out of it nearly as much if you didn't have to drive through Atlanta to get there
I've always found the airport itself very efficient and very easy to get around in. For as busy as it is, security runs well too

 

[MillauFr]

Next time you fly SFO - MCO just book Alaska non-stop. Then you won't have to worry about connecting flights.

 

[ccudmore]

Print off a map of the gates (like the one above). When you land in ATL, while you're taxiing in you can check on your phone what your arrival and departure gates are and map out your route through the airport. If things are tight this could save you several minutes of looking for directions.

 

[maxiesmom]

Where are you seated on the first flight? Towards the front of the plane? Hopefully not at the back. Seems like whenever I am in a hurry, the Sloth Family is in front of me, taking forever to get their bags and get off of the darned plane!

My advice is to move your seats as far forward as you can. Then, you need to make it your job to get to your next gate. No stopping for anything until you are there.

 

[McMonsters]

Someone said it above - AS LONG AS FLIGHTS ARE ON TIME. We have had terrible luck connecting through Atlanta on Delta, weather delays, flight delays, had to find overnight accommodations. But if you miss your connection at least there should be more flights they can put you on.

We also run into issues with connecting at ATL, twice we've missed flights because of delays. Granted the pilot had to get our stroller on one flight and then we were at the back of the plane the other time. I try to have at least 2 hours between our flights now, just in case......

 

[gatour]

I don't mind flying through Atlanta and have done it relatively frequently but am not a true road warrior.

When you get the gate assignments for both legs take a note which concourse you are on. If you have to change concourses you will need to the central "spine" and take an escalator or elevator down to the train and slide walks that go between concourses. From my experience, if you are only going one terminal over, i.e. from concourse A to concourse B. using the slide walk is a bit faster unless a train has just come into the station. Going two concourses or more the train is more efficient time wise.

Take a look at the map that was provided in another post. It will give you an idea on which direction you need to head once deboarding the plane.

However the signage is pretty good. If you need to change concourses head in the direction that says baggage claim. This will lead you to the central "spine".

One thing you might want to do is look for the departure boards and find your next flight. Sometimes there are gate assignment changes after your boarding pass was printed.

As another one have suggested. After getting off the inbound flight, immediately head to the outbound gate. Once you ascertain flight status, then go use restrooms etc.

An hour turnover between flights is fairly common, and you should have plenty of time between flights to get to the gate, including a restroom break or a stop to get food to go.

 

[LadyBeBop]

I've just noticed you're flying MCO-ATL-SFO. That makes somewhat of a difference. I don't think there are as many flights going ATL-SFO than ATL-MCO. Still, if there are problems, Delta will be proactive in getting you home.

One advantage is, you'll probably won't be flying a Delta Connection flight. As a result, both of your flights will probably be out of A or B. Hopefully both flights will be the same concourse.

You said you'll have a carry-on. Try not to gate check your carry-on. Or if you do, see if they'll gate check it all the way to SFO. In any event, you don't want to wait around the plane for your bag.

 

[sam_gordon]

I wanted to follow up, I went through Atlanta twice last week. Both times came in Terminal A and connected to B. First time we had 90 minute layover, second time was 60. Both times we were toward the back of the first plane. Both times we had no problem deplaning, transferring concourses (we used the moving sidewalks, not the plane train), stopped for food (QS, not sit down), took the food to the gate, and still had 20+ minutes to eat before boarding started. Closer to 30+ minutes before our section was ready to board. As long as your flight is on time, an hour is plenty of time to change gates.

 

[_19disnA]

Have connected through Atlanta several times and never had any issues. It is good to know the layout of the airport and how the walkway/trains are located in the center of the terminals and run perpendicular to them. Delta is a very well run airline and they have several other flights for that route with less connecting time then yours, so should be fine. Sitting toward the front of the plane would save a few minutes since there are always a few people who act like this is their first time on an airplane and seem oblivious to those around them.

Always check for the current departure gate when exiting your connecting flight since sometimes these do change. If there is a travel delay due to weather or other issues, the airline might hold your next flight or certainly make arrangements to get you on a later flight.

 

[sam_gordon]

If there is a travel delay due to weather or other issues, the airline might hold your next flight or certainly make arrangements to get you on a later flight.

I would not count on this. A couple years ago we were connecting through Detroit to an international flight. We originally had a 90 minute layover. Because of some delay (not weather related), that 90 minutes got cut down to <10. Delta would NOT hold the connecting flight, AND there were no other flights with seats available for two days AND there were five of us trying to make that connection. I was VERY stressed (didn't help that I had to wait for a gate checked bag to show up).