Delta and layover times

[sherbet]

I have found some reasonable flighte for December from Austin but am worried about layover times. Going to Orlando we change at Cincinnati and have 45 minutes and coming back change at Atlanta and layover time is 35 minutes. Is this even feasible? Has anyone done this with such a short layover? thanks

 

[sam_gordon]

I have found some reasonable flighte for December from Austin but am worried about layover times. Going to Orlando we change at Cincinnati and have 45 minutes and coming back change at Atlanta and layover time is 35 minutes. Is this even feasible? Has anyone done this with such a short layover? thanks

I think 45 minutes at Cincinnati you'll be OK.
Atlanta could be tight.

Figure the airline will start boarding ~20-25 minutes before the flight is due to leave and will stop boarding ~5 minutes before hand. The next thing to factor in would be which concourse(s) you'll have to deal with.

In Atlanta, the concourses can be long and you have to go down to a subway to go between them. Worst case scenario you'd deplane at one end of one concourse and have to go to one end of another concourse. IMO, you MIGHT make that in a 35 minute layover if A) you don't have to worry about kids and B) if you don't have to wait on the tram.

 

[sherbet]

I wonder why they schedule fkights like that then !! I have 3 teenagers. What would happen if we missed it, would we go on the next flight.? The price is tempting but dont want to be stranded in Atlanta for hours on end.

 

[msmayor]

My daughter flies through Atlanta a lot coming/going to college, and she tries to never make a connection tighter than 45-50 minutes. While sometimes she has enough time to stop and grab a bottle of water and snack, there are also times she is headed off the plane on a dead run and makes it as they are finishing boarding on the connection.

 

[WDWisTheBest]

I wonder why they schedule fkights like that then !! I have 3 teenagers. What would happen if we missed it, would we go on the next flight.? The price is tempting but dont want to be stranded in Atlanta for hours on end.

If it were me, I wouldn't do it. While it meets regulations, as another poster said, what if everything didn't work as planned?

 

[andymattmom]

I wouldn't do it! We flew Delta to Arizona this summer. Flew through Minneapolis on return flight and had a scheduled 55 minute or so layover. Plenty of time...NOT. The flight from Phoenix was DELAYED due to strong headwinds on inbound plane we were getting on. We were late leaving Phoenix by 35-45 minutes. Pilot announces we will make up most of the time due to strong tailwinds..GREAT! We land maybe 10 minutes after our scheduled time---GREAT! But then we are stuck for 20 minutes waiting for a gate ...so now 25 minutes to get to next plane (hope for a potty stop on the way and maybe food if possible to eat on plane). Well we were in the middle of the plane (maybe row 18-22). You have all those people in front of you waiting to get off and getting their bags out of overhead--do you think they will let anyone off who says they have a close connection--NO! You have to wait for those to get off who 'REQUIRE EXTRA TIME TO GET ON THE PLANE AND PREBOARD--BUT ARE PERFECTLY FINE TO TAKE ALL THAT TIME TO GET OFF THE PLANE AND HOLD EVERYONE ELSE UP' ...sorry my rant is that if you require extra time to get ON the plane you should be polite and wait until everyone is OFF the plane. By the time we FINALLY got off the plane and saw the monitor of where are connecting flight was we RAN 2 gates over to hear the gate attendant announce final boarding call for XXXX party before seats are given to standbys. They didn't want to hear about our delayed flight as we handed the tickets to them.

Due to several incidents on that trip we ended up with $500 in vouchers. We just purchased tickets last week on Delta with them for spring break. My shortest layover is 1.5 hours...longest 3 hours. Not looking forward to 3 hour one but knowing we have that long of a time if flight is delayed or mechanical issues makes me feel better.

There are so many little things you don't take into account...plan on 10 minutes to get off the plane once it is at the gate...people aren't in a hurry and it always takes so long to get off. If you have to change concourses, etc like others mentioned you could be in big trouble.

WATCH your flight times with Delta...they changed one on us and didn't notify us. Also, our flight to Phoenix was canceled due to bad weather--the night before. They said when we arrived at airport they had notified us by email...haha cause EVERYONE else was there for the same flight. Thankfully they were great about getting us there and the customer service was good. I am watching my flights for April weekly now...if the connection gets too tight or flight times change for worse I will be on the phone with them changing flights.

 

[OKW Lover]

I'm a very frequent Delta flier so I know this from experience. The layover in CVG is no problem at all. You can easily change planes there in as little as 20 minutes.

Your layover in ATL is pretty tight though. It is a legal connection, but if you can get your flights changed to something longer I'd go ahead and do it especially as you aren't familiar with things there. If you are stuck with this connection do this; try to get a seat as far to the front of the aircraft as possible, travel as light as possible, walk as fast as possible from your arrival gate to the departure gate without stopping for food or restroom along the way. If after all that you still don't make the connection, don't panic. Delta will have recognized you didn't make it and will do its best to reschedule you on the next available flight to your destination that still has room. If this happens, don't stand in a long line waiting for somebody to help you. Instead, call Delta's 800 number and they will re-book you with minimal waiting.

Good luck.

 

[andymattmom]

Please Please Please...remember there can be delay issues. People might make connections that are close BUT there is always the chance of delays. Mechanical, weather OR crew not having enough rest time. These are not planned, no one can see them coming. If you are traveling at a busy time then you could have trouble getting on a flight...in my previous post I didn't mention we did get on a flight TO Phoenix but ended up paying $500 for a rental car to drive to Cincinnati to catch the flight. We HAD to get to Phoenix for a graduation...this was day after Memorial day and ALL other flights to Phoenix were booked...they could have gotten us out the next day which didn't work. With so few flights and so many booked you might not be guaranteed a seat on the next flight.

I learned and while others might say you will make it, you don't know if there will be a delay for a gate even if you do land on time. You don't know your seats will get moved and you will be in the back of the plane and there will be slow people, etc. People travel with so much carry-on now a quick escape off the plane is not really feasible unless you are in first class.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I agree that a 35 minute connection time in Atlanta is too close for comfort. Try and get this changed if you can.

 

[sam_gordon]

IMO, a 50min-1 hour layover should be plenty of time even in Atlanta. If I was travelling during winter (more chances of delayed flights) I might extend that, but that should be enough time.

I don't know if they still do this or not, but if the first leg of your flight is going long, contact the FA on that flight and see if they can call ahead to hold your second flight (probably won't be able to do so for more than 5-10 minutes).

If you take andymattmom too literally you'll be scheduling 2-3 hour layovers. Which is fine if that's what you want, but they're not for me.

 

[sherbet]

Thanks for all your replies. I think i will continue to look and see if i can find better flight times. I agree that 35 minutes is just too short. We will be going in December so who knows what the weather will be like. It seems that the cheaper tickets either have too short or too long layovers!! Thanks again.

 

[DebbieB]

Another Delta FF here and I agree - CVG is good, they are down to one concourse there. 35 min in ATL is too close, especially with checked luggage. If it was to MCO I would say go for it but from MCO to Austin probably not, especially if it's late in the day.