Enough time to switch planes in Atlanta?

[waltslostnephew]

Hello, 6 of us (3 small kids) will be flying via Airtran, to orlando on Nov. 13th. We land in Atlanta at 8:10 pm and switch planes with Airtran still and that flight leaves at 8:50 pm. So it seems we may have 20 minutes to get to the next gate, which should be close (since same airline). Is 40 minutes enough time in between flights with Airtran in Atlanta. Worse case scenario there is one more later flight after the 8:50pm to MCO, just in case. Any advice please. We have never flown Airtran or gone to Atlanta before Orlando. Thanks!

 

[Letsbgoofy]

I personally would not be comfortable with 3 small children and that little time. 20 minutes is assuming that your flight gets in right on time - although a late arrival might mean a late departure as well. You can't be sure that there will be seats on the later flight either - do you want to be stuck in Atlanta overnight?

Best case scenario - you get to Atlanta right on time, wait about 10 minutes to get off the plane and only have to walk a few gates away. I am never so lucky, so I would be booking the later flight!

 

[waltslostnephew]

Thanks!, Anyone else...

 

[disnut8]

Hartsfield-Jackson Airport is the busiest in the world. And the terminals are really big so in order for you to make your next flight in those twenty minutes with three kids, your arrival gate and departure gate are going to have to be right next to each other. And I wouldn't count on that at all. AirTran has a big presence in Atlanta, I believe it's only second behind Delta in the number of gates it uses.

I wouldn't book the two flights that close together. Especially at night. The later the flight time, the more likely it's going to be delayed departing your hometown.

For the Atlanta airport, an hour in between flights might be enough but even that is iffy.

 

[tkldisney]

Airtrans flights normally go out of same concourse so you should have time. I've had to switch concourses with DL with only 30 min. layover and had no problem, but only had one child. Depending on the ages and well they can walk would be my deciding factor. If there are no better flights for you I'd give it a try.

 

[kevgraub]

You may be on different concourses, which could further hurry things.

Personally, I'd look into a later option if it is not too much later. We recently changed our plans after schedule changes pushed our layover down to 38 minutes. We have 7 people with 3 kids, and I just did not want to rush it. Now, our earlier flight from MCO to Atlanta is only 50 minutes earlier, giving us a 1.5 hour layover, which is about perfect for us in this situation.

One thing to consider if you keep the current schedule is that you may want to reserve your seats as far forward as possible. Sitting closer to the front of the plane will almost certainly get you off the plane quicker, and every minute might count here. In fact, I would consider calling Airtran and see if they will book you in the first three or four rows that are generally reserved for frequent flyers and those that pay higher rates. When we had to change our reservation, they automatically assigned us to row 12 and 14 (originally had 15 and 16 on the first flight).

 

[VAgal76]

That is cutting it awful close. Flights are running full since they cut back schedules. I wouldn't bank on having that next flight behind you if you miss your connecting flight. 1 hour is minimum time for a connecting flight in ATL for us anymore. We've had a few close calls and now I just don't want to deal with the stress. We didn't even have small children but very able bodies with familiarity of the airport and just squeaking in. If I had small children I'd not even attempt it. I've not had to change concourses with Airtran but there is always a possibility.

 

[Zoo Keeper]

If you have the flight numbers you can also check the on-time history of the flight on flightstats.com

I was only going to have 50 minutes to get to my connecting flight in Atlanta (and the on time percentage for the flight in was at o%) so I changed to an earlier non-stop flight.

AirTrans seems to have a lot of flight combinations with shorter layover times

Good Luck

 

[JanB]

I live in the Atlanta area --- always fly out of Atlanta.

You have received sound advice from all previous posters.

Even if your flight into ATL arrives "on time", you will not be stepping off of the plane at 8:10PM. And for your 8:50PM flight out of ATL, you will not be able to step onto the plane as late as 8:50 -- unless it is running late. They will be closed to further boarding at some point -- maybe 10 minutes prior to departure. So, really, you do not have as much as 40 minutes to get from one gate to another --- you probably really don't have any more than about 25 minutes, at best. And it's possible that your departure gate will be in another concourse altogether.

So, if you decide to keep your flights as they are, then you and your family should be prepared for the possibility of not being able to fly out until the next morning.

Particularly since you have 3 little ones, I agree with the recommendation of scheduling at least 1 hour between arrival and departure. Even 1-1/2 hours isn't too much to allow.

Also --- November 13 is a Friday. Friday nights are very busy at the airport.