How bad is it connecting through Atlanta airport?

[Traceyd]

I'm looking at flights for our trip in September and like everyone else trying to find the best deal. I would prefer to fly nonstop since I will have a 2 year old, 5 year old and 16 year old with me but right now I'm finding better prices and times with connecting flights. One of the flights I'm looking at has a 1 and 1/2 hour layover in Atlanta.

The only airport I've connected in is Charlotte and I had a 3 hour layover at that so it was no problem. But I know Atlanta is huge and busy. Is 1 and 1/2 hours enough time? Especially with young children? What is the minimum time I would want? Or do I just need to try and avoid Atlanta altogether? What is everyone's experience?

I sure would love to have that $39 each way that I got with Southwest last year but right now they are higher than Delta and American for me. I'm hoping they'll drop in the next month or so.

Thanks!!

 

[paulmc80]

To me Atlanta airport is very easy to get around in and make connections. The layout is very simple and the train runs frequently. I've never had difficulty making a connection there.

 

[safetymom]

I connect in Atlanta quite often and never had a problem.

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

I used to live in GA and flew in and out of Atlanta all the time. Since moving, we've connected for flights there a few times.

Maybe it's because I'm so familiar with the airport, but I've never had any problem finding my way around. There's more than adequate signage for people to find where they need to go. Yes, it's a huge airport, but 1.5 hours should be enough time to make a connection, even if you would have to go from the far end of the international concourse E to the far end of the main terminal T gates. If you're flying AirTran, I believe all of their flights are on the same concourse, making the connection extra easy.

Even if you end up with plenty of extra time, there are several distractions -- restaurants, shops, etc. -- to occupy your time.

 

[GEM]

We connect through Atlanta 90% of the time we fly anywhere. It doesn't bother us. It's huge and busy, but easy to get around.

 

[Snoozan]

You might luck us like we did this May - we got off one gate and our connecting flight was the next gate over. This was with Delta coming from Hartford to MCO.

To get an idea as to how far you might have to go to the next gate, just check your flight# for today, see what gate it flies into in Atlanta and check the departing gate# for your connecting flight. Not to say these will be the same, but it might help give you an idea.

 

[Traceyd]

Well I'm glad to hear it's not that bad. It looks like right now that Delta has a better price than Southwest even with a Ding fare. Thanks for the advice!