How long to leave between connecting flights?

[stal]

Hi,
I am flying to from the UK to San francisco on september, then have decided to fly to orlando after.

The flight i am going to book will leave San Francisco at 11.50pm on Monday 5th September and arrive in Atlanta at 7.16am. Now i have the choice of booking the next flight to Orlando at 8.10am or 9.20am.

So is 50 minutes enough to change planes or would 2 hours be better?

Alternatively if i book onto the 8.10 flight and miss it, would they just issue a ticket for the next avaiable flight. (All flights will be with delta).

Thanks for any help!

 

[Chicago526]

50 minutes is usually okay, and if you do miss your connecting flight they will put you on standby for the next (standby is just that, you only get on if the flight has an empty seat, if it's full, you keep waiting until there's a flight with seats available).

However, since you'll be changing planes in an unfamiliar airport, you may want to give yourself extra time. Also, SFO to ATL is a looooong flight, you may want the extra time just to be able to get up and walk around for awhile, or grab a cup of coffee or something to eat, the extra time between flights would make that easier.

 

[lemondog]

In Atlanta I would opt for the longer layover just to play it safe. It's a very large airport and if you're flight is even 15 minutes late arriving, you may not be able to make your connection if it's in another terminal. Good luck!

Angela

 

[the kabuki]

Choose the later flight. Isn't arrival time given by when the plane actually touches ground, not when you get into the airport? If so, it could take 5-10 min just to get to the gate, then trying to get everyone off the plane, etc. Plus, when boarding for the next flight, airlines begin boarding 20 minutes before departure and the two flights could be at opposite ends of the airport-Atlanta's pretty big. Play it safe and go with the later one.

 

[inkkognito]

In Atlanta, my husband has done okay leaving an hour between flights.
Barb

 

[safetymom]

I would allow for the longer layover. No need to worry if the first flight has a slight delay.

 

[MNSusan]

For me, I'm anxious to get to Orlando. It would KILL me to watch an earlier flight leave while I'm sitting there waiting for another hour.

All your flights are on Delta, and this one is domestic, so I'd feel comfortable with whatever amount of time the airline is comfortable with. Typically, an airline's gates are near each other.

In January, when we flew from Minneapolis through Atlanta to Orlando, our connecting flight was at the same gate. We had about 40 minutes - enough time to use the rest rooms, get a Coke and get on the next plane. Perfect layover for me.

Good luck.

 

[CarolA]

I routinely connect with the time you state. I find Atlanta very easy to get around in compared to some airports. (Dallas drives me insane!)

 

[Okiemom]

Great, Dallas is where we connect flights !