41 minute lay over at ATL. WOULD YOU?

[inamerryhour]

ATL is my home airport. Probably half of my flights home technically land early or on time—but then sit and wait awhile for a gate to be ready. I wouldn’t book a connection with less than 60-75 minutes, but it all depends on how much you’re willing to risk it!

 

[Rpsemont]

I have not read all the other replies but several years ago, I was booking travel for a business client who had delta status, so that was her preferred airline. She said she never booked anything with out AT LEAST a 75 minute window between flights when going through Atlanta.

 

[jfbouchard]

No problem if your Delta to Delta. The Atlanta airport is very efficient and laid out well.

You can generally get from one gate to the next in about 20-25 minutes, delta to delta should be no problem

 

[Dakota731]

Definitely have done it even with kids if the price was right!

 

[sam_gordon]

Definitely have done it even with kids if the price was right!

I think the bolded is also key. If price is the same, sure, I'd rather have a 90 minute to two hour layover. But if it's going to save a bunch of money, I'd chance the short one.

 

[aea71]

Given that flights are filled to capacity, I don't think I'd risk it. If you miss the connection, there's no guarantee that you're jumping on the next flight to MCO or even later that day. Most flights that I've been on in recent months are closing the doors for boarding 10 minutes before scheduled departure time so that doesn't leave much time to make connection if the gates aren't close together. I suggest trying to book seats near the front of the plane for your first flight if you want any chance at making it.

 

[Cheburashka]

One thing to keep in mind is that airlines know when people on connecting flights are running a few minutes late due to a late first flight, and they often hold the second plane for a short time to accommodate that as long as the delay isn't long.

 

[Dakota731]

One thing to keep in mind is that airlines know when people on connecting flights are running a few minutes late due to a late first flight, and they often hold the plane for a short time to accommodate that as long as the delay isn't long.

Yes that’s true. They waited for our group since it wasn’t our fault first leg was running a little late. And it was a big price difference not just a few bucks

 

[maxiesmom]

ATL is my home airport. Probably half of my flights home technically land early or on time—but then sit and wait awhile for a gate to be ready. I wouldn’t book a connection with less than 60-75 minutes, but it all depends on how much you’re willing to risk it!

We booked flights with a 90 minute connection. Now, due to flight changes, that connection is less than an hour.

 

[Cheburashka]

We booked flights with a 90 minute connection. Now, due to flight changes, that connection is less than an hour.

Good point that even if you book the longer connection, the airline might change it to a shorter one, anyway.

 

[sam_gordon]

We booked flights with a 90 minute connection. Now, due to flight changes, that connection is less than an hour.

It's been years ago, but Delta once changed our connection from 90 minutes to 40 in ATL. We were travelling with young kids, so I called them and said I don't think we'll make the connection and explained why. They changed us to a longer connection for no charge.

Pick a connection that you think will work and call the airline and ask. The worst they can say is "no".

 

[spiders]

While never guaranteed, it also matters where/what you are on/going to. Generally, if you're on a CRJ200 then you're going to go to D because many of those gates have been reconfigured to smaller sizes to fit more of those types of airplanes in them. C is also often used for larger regional jets. A & B are entirely Delta and are almost exclusively mainline. T are the most desirable gates for people originating/terminating in Atlanta because those are the closest to the terminal and don't require a train ride (Legacy American flights still run out of T with it's own separate dedicated baggage claim but if you're on legacy US Airways (e.g. Charlotte, Philadelphia, DC) then you're going out of D). Before COVID, you would see flights that had a lot of originating/terminating traffic on them such as LaGuardia but everything is so different now. They still run a few flights out of E and if you're arriving in the international terminal then you will be a pretty lengthy train ride away. Yes, you can arrive in the international terminal on a domestic flight because the plane is turning back to international.

Regardless, the layout is T, A, B, C, D, E & then international. Every concourse between T & E is about a 2-3 minute train ride between stops and the trains run every 1-2 minutes. The train will put you out the middle of the concourse...how quickly you can walk to the ends of them is up to you.