40 Minute Connection in Atlanta

My Princess eZAir connection in Atlanta this coming late April is only 40 minutes? I am on two domestic Delta flights. Is that cutting it too close? The cruise is two days later out of Fort Lauderdale? Guidance please?

I would be uncomfortable with it, though it's technically doable. Some considerations:

1) How far back in the inbound aircraft are you seated? You can lose 10+ minutes just by being at the back, as many non-status fliers find themselves

2) how many more flights after yours are there to your destination that day?

So, I wouldn't personally do it unless I had carry on AND frequent flier status, but it IS doable. Just not comfortable. One very minor delay and you've misconnected. But since you've already booked this (from the sounds of it), what does it matter? It can't be changed without a penalty at this point.

Doable but to tight in my opinion. Should be at last 75 minutes.

As you may know, Atlanta is a big, crowded airport. Personally, I prefer at least an hour for connections. If your first flight is on time, and your connecting flight isn't too far away from your arriving gate, then 40 minutes is sufficient. But you don't have much leeway if anything goes wrong.

The in-flight magazine will have a map of the concourses. Usually upon arrival, the flight attendant will announce what gate you're coming into, and which gates the connecting flights are. Look over the map carefully and figure out how to get from A to B. This will save you a couple minutes of looking around in the airport itself, and you may find you'll need those extra minutes to make your connection.

The ATL DL to DL MCT is 35 minutes, so you have a valid ticket. And, since you bought through Princess, you got whatever they chose to give you - as opposed to picking your own connection if you bought directly from DL.

Let me make some improvements on another suggestion. Don't wait for the inflight magazine. The DL website has terminal maps, so you can learn the airport layout in advance. Also, the DL smartphone app will let you check gate arrival and departure info, which you can do at no charge from the air on wifi equipped flights. Finally, when you exit your jetway, there will be a monitor right as you exit. That will have all of the connecting info for passengers arriving ON YOUR FLIGHT ONLY. Look at that for a final gate update. Don't look at one at a different gate, as that will have that flight's connections.

Be prepared to move briskly through the airport. And if you don't move briskly, consider buying your next air tickets directly yourself.

My Princess eZAir connection in Atlanta this coming late April is only 40 minutes? I am on two domestic Delta flights. Is that cutting it too close? The cruise is two days later out of Fort Lauderdale? Guidance please?

Is this the only option their giving ? At least your cruise doesn't leave for 2 days...it may be tight but I might do it..the closest I have had has been 45 min...the DL connection gates are usually pretty close together at least luckily they have been for me the many times I have connected thru ATL-FLL...On the other hand I have a favorite place to eat at in ATL so I always try to allow for that ;):D

Is this the only option their giving ? At least your cruise doesn't leave for 2 days...it may be tight but I might do it..the closest I have had has been 45 min...the DL connection gates are usually pretty close together at least luckily they have been for me the many times I have connected thru ATL-FLL...On the other hand I have a favorite place to eat at in ATL so I always try to allow for that ;):D

Delta covers several terminals at ATL. If your connecting gates were close, even multiple times, consider yourself quite lucky. OP should plan on having to switch terminals, and be happy if they don't.

2) how many more flights after yours are there to your destination that day?

 

There are at least a dozen ATL-FLL flights daily.

As you may know, Atlanta is a big, crowded airport.

 

Usually upon arrival, the flight attendant will announce what gate you're coming into, and which gates the connecting flights are.

ATL IS big and crowded, but it's also extremely simple to navigate.... terminals are all parallel to each other, connected by an efficient underground plane train, and the signage is pretty good throughout. However, while the FA or pilot generally does announce your arrival gate, you will almost never hear them list the gates for the connecting flights of all the pax. Only time I've heard them to that is when the incoming flight is extremely late and they know there are a ton of pax who will be rushing to make connections. Even then, it's pretty rare. As Flyertalker said, either use a wi-fi enabled device to check on DL's app/website in flight, or use a regular cellular data connection to do so while you taxi to the gate, or check the monitor just inside the as you exit the jetway.

the DL connection gates are usually pretty close together at least luckily they have been for me the many times I have connected thru ATL-FLL...On the other hand I have a favorite place to eat at in ATL so I always try to allow for that ;):D

Delta covers several terminals at ATL. If your connecting gates were close, even multiple times, consider yourself quite lucky.

In fact, DL uses ALL 7 concourses at ATL. I think C is mostly Air Train but DL does use some gates there, and F is international, but other than that DL is all over the airport, as it's their main hub. I'll agree with Zach: If you've always had gates close to each other, consider yourself VERY lucky indeed!

There are at least a dozen ATL-FLL flights daily.

That's fine, but it doesn't change the fact that if OP is on the last flight schedule to FLL for the day and they misconnect, it's a night at ATL that may or may not be on DL's dime

I often think I'm the Delta Atlanta rep of Cruise Critic but I'm just a frequent passenger who is there all the time.

Delta does fly domestic flights out of all seven concourses.

E and F are designated international terminals I have flown to Europe from A and T as well. US Customs and Immigration are handled in E or F for arriving passengers. This doesn't apply to the OP of course.

If you arrive on a regional jet you will, more than likely arrive into C or D, and at the end of the concourses to boot. The subterranean train is in the middle of concourses. Look up for the signage. In many of the concourses it is in a congested area of food venues and between gates 18-19 or closely numbered gates.

Sprinkled along the walkways are little kiosks about 3-4 feet high. If you miss your connection these little marvels will spit out a new ticket. There are also Red Coats all over the place to give directions and assist passengers. Go to a Red Coat, not the gate agent of your arriving flight to get assistance if you need it. There are also service desks in every concourse but a phone call, the kiosk or the Red Coat is usually faster.

I would also recommend you check the flight status bar on the Delta website for a week or so to get a feel of gate arrival options. You can find the layout of the airport if you google Hartsfield Jackson international Airport.

Booking cruise air is almost never the best option for domestic travel so now you know. Your chances in April are as iffy as in the winter time due to thunderstorms. If the connection is early in the morning fog could be an issue as well.

Don't forget to monitor your itinerary, there is always the possibility of a flight change.

Good luck.

...Usually upon arrival, the flight attendant will announce what gate you're coming into...

Just wanted to highlight this one point - sometimes during pre-flight announcements a pilot will say 'we'll be arriving at gate X# in Atlanta.' Don't necessarily take that as the final word. Pay attention on arrival as gate changes at ATL are common. The only recent time I can recall connecting gate announcements being made on board was for a flight that arrived late into ATL. Among them I recall: 12 of you are connecting to Cincinnati at gate X#, we're holding, but run. :)

As said, confirm your connecting gate on the screen. If your in-bound is delayed, even if you think you've missed your connection, go ahead to the gate as quickly as possible. You never know if your connection might also be delayed and you can make it. If you do miss it you will automatically be re-booked on the next available flight, which as pointed out frequently here is not necessarily the next flight. Good luck!

My Princess eZAir connection in Atlanta this coming late April is only 40 minutes? I am on two domestic Delta flights. Is that cutting it too close? The cruise is two days later out of Fort Lauderdale? Guidance please?

I can only speak for myself, but I would never do a connection less then 2 hours. This why I would never book eZair. I want control over my flight schedule as well as connections times. I've been on too many flights where I'll had weather and mechanical delays So, what if you flight is 20 minutes late, 30 minutes or more late getting into Atlanta? You will have to be re-booked on a later flight and arriving into Ft. Lauderdale later that day or night. Is that going to be problem? If not than why worry. You got 2 days prior in FLL before your cruise. If you were flying in the same days as your cruise then I would be more concerned.

I often think I'm the Delta Atlanta rep of Cruise Critic but I'm just a frequent passenger who is there all the time.

Delta does fly domestic flights out of all seven concourses.

E and F are designated international terminals I have flown to Europe from A and T as well. US Customs and Immigration are handled in E or F for arriving passengers. This doesn't apply to the OP of course.

If you arrive on a regional jet you will, more than likely arrive into C or D, and at the end of the concourses to boot. The subterranean train is in the middle of concourses. Look up for the signage. In many of the concourses it is in a congested area of food venues and between gates 18-19 or closely numbered gates.

Sprinkled along the walkways are little kiosks about 3-4 feet high. If you miss your connection these little marvels will spit out a new ticket. There are also Red Coats all over the place to give directions and assist passengers. Go to a Red Coat, not the gate agent of your arriving flight to get assistance if you need it. There are also service desks in every concourse but a phone call, the kiosk or the Red Coat is usually faster.

I would also recommend you check the flight status bar on the Delta website for a week or so to get a feel of gate arrival options. You can find the layout of the airport if you google Hartsfield Jackson international Airport.

Booking cruise air is almost never the best option for domestic travel so now you know. Your chances in April are as iffy as in the winter time due to thunderstorms. If the connection is early in the morning fog could be an issue as well.

Don't forget to monitor your itinerary, there is always the possibility of a flight change.

Good luck.

We connect from Amsterdam to Tampa with Delta in March with 1hour and 25mins time between the fligts. So I really appreciate seeing this thread, so that I know to familiarize myself with the airport layout.

But I have one question to you and that is: what is a Red Coat?:confused:

Sorry for being ignorant Scandinavian! And thanks!

We connect from Amsterdam to Tampa with Delta in March with 1hour and 25mins time between the fligts. So I really appreciate seeing this thread, so that I know to familiarize myself with the airport layout.

 

But I have one question to you and that is: what is a Red Coat?:confused:

 

Sorry for being ignorant Scandinavian! And thanks!

1:25 to clear immigration, customs and security in ATL as a non-US citizen? Yikes! That's going to be tight.

Delta has special service representatives, both in the check-in and gate areas. They wear....red coats. Not exactly sure what their official title is, but they are known and called that, both by staff and passengers.

Their primary function is as a troubleshooter, assisting both agents and passengers. They don't work a specific gate, but rather an area floating around. At ATL and other larger stations, you can often have several in the same area.

They have all worked as ticket and gate agents, so they know the ropes.

As for the 1:25. That's pushing it. Although my last time through ATL immigration went like a dream. YMMV.

That's fine, but it doesn't change the fact that if OP is on the last flight schedule to FLL for the day and they misconnect, it's a night at ATL that may or may not be on DL's dime

You're right, and I thought I had added that if the OP was on a flight late in the day the options would obviously be limited, despite there being a total of 12-14 daily ATL-FLL flights. Somewhere in cutting and pasting and rewording, I left that important part out. :o

Delta has special service representatives, both in the check-in and gate areas. They wear....red coats. Not exactly sure what their official title is, but they are known and called that, both by staff and passengers.

 

Their primary function is as a troubleshooter, assisting both agents and passengers. They don't work a specific gate, but rather an area floating around. At ATL and other larger stations, you can often have several in the same area.

 

They have all worked as ticket and gate agents, so they know the ropes.

 

As for the 1:25. That's pushing it. Although my last time through ATL immigration went like a dream. YMMV.

I should have realized this explanation myself, as it is so obvious. But thanks for clearing it out for me. :)

I am somewhat uncomfortable with the time being too short, but yhe Finnish travel agency that sold the tickets ensured that it is doable since Delta has confirmed the connection (all out three consecutive flights starting from Helsinki are with Klm/Delta under same e-ticket). Luckily there is one later flight to Tampa that night, so I believe we will be put to that if we do not make it through immigration and customs in time. We are protected by some specific Eu law, which makes Delta responsible for getting us to final destination and paying for hotel etc should we miss last connection of the day.

I was also told that we might get some sort of express sign to fasten up the procedure or cut the lines with it. At least that happens in JFK, so maybe in ATL as well? Do you have any info on that?

At least now i know to look for a Red Coat!

...Luckily there is one later flight to Tampa that night, so I believe we will be put to that if we do not make it through immigration and customs in time. ...

You would be put on the next flight to Tampa ONLY if it has available seats. It might be full.

Did I miss the part where you said you called Princess to see if you could get a longer connection?

I should have realized this explanation myself, as it is so obvious. But thanks for clearing it out for me. :) <snip>

 

At least now i know to look for a Red Coat!

My husband was a Red Coat 'back in the day,' as they say (10+ years ago). Waiting for a flight out of ATL this morning he ran into a couple of colleagues & they were joking that some days it's a lot of pacing up & down the concourse, other days it's a constant fire drill. But they tend to be the best of the best on problem solving. :)

(These days they're technically known as Passenger Service Agents/PSAs, but commonly called Red Coats by both passengers & other staff.)

I just checked our flights again, and there has been a slight change in later flight time, giving us 10 more minutes - so now we'll have 1 hour and 35 mins between them.

I also found out that there is actually 4 later flights, so I am convinced we'll arrive to Tampa that day - maybe just a little bit later than anticipated.

Luckily we have 3 days before the cruise, so we can manage with delay or even a lay-over.

I will still keep my eyes open to see a real Red Coat in action at the ATL airport. For us Finns, a Red Coat would refer to Santa Clause, by the way. :p

Miryam,

Some days, and for some passengers those Red Coats are Santa Claus!

You will arrive in either Terminal E or F. After you proceed through Customs and Immigration and drop off your luggage you will follow signs to the escalator to the plane train. Before you board recheck the gate and concourse on the monitors. With such a short connection time it is unlikely your gate will change but it could.

As I mentioned your Tampa flight could leave from any of the seven concourses but most likely not E or F. Those two terminals are dedicated to international arrivals during the busy part of the day when you arrive.

The extra ten minutes will help.

I hope all goes well.

I just wanted to return to this topic since I've now gone through ATL twice. Just got back home yesterday.

So we had 1.35 connection time with Delta on March 12. We were at our gate in little bit less than an hour. It went very smoothly. We had purchased economy comfort seats on our long haul flight and therefore were out of the plane and into the immigration queue among the first passangers. Chose our line wisely (not to be behind large families or obviously foreign looking persons which tend to take more time in any immigration line anywhere in the world). Our Finnish passports give us good trust and easy gothrough almost everywhere, which is an added plus.

Luggage arrived after less than 10 minutes waiting and off we went with the shuttle/train and found our gate easily.

Security was the only thing that did not go like a dance, because we did not realize at first that also shoes would have to be removed and because of the body scan machine which takes a bit more time than normal step through metal detector. Then they added a bonus to sort of sweep my hands with a piece of paper and made me wait for the results. Suspecting drugs or something evidently - it may have had something to do with all my medication (needles and insulins as I am a diabetic) which they saw with the scanner.

In the end we were at Tampa Marriott by 9 pm, had a good night sleep and on we went in the morning with the rental car. But that is a whole new story.

One more thing I want to add: I kept an alterted eye to see the Red Coats but they all seemed to be dressed in blue instead of red! No santa claus visible either!

Security was the only thing that did not go like a dance, because we did not realize at first that also shoes would have to be removed and because of the body scan machine which takes a bit more time than normal step through metal detector. Then they added a bonus to sort of sweep my hands with a piece of paper and made me wait for the results. Suspecting drugs or something evidently - it may have had something to do with all my medication (needles and insulins as I am a diabetic) which they saw with the scanner.

One more thing I want to add: I kept an alterted eye to see the Red Coats but they all seemed to be dressed in blue instead of red! No santa claus visible either!