Atlanta Hartsfield

I would appreciate some opinions on whether 1 hour 9 minutes is cutting it too close for a connection at Atlanta Hartsfield airport. They are both domestic flights. The flight is scheduled to arrive in Atlanta at 8:45 AM on a Thursday if this makes any difference.

I frequently travel through Atlanta when I fly and would be comfortable with that amount of time, especially if you are arriving early in the morning.

Karen

You should be ok, but I would not dally

I also connect through ATL very often..and with an early morning time you should be fine..It is one of the very organized/efficient traveler friendly ones to navigate..Just check the flight boards on arrival for your gate and be on your way...

Hartsfield-Jackson is my second home!

The airport currently consists of 6 parallel concourses with an underground train in the middle. I know you are flying domestic but as of May 16th the new international terminal will be opening, with any luck. That should make things very confusing for a while as passengers adjust to the new concourse and train stop.

If you are flying Delta you could arrive and/or depart from any of the 6 councourse. AirTran/Southwest normally uses C and D. Those are the two lines that have the majority of the connections.

Delta regional jets depart from C or D MOST of the time.

The train runs about every 3-4 minutes. You will find the signage overhead as you enter the most congested area of each concourse leading you to the escalators. There are also elevators but they are not as clearly marked. Most of the escalators are near a middle to high teen number. The numbering system is not the same on each concourse.

When you exit your flight there will be an overhead monitor listing connecting flights and there will also be a Delta rep to assist you.

There will be plenty of places to grab something to eat but do go to your departure gate first. Delta is always eager for you to board and it's not uncommon for a jetway to close before the posted time.

The farther you get from mid concourse the fewer the restrooms but there will be plenty.

If you have a delay, which can and does happen, each concourse also has help desks and there are little machines that will automatically print out a new boarding pass for a missed flight. These are located every couple of gates along the corridors. They are about 4' high and can easily be missed.

There is cart and wheelchair assistance available too.

8:45 on a Thursday morning shouldn't be too bad.

Good luck and if you are indeed flying Delta and need assistance in the airport look for a Red Coat. They are Delta's designated assistance employees.

I would appreciate some opinions on whether 1 hour 9 minutes is cutting it too close for a connection at Atlanta .

Assuming your inbound flight arrives on time, 1h 9m will be fine. While large, the airport has a very simple layout and is easy to navigate. You can walk between terminals, or take the train which runs every couple of minutes and moves people very efficiently between terminals.

Hartsfield-Jackson is my second home!

The airport currently consists of 6 parallel concourses with an underground train in the middle. I know you are flying domestic but as of May 16th the new international terminal will be opening, with any luck. That should make things very confusing for a while as passengers adjust to the new concourse and train stop.

If you are flying Delta you could arrive and/or depart from any of the 6 councourse. AirTran/Southwest normally uses C and D. Those are the two lines that have the majority of the connections.

Sorry, but I must beg to differ. I can't imagine the opening of the new terminal would make things confusing. It's just one more stop, at the end of the line. If you're going to E, get off at E. If you're going to F (new internat'l terminal) stay on to F. Most frequent flyers who typically travel through ATL, especially frequent international flyers, are well aware and looking forward to the opening of terminal F. Infrequent flyers who may not realize a change is coming don't have a "usual" terminal so they'll just check the flight boards for their gates and follow the signage to F, or wherever. Can't really see what's confusing about that.

Also, ATL is Delta's main hub (i.e. connection airport!), and the majority of flights in and out of ATL are Delta flights. Compared to Delta, Air Tran/Southwest have very few flights in and out. Hence, most connections at ATL are actually Delta connections, not Air Tran/Southwest. :)

Thank you for all your replies, I appreciate it. I would be flying Delta to San Juan in the winter and I have read such mixed opinions that I am truly confused.

Thank you for all your replies, I appreciate it. I would be flying Delta to San Juan in the winter and I have read such mixed opinions that I am truly confused.

Google the airport and you can pull up an airport map, and see for yourself how it's laid out. All terminals are parallel, and connected at their centerpoints by the underground passageway where the train runs, or where you can walk between terminals if you have time and want a little exercise.

Upon arrival, check the signage for your departure gate, then walk toward the center of the arrival terminal. You'll know you're walking toward the center if you simply follow the signs to the other terminals. Several of the terminals have a large food court at the center as well. At the center of the terminal you'll find signs for the escalators leading to the trains. To access the correct train, just follow the signs for the appropriate terminal. Note: If your departure gate is A18, that's in terminal A. If it's B9, it's in terminal B, and so forth. Unless, you're arriving at T or F (the far terminals on either end) there will be 2 separate escalators. These lead to 2 separate trains; one goes in one direction and the other in the other direction. For example, if you arrive in terminal C, one train goes one direction to terminals T, A and B. The other goes the other way to terminals D, E, and F (opening soon.) But again- don't worry- as long as you follow the signs for the correct terminal, you'll automatically end up on the right train. :)

What concerns me is what is sounds like is if our flight into Atlanta gets to the gate on time we should be ok but if our flight is late or we are sitting on the tarmac waiting for a gate or if we end up circling the airport (all real possibilities), all bets are off.

What concerns me is what is sounds like is if our flight into Atlanta gets to the gate on time we should be ok but if our flight is late or we are sitting on the tarmac waiting for a gate or if we end up circling the airport (all real possibilities), all bets are off.

DL has a big presence at FLL, thus many cruisers are on DL flights. Which leads to the comments about ATL as most FLL routings funnel through there. If you were going to MIA on AA, you would have the same situation at DFW or ORD -- be late and you have to scramble.

All of which means, be prepared. Know your airport layout and what your contingency plans are if you have a delay or cancellation.

Also, ATL is Delta's main hub (i.e. connection airport!), and the majority of flights in and out of ATL are Delta flights. Compared to Delta, Air Tran/Southwest have very few flights in and out. Hence, most connections at ATL are actually Delta connections, not Air Tran/Southwest. :)

Yes, the fact that FL/WN are technically two airlines still makes it possible to read the sentence as FL and WN are the two big airlines. But put that combination as one airline and DL as the other and the sentence makes perfect sense.

I'd bet that the two together come close to 90% of the flights at ATL, but I'm too lazy this morning to look up the stats.

Alcpa....did I read you right??

Weather is the biggest variable I can think of, especially during thunderstorm season, but at other times maybe less so.

Is there another flight to San Juan the same day (or at least before your cruise) should you miss the connection? What are your options? Have you already purchased the ticket?

We have been significantly delayed at ATL due to weather there & Florida. Do you trust the gods of weather? One cruise we only made because 998 other pax were stuck in the storm & they held the ship.

Steve

I haven't purchased the tickets yet. I have flown nonstop twice out of Chicago to San Juan in January, have been lucky thus far and realize that many airports have potential problems especially at certain times of the year. There are a few later flights to San Juan from Atlanta but there is no guarantee that one will have 2 seats available and some get into San Juan pretty late.

Since I am a type A personality, I am considering leaving a day early, driving a few hours to a different airport, flying to Atlanta and staying overnight at an airport hotel then leaving early the next day for San Juan (we have built in a few extra days in San Juan before the cruise either way). Unfortunately, this is more expensive as the airfare is more in addition to the hotel in Atlanta but I guess my peace of mind is worth something.

Thanks again. I really appreciate everyone's input. If anyone has anything to add I would love to hear it!

If you go back and read the sentence so that AirTran/Southwest is ONE airline (as operations become integrated), you can see that alcpa was saying that the combination of DL and FL/WN are the TWO big dogs at ATL.

 

Yes, the fact that FL/WN are technically two airlines still makes it possible to read the sentence as FL and WN are the two big airlines. But put that combination as one airline and DL as the other and the sentence makes perfect sense.

 

I'd bet that the two together come close to 90% of the flights at ATL, but I'm too lazy this morning to look up the stats.

 

Alcpa....did I read you right??

If Alcpa was referring to 1. Delta and 2. WN/FL, then I stand corrected. I read it as 1. WN and 2. FL.

For what it's worth, in February DL (including Atlantic Southeast, Pinnacle etc.) represented almost 78.5% of flights at ATL, and Air Tran (including flights that used to be listed as WN) represented about 14.5%. US followed with about 1.5 %. All other were less than 1% each.

http://www.atlanta-airport.com/docs/Traffic/201102.pdf

If I could have hit all the right buttons I would have responded yesterday.

Yes, Delta is the largest carrier at Hartsfield-Jackson. It is their home.

I probably shouldn't have mentioned May 16th at all. It has no bearing on jshli's question.

There are 4 flights a day between ATL and SJU in January, 2013. There are no direct Delta flights between ORD and SJU ergo you will have to connect somewhere. Since I hate mornings, especially at ATL, or anywhere for that matter, I'd opt for a later flight connecting to the 3 something departure getting into SJU about 7:30 or so. I looked last night and think I'm somewhere in the ball park. There are several reasons for my rec. First of all, your flight is in January. Delta is particularly good about weather adjustments. They have added a few more flights from New York to SJU which opens up even more alternatives in case of weather or irops. I'd book a midmorning flight from ORD or even MDW to ATL and have lunch at Intermezzo and relax waiting for the flight. 7:30 ish is a much better time to arrive in SJU as far as the airport mess is concerned. It's much quieter and baggage seems to arrive more quickly.

Don't forget, Delta's frequent flight adjustments. It's always been a bonus for us when we book a gazillion months in advance. We've got a little status so that's a plus but we're pros at monitoring our reservations and being proactive.

We do get weather in the South, even in January that's why I recommend a long layover.

Good luck.

Alcpa1,

Thank you for your reply. We will probably take a very early morning flight into Atlanta with an 1 1/2 hour layover. Checked out the on time performance on FlightStats and this flight on a Thursday morning had pretty good on time performance stats. If we miss our flight, as you said there are 3 later flights into San Juan. We added a few days before our cruise so I am hopeful that everything will work out.