45 minute layover at ATL on Airtran...would you do it?

[ShedQueen77]

I'm looking at booking a flight on AirTran from FLL (12:57pm) to MLI with a 45 minute layover at ATL. (January 23) I have looked and read and it looks as if I'd likely be moving from Concourse C to Concourse D at ATL.

 

Would this be reasonable to book or should I look at booking the 6pm flight for $30 more with a longer layover? I've never been outside of Concourse D at ATL so I'm not sure.

 

If I forgot to give any pertinent information, please let me know. Thanks!

[paul929207]

In theory, it can be done. However, it only takes a little delay for you to miss the connection. I would not book it.

[hdawson]

Should be a snap based on my personal experience.

[tiyana4]

If it were in the same terminal...yes I would keep this flight. Can't remember if it was on a trip to Disney or our first cruise but we missed our connection in Atlanta. It was the first and last time we booked flights who had 45-minute connection. Needless to say we didn't make it.

 

The FAs onboard had given us our gate numbers for the connecting flights but there was a last minute gate change that required moving to another concourse. We went to A first and it was the wrong one. We had to go to C. Plane was still at the gate but would not let us board. We avoid connection thru ATL whenever we can. I'm not sure I would risk it.

[PennyAgain]

I wouldn't do it in January. Too much weather going on that can delay flights. Starting out in Iowa, I would pad in plenty of time along the way.

[gapearl]

I'm looking at booking a flight on AirTran from FLL (12:57pm) to MLI with a 45 minute layover at ATL. (January 23) I have looked and read and it looks as if I'd likely be moving from Concourse C to Concourse D at ATL.

 

Would this be reasonable to book or should I look at booking the 6pm flight for $30 more with a longer layover? I've never been outside of Concourse D at ATL so I'm not sure.

 

If I forgot to give any pertinent information, please let me know. Thanks!

 

First, do not pay attention to what gate assignments are listed. There are 6 terminals at this airport and gates can change on a moments notice. I seriously doubt that the gates you saw listed will be the ones you actually use. Luck might have it where your gates end up right next to each other.

 

Moving right along. It can be done. Worst case scenario, you come in at the very end on the C concourse and connect from the very end of the D concourse. You will have a bit of a walk and will have to take the tram between concourses, so it will take you about 10 minutes if you can walk fast. As long as you land on time and don't have that long of a taxi, it can be done. That being said, ATL is the world's busiest airport. A plane takes off or lands practically every minute. Delays are as common as blinking. Even if you land on time, you could have a 10 minute taxi to your gate (which is no fault of the airline's but rather the congested airport) and lose some of that valuable connection time. If there is rain, everything gets backed up. It will be January and Atlanta has been known to get snow that time of the year, and because we're so ill equipped in the south to deal with that kind of weather, well, things can get really bad really fast. Trust me.

 

You should be ok with the 45 minute connection. If you do decide to take the 6 pm flight, the time will go by fast. Head over to concourse E, eat at Friday's, enjoy the free wifi over there and write your CC review. :D The airport has lots of retail shops (MAC, Reebok, Bath & Body Works, Erwin Pearl, etc.) and even a little spa where you can get manis, pedis, and massages. There is no shortage of options to help you kill the time. Should you miss that flight, you'll go stand by on the next available one. Just prepare yourself for whatever coming through the ATL airport.

[Shelbyjane56]

Im with a few of the others, Atlanta is well known for having delays, better to be safe and have a longer time between flights, especially when you are talking in the cold season. Then again you could go for the short layover and perhaps get lucky, or end up having to spend more or get stuck for awhile lol We have gotten stuck a few times even with a longer layover, one thunderstorm after another, ended up having to spend the night, with no luggage, nice hotel though!

[FlyerTalker]

One small, but important quibble.

 

ATL has ONE terminal building - even though the airport insists on calling the two sides of the same building by the names "North Terminal" and "South Terminal".

 

ATL has SIX parallel concourses (with a seventh coming), all connected by an automated train system at the center of each concourse.

 

If you use "terminal" instead of "concourse", you might just end up in the "Terminal" - home of check-in and baggage claim, and outside security. Concourses are all airside within the secure zone. Consider it something like "direct" and "non-stop" - yes, they are different and usage has consequences.

 

Now, for the OP: I would be comfortable booking this one. AirTran mostly operates from the C concourse, but you could have to switch over to D. As long as you are reasonably nimble and don't dawdle, you should be fine under normal conditions. How much you would want "protect" against delays is a personal risk-management decision, and only you can value the additional hours spent traveling and the additional ticket cost. Of course, during IROPs, no amount of connection time is "safe".

[gapearl]

One small, but important quibble.

 

ATL has ONE terminal building - even though the airport insists on calling the two sides of the same building by the names "North Terminal" and "South Terminal".

 

ATL has SIX parallel concourses (with a seventh coming), all connected by an automated train system at the center of each concourse.

 

I just realized I wrote 6 terminals and not 6 concourses, but hopefully the op got my drift. My bad. Thanks for clarifying. ;)

[msmayor]

My daughter flies through ATL regularly when coming/going to college, and for the most part her connection times have been 46-52 minutes. She hasn't missed one yet (:knockwood:)

 

Last time she flew through, her originating flight ran about 15 minutes late, and it appeared she would have about 32 minutes to make a connection in another concourse. Flight attendants were kind and asked while in the air who was making tight connections, and most passengers were accommodating in letting them get off first. Daughter took off on a dead run and made it with 10 minutes to spare.

[MamaParrotHead]

I'm looking at booking a flight on AirTran from FLL (12:57pm) to MLI with a 45 minute layover at ATL. (January 23) I have looked and read and it looks as if I'd likely be moving from Concourse C to Concourse D at ATL.

 

Would this be reasonable to book or should I look at booking the 6pm flight for $30 more with a longer layover? I've never been outside of Concourse D at ATL so I'm not sure.

 

If I forgot to give any pertinent information, please let me know. Thanks!

 

ATL is HUGE, fellow Iowan. Plus, with it being in the midst of winter, flight delays are probably fairly common. I wouldn't risk the 45 min layover if it were me, especially if it's more than 2 people trying to make the dash, or there are any kids.

 

P.S.- make sure to keep an eye on your itinerary now and then from here on in, especially when it gets closer to time. Delta has switched up our itineraries almost every time when we book this far out (which we are as well, flying 1/8/11, LOL).

[twoputt.plusone]

If your original flight was first thing in the morning, I'd probably book it but I'm not so sure about a later flight. There are a lot of things that can go wrong. Running through airports to make a connecting flight is not my thing.

[ShedQueen77]

Whew....I've been thinking a lot and weighing pros and cons. Thank you all for such great advice and taking the time to post it for me.

 

We decided to book it and chance it. There are two other flights back to MLI that evening after ours and my husband and I have planned to take an extra day off work just in case. We are OK with having to stay in a hotel if need be. We wouldn't be home until about 1am with the kids if we took the later flight; but we will if we have to.

 

I chose the first row of seats in coach on the FLL-ATL flight so we could be first off the plane and get a head start. I'm going to hop on the treadmill and work out now to get my running stamina up! :)

[FlyerTalker]

There are two other flights back to MLI that evening after ours

Check again. On January 23rd, FL only has one later flight ATL-MLI. DL has a couple, but FL will not reroute you on DL if you miss your connect.