Acceptable layover times for flights

[Magsthecapp]

2 hours ago, mking8288 said:

CDG is the largest and busiest EU airports and ATL (Atlanta) is small in comparison.  

This is not correct, ATL was the busiest airport in the world in 2022 (granted COVID impacted some of this but it also topped the list in 2019). 

 

That said I agree with what many said, 90 minutes would be my minimum for any international layover regardless of airport.

[Panhandle Couple]

13 hours ago, CruiseDuck said:

We have BOGO flights with Delta from Tampa to Atlanta and then Atlanta to Venice. We only have 80 minutes when we land in Atlanta to get to the International Terminal for our flight to Venice. Hopefully our flight will leave Tampa on time otherwise that is really cutting it short. I would not mind taking an earlier flight to Atlanta but with the BOGO flights NCL will not let us change. 

80 minutes in ATL should allow you to stop for food, assuming flight arrives on time.  The underground tram goes from T (terminal, the farthest from F) to E in about 10 minutes, where you then walk to F, (assuming that is the departure concourse) another 10 minutes at worst.  Even if using wheel chairs (which mean waiting for elevators) 80 minutes should be enough.  

 

I would gab food to go at either in E (food court at top of escalators) or F, depending on how much time you have.

 

If you are really concerned, the extra $30 or so to get a seat at the front of the plane will give you an extra 10+ minutes compared to the back.  

[chillyw]

15 hours ago, CruiseDuck said:

We have BOGO flights with Delta from Tampa to Atlanta and then Atlanta to Venice. We only have 80 minutes when we land in Atlanta to get to the International Terminal for our flight to Venice. Hopefully our flight will leave Tampa on time otherwise that is really cutting it short. I would not mind taking an earlier flight to Atlanta but with the BOGO flights NCL will not let us change. 

 

Here's the MCT for Delta at Atlanta:

 

STANDARD.D/D...D/I...I/D...I/I.
ONLINE    .55  1.00  1.30  1.30
OFFLINE   .55  1.00  1.30  1.30

 

You're on a D/I and MCT is 60 minutes.  You've got 33% more time then that.  You should be totally fine pending a ridiculous delay.

Edited June 21, 2023 by chillyw

[RocketMan275]

One of the nicer things about booking  your own flights is the control over connecting flights.  I recently booked flights to houston through Dallas.  The four most recommended flights had connection times in Dallas of 40 minutes which met the minimum standard.  But, futher down the page were additional flights that had two hour or slightly more connection times at the same price.  Not wanting to worry about making the flights or luggage, I booked the later flights.  Not only did it give me peace of mind, I now have time to get lunch in Dallas.  If I were flying BOGO, I wouldn't have that choice.

[eileeshb]

Different airlines and different travel agencies have different requirements for minimum connection times. I’m flying from Ireland to Seattle via Boston, the original flight times gave me about a 2 hr layover then Alaskan Airlines changed their schedule which reduced the layover to 1hr15. As a result Aer Lingus deemed it too tight a connection and switched me to a flight much later in the evening to have a 4hr layover. 
I’ve made a connection as short as 30mins in Newark going from Ireland to Arizona because we have US pre clearance at the 2 main Irish airports so get treated as a domestic arrival there. Shockingly my luggage even made it.  
CDG is the only airport where my checked luggage went missing for more than a day. Thankfully I was already well travelled enough to keep a few essentials in my carry-on. 
I do know I wouldn’t be at all worried about delays on a return from vacation as I would going to. After all it’s not like you’re going to miss anything but a day of work, I’ve had a few trips with tight connections on the return and had bags not make the connection… silver lining I didn’t have to worry about customs as the airline has to deal with them instead. The entire Irish surf team had it happen coming home from South Africa so all their lovely new surfboards didn’t have to be justified to the Irish customs officers as we left the airport. 

[chillyw]

31 minutes ago, eileeshb said:

I’ve made a connection as short as 30mins in Newark going from Ireland to Arizona because we have US pre clearance at the 2 main Irish airports so get treated as a domestic arrival there. Shockingly my luggage even made it. 

 

Love US pre-clearance at Shannon and Dublin.  Especially when I've flown out of Shannon, there's literally no line and you just walk right through into a domestic US terminal.

[scamper]

Minimum connecting times are based on the idea that all inbound and outbound flights are on time.  Having worked for an airline for many years I can tell you that that is the exception far more often than the rule.  No way I would accept that booking.  Charles de Gaulle is not one of the most user friendly airports in the world, especially for connecting passengers.  If it were me, and I had to connect in Europe, I would go through Amsterdam.

 

PS, and not to go off topic, but if you have to make this connection, there is a better than even chance your bags won't make the flight.  Don't pack anything in checked bags that you can't live without, or can't be replaced at Target or WalMart.  I still think about the putz I had to deal with one time who packed his car/house keys in his checked bag.  Oy.  🙄

 

 

[jules181]

It's a BOGO and it meets guidelines.

 

There's no choice.  

 

 

[RocketMan275]

1 hour ago, scamper said:

Minimum connecting times are based on the idea that all inbound and outbound flights are on time.  Having worked for an airline for many years I can tell you that that is the exception far more often than the rule.  No way I would accept that booking.  Charles de Gaulle is not one of the most user friendly airports in the world, especially for connecting passengers.  If it were me, and I had to connect in Europe, I would go through Amsterdam.

 

PS, and not to go off topic, but if you have to make this connection, there is a better than even chance your bags won't make the flight.  Don't pack anything in checked bags that you can't live without, or can't be replaced at Target or WalMart.  I still think about the putz I had to deal with one time who packed his car/house keys in his checked bag.  Oy.  🙄

 

 

OP is returning from a cruise.

Just imagine OP is enroute to a cruise and his luggage doesn't make the connection.

Most responding to this post are making the assumption that the arriving flight is on time.  That's not a good assumption.

30 minutes ago, jules181 said:

It's a BOGO and it meets guidelines.

 

There's no choice.  

Another reason to avoid BOGO.

[cruiseny4life]

13 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

OP is returning from a cruise.

Just imagine OP is enroute to a cruise and his luggage doesn't make the connection.

Most responding to this post are making the assumption that the arriving flight is on time.  That's not a good assumption.

A perfect reason to only carry-on luggage. If one is concerned with this, that is. I wouldn't be. 

 

I do agree that it is not a good assumption to make that the flight arrives on time. Not this summer...or really at anytime of the year. 

[chillyw]

14 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

OP is returning from a cruise.

Just imagine OP is enroute to a cruise and his luggage doesn't make the connection.

Most responding to this post are making the assumption that the arriving flight is on time.  That's not a good assumption.

 

It's not just arrival flight on time. I can't tell you the number of times I would've missed a connection but due to air traffic or weather issues both flights have been delayed and I was fine.

[RocketMan275]

1 hour ago, cruiseny4life said:

A perfect reason to only carry-on luggage. If one is concerned with this, that is. I wouldn't be. 

 

I do agree that it is not a good assumption to make that the flight arrives on time. Not this summer...or really at anytime of the year. 

Wife and I were returning to Salt Lake City with a connection in Atlanta.  We were told our flght to atlanta was delayed.    The airline told us we might make the original flight from ATL but our bags would not.  the airlines recommended we take a later flight to ATL.

 

OK, fine, we took the later flight.  We arrived in SLC and no luggage.  We went to lost baggage and filled our the forms.  The person there looked at the form and then asked us if a couple of bags sitting there were ours?  Well, they were, the bags had made the ealier flight, the one we changed to a later flight because our bags couldn't make the originally booked flight to SLC.

[RocketMan275]

1 hour ago, cruiseny4life said:

A perfect reason to only carry-on luggage. If one is concerned with this, that is. I wouldn't be. 

 

I do agree that it is not a good assumption to make that the flight arrives on time. Not this summer...or really at anytime of the year. 

I always travelled only with carry on luggage.  But this time, I'm travelling with my wife.

[GateGuardian]

75min is legal connection time for international flight at CDG on paper. In reality, it is a flip of a coin. It can take up to anywhere from 30min to 2-3hrs to get through exit customs leaving EU. If you have SkyPriority, there is a separate line that helps things go a bit faster, but again, it is a crapshoot.  I fly Delta and Air France a lot for my Europe trips and that is my experience.

 

Also, I'm surprised they max out at 5hr connection time. I've booked on 8-10hr connections without issues, which gives me an opportunity to grab a bite in Paris.

Edited June 22, 2023 by GateGuardian

[scamper]

The airline I worked for had a warehouse in Pittsburgh where they took unclaimed/undeliverable baggage.  Bags were sent there after a period of time in the hopes that they could still be matched with the owner.  We took a "field trip" there not long after I started with the company.  The sheer number of bags there was jaw-dropping.  After a period of a few months, the airline sold unclaimed bags and contents and donated the proceeds to charity.

 

I cannot recommend travel insurance more forcefully.  I live by the old American Express slogan...I "Don't leave home without it."  

Edited June 22, 2023 by scamper

[cruiseny4life]

32 minutes ago, GateGuardian said:

75min is legal connection time for international flight at CDG on paper. In reality, it is a flip of a coin. It can take up to anywhere from 30min to 2-3hrs to get through exit customs leaving EU. If you have SkyPriority, there is a separate line that helps things go a bit faster, but again, it is a crapshoot.  I fly Delta and Air France a lot for my Europe trips and that is my experience.

 

Also, I'm surprised they max out at 5hr connection time. I've booked on 8-10hr connections without issues, which gives me an opportunity to grab a bite in Paris.

The fact an international connection may be only five hours would prevent me from booking the BOGO Airfare. If I'm connecting in a foreign city, I'd like to spend at least a day there. I'm there. Why not explore! 

[JandC_Cruising]

On 6/21/2023 at 9:46 AM, gailellen12 said:

My flight from Stockholm to Paris is Air France and my flight from Paris to Atlanta is also Air France

You are in the Schengen region the whole time, so you will not need to go through customs or collect luggage in Paris.  Any checked bags will be checked from Stockholm through to Atlanta.  The 1-1/4hrs. is plenty of time to deplane and walk to your connecting gate.  You will be fine provided flight isn't delayed or other unpredictable event occurs.

 

 

[Asawi]

8 minutes ago, JandC_Cruising said:

You are in the Schengen region the whole time, so you will not need to go through customs or collect luggage in Paris.  Any checked bags will be checked from Stockholm through to Atlanta.  The 1-1/4hrs. is plenty of time to deplane and walk to your connecting gate.  You will be fine provided flight isn't delayed or other unpredictable event occurs.

 

 

You will not have to collect luggage. You will however probably have go through a passport check in Paris. Should not delay you much though. It's been while since I travelled via CDG, but I remember a lot of walking and elevators going between gates. 90 minutes probably is enough, but (also probably) not a lot to spare if you're unlucky with gate locations. Remember that since your bags are checked through they will wait as long as possible for you before having to find your bags and unload them. Having said that, it IS stressful rushing through an airport hearing your name in the speakers because they are holding the gate open for you... 

[scamper]

47 minutes ago, Asawi said:

You will not have to collect luggage. You will however probably have go through a passport check in Paris. Should not delay you much though. It's been while since I travelled via CDG, but I remember a lot of walking and elevators going between gates. 90 minutes probably is enough, but (also probably) not a lot to spare if you're unlucky with gate locations. Remember that since your bags are checked through they will wait as long as possible for you before having to find your bags and unload them. Having said that, it IS stressful rushing through an airport hearing your name in the speakers because they are holding the gate open for you... 

Unless European laws are different from US laws, as long as they are on the flight from Stockholm they won't remove bags at the connecting point if they misconnect.  They don't in the US, anyway.