Change planes in Atlanta
#3
Join Date: Jul 2007
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Maybe, maybe not.
To be sure you need to tell us which airline(s) you are flying on, where you are flying from, date you are flying (especially if it could mean possible delays of your inbound flight due to inclement weather), whether your flights are booked on one ticket or on separate tickets, will you have checked luggage or only carry-on, do you have any mobility issues, will you have checked and gotten your boarding pass for your flight to Europe before arriving at ATL.
and any other information you care to share about your trip.
To be sure you need to tell us which airline(s) you are flying on, where you are flying from, date you are flying (especially if it could mean possible delays of your inbound flight due to inclement weather), whether your flights are booked on one ticket or on separate tickets, will you have checked luggage or only carry-on, do you have any mobility issues, will you have checked and gotten your boarding pass for your flight to Europe before arriving at ATL.
and any other information you care to share about your trip.
#4
Join Date: Feb 2003
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Who knows?
Are you coming from a US airport to ATL before departing for Europe?
Is your whole flight plan on one ticket?
Are you on the same airline for the whole flight plan?
Will you have to pick up checked luggage at ATL before transferring to your transatlantic flight?
Are you coming from a US airport to ATL before departing for Europe?
Is your whole flight plan on one ticket?
Are you on the same airline for the whole flight plan?
Will you have to pick up checked luggage at ATL before transferring to your transatlantic flight?
#6
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Even if you tell us everything RoamsAround asks for, we'd still not know for certain whether it's enough time.
But it should be. We recently had a 45 minute connection in Atlanta that went perfectly smoothly, including checked luggage transfer. No, it wasn't an international flight, but we did have to change terminals.
But it should be. We recently had a 45 minute connection in Atlanta that went perfectly smoothly, including checked luggage transfer. No, it wasn't an international flight, but we did have to change terminals.
#7
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Russ nailed it.
If both your home to ATL and your ATL to Europe flights are on the same ticket, it's the airline's problem. They sold you the ticket and have to get you there. They wouldn't give you that connection time if they didn't think you would make it.
If you booked your own trip and the first flight is on American and the second flight is on Braniff on two different tickets, it is your problem. You should buy insurance to cover this, but it can still be inconvenient even if it isn't expensive if airline B is heavily booked.
If both your home to ATL and your ATL to Europe flights are on the same ticket, it's the airline's problem. They sold you the ticket and have to get you there. They wouldn't give you that connection time if they didn't think you would make it.
If you booked your own trip and the first flight is on American and the second flight is on Braniff on two different tickets, it is your problem. You should buy insurance to cover this, but it can still be inconvenient even if it isn't expensive if airline B is heavily booked.
#8
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Even if your flights are booked on one ticket and it is the airline's responsibility to get you to your destination if you miss your connection you may end up with a long delay if the next flight out isn't until the next day.
Remember, Murphy's Law of Airports is always lurking around to wreak havoc on unsuspecting travelers. Every savvy traveler know the shorter your connecting time you have the more things will go wrong- your inbound flight gets delayed, your plane sits out on the tarmac because your arrival gate is occupied by another aircraft, your arrival and connecting gates are the furthest possible distance apart and the tram connecting the different concourses has a malfunction. Conversely, a long connection time virtually assures you that your inbound flight will arrive early and your connecting flight will be leaving from the very next gate meaning you'll be sitting in the airport for hours with nothing to do. Welcome to the wonderful world of travel.
Remember, Murphy's Law of Airports is always lurking around to wreak havoc on unsuspecting travelers. Every savvy traveler know the shorter your connecting time you have the more things will go wrong- your inbound flight gets delayed, your plane sits out on the tarmac because your arrival gate is occupied by another aircraft, your arrival and connecting gates are the furthest possible distance apart and the tram connecting the different concourses has a malfunction. Conversely, a long connection time virtually assures you that your inbound flight will arrive early and your connecting flight will be leaving from the very next gate meaning you'll be sitting in the airport for hours with nothing to do. Welcome to the wonderful world of travel.
#9
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Murphy's Law of Airports, ha! True enough. Once you arrive at the airport to begin the first leg of your trip, all bets are off.
But that just means, you never know, so my approach is to not overthink it. If it's a legal connection--that is, your trip is booked on one ticket--and the overall timing of the journey works for you, I suggest leaving it alone.
But that just means, you never know, so my approach is to not overthink it. If it's a legal connection--that is, your trip is booked on one ticket--and the overall timing of the journey works for you, I suggest leaving it alone.
#10
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Don't want to stress you, but if your flight into Atlanta is domestic and your flight to Europe is international, you'll most likely have to go to a whole different area of the airport--the International Terminal. I could not live with that stress, so if you have a choice, give yourself more time.
#12
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Review this answer on the I Fly forum: http://www.ifly.com/hartsfield-jacks...al-connections
#13
Join Date: Jun 2004
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While Atlanta is a huge airport, that's plenty of time to change planes and terminals provided that your original flight into Atlanta is a) domestic and b) on time. I fly through Atlanta fairly often (granted not to an international connection), but that wouldn't make me feel uncomfortable at all on a normal day.
That's certainly NOT enough time for an international-to-domestic connection. When you book your return make sure you have enough time between flights.
That's certainly NOT enough time for an international-to-domestic connection. When you book your return make sure you have enough time between flights.
#14
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All on the same ticket and bags checked through - probably OK. At least the airlines will take care of it.
Separate tickets and having to retrieve luggage would make me extremely nervous.
I really dislike that airport, find it not user friendly, but if you have been there before, it is less disconcerting.
Separate tickets and having to retrieve luggage would make me extremely nervous.
I really dislike that airport, find it not user friendly, but if you have been there before, it is less disconcerting.
#16
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Sassafras--
I would not assume that having bags checked through on the same airline will solve the problem. We once flew Delta from Quebec City through Detroit to ATL. We arrived in Detroit just when all the flights from the orient were arriving and there was a scrum at passport control. We had 45 minutes to make the ATL flight. Needless to say, we did not.
Detroit is a much smaller airport than Atlanta, and as I've said before, international flights go from a separate, fairly distant, terminal.
However, the result of our Detroit experience is that we signed up for Global Entry which has worked like a charm ever since.
I would not assume that having bags checked through on the same airline will solve the problem. We once flew Delta from Quebec City through Detroit to ATL. We arrived in Detroit just when all the flights from the orient were arriving and there was a scrum at passport control. We had 45 minutes to make the ATL flight. Needless to say, we did not.
Detroit is a much smaller airport than Atlanta, and as I've said before, international flights go from a separate, fairly distant, terminal.
However, the result of our Detroit experience is that we signed up for Global Entry which has worked like a charm ever since.
#17
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You are right. We have had bags that didn't make our international flight, even when we did. I only said probably, because the OP wouldn't have to wait to pick up the bags. but we are never those who book tight flights. We did it a few times, and the worry was not worth it. Long layovers are tiring, but missing a flight is worse.