Connection time--a little concerned
 

I just had a little trip pow-wow with my friend who is going to Greece with me in 2 days! I'm not sure why I didn't pick up on this when we booked our tickets, but she only has one hour to connect to the international flight. We booked our flights so that she (who is flying from Denver) would meet me (who is flying from California) in Atlanta. From Atlanta we fly on the same flight to Athens. I have over two hours scheduled between flights, but she only has one hour one minute. This concerns me a bit. Is this going to be too tight? If so is there anything we can do about it now? I'm not concerned about luggage (we're boty carrying on). I'm just concerned that she'll miss the flight altogether! We're flying Delta.

Hi S,

With only carryon, one hr should be sufficient. Note that this is not a guarantee.

Call Delta the day before to see if they know from which terminal and gate your plane will be leaving.

Enjoy your visit.

((I))

I think she will make it. Plus I have seen Delta hold a flight so connecting passengers can make it on.

May be an unpopular view but she may want to consider checking her bag. This is because in the event she must run to another terminal, not having a bag may help her get there. Also, if the bag makes it and she is still running, they will hold the plane for a passenger who has baggage on the plane, or they are required to take the bag out of the cargo.

I looked up the flights online and it looks as if the Denver flight will arrive in Atlanta at gate A2. The Athens flight is scheduled to depart out of E2. I don't know the Atlanta airport enough to know if that's a distance, but I do know that alphabet and 4 terminals away doesn't sound close!

ttt

A2 is a pretty long walk to the train.
E concourse is the last stop for the train.
If her plane is late arriving,this can be really tight.
I tend to think that an hour should be enough time, but not for her bags.
She needs to either be sitting up front or tell her flight attendant about her tight connection. I've had to wait as much as 15 minutes just getting off the plane.
The walk and train time can be done in 20-25 minutes, maybe a little less.
The Athens flight should pretty much be boarded by the time she arrives.

Is she on different legs of a single ticket? If so - is this a legal connection? Delta is likely to wait a few minutes, IF they can, if there are several passengers coming.

But - if it's not a single ticket and she misses the flight she may well have to buy a whole new ticket.

I would have alternate plans for meeting in Athens in case she doen;t make the flight.

Now I know why I didn't notice this tight connection time before--it wasn't booked that way! Since booking this flight Delta changed the flight time. At the time of booking this DEN-ATL flight was scheduled to arrive a full hour and twenty minutes than it is now, which would have provided a two-hour twenty minute connection time. We'll be pretty unhappy if this doesn't work since Delta is the one that switched things up on us. And unfortunately her seat is in row 43 of a 44-row plane (the flight appears fully booked as well). Besides the fact that we're carrying on only, the only thing we have going for us is that the flight from Denver originates from Denver, which hopefully increases the chances of this flight flying on schedule. Keep your fingers crossed. Thanks!

nytraveler, this DEN-ATL-ATH ticket was booked on one ticket. As was my California-ATL-ATH ticket.

She'll have to walk from her arrival gate to the middle of that concourse, go down the escalator, take the train to E concourse, and walk to her departure gate. As long as her DEN flight arrives on time, she should have enough time, but she doesn't have much leeway in case of delays.

If she would be more comfortable with a longer layover, she can try to SDC (same day confirmed) onto DL1244 leaving DEN at 7:45am for a $25 fee. She can Delta starting 3 hours prior at 4:45am to check availability (right now DL1244 on 6/7, assuming that's your travel date, looks fairly open in economy) http://tinyurl.com/quzo7

Caveat: Technically you're not supposed to be able to SDC the domestic segments on a transatlantic itinerary, but I've heard of instances where it was allowed. If the earlier flight sounds good to her, it doesn't hurt to try.

Good luck!

In light of the schedule change they made (which Delta does so frequently) your friend should definitely get on the phone with a Delta agent who will give her a seat assignment in the first few rows of coach -- tell her to ask for bulkhead since these seats are blocked off. Atlanta is a freakin huge airport but since she's already past security and has a boarding pass, she'll make it IF her flight is on time and she's sitting up-front. If she has trouble with the Delta agent she should keep asking for a supervisor until someone has authority to assign her in bulkhead.

If there's an earlier flight, they usually will put her on it without a fee in cases like this but she'll likely be waiting for hours for her connection. But this would be the safest option if it's available.

samtraveler,
I just saw your latest post. Did your friend ever accept the schedule change? If not, a one hour and 20 min schedule change should be enough to request that Delta change her to the earlier DEN-ATL flight for free if that's what she'd prefer.

It's me that's uncomfortable with this short connection time. My friend is super laid back about it. (I'm the worrier in the friendship--we're very good for each other :) She did call Delta, but the said if they scheduled her on the earlier DEN-ATL flight for some bizaro reason she'd have to take a different ATL-ATH flight. Makes no sense to me, but that's what they said. If it were me I'd press a bit more, call and try for a different agent, etc., but she seems fine with it, row 43 seat and all. So I just have to let it be and hope it works out. She's a big girl!

That truly is a bizarre reply considering DL only has one daily ATL-ATH flight ;)

Good luck to her!

That's exactly what I thought (flight 138 is it to Athens on Delta), but there you have it!

She's a big girl but if she misses her flight, doesn't this really inconvenience you since you're traveling together?

If there's another ATL-Athens flight several hours later it's not a big deal although if she can't get out until 6-10 hours later she's going to be bummed spending her first day of vacation in the Atlanta airport. If you're not sharing airport transportation in Athens or a room with her, however, it doesn't hurt to let her go with the flow and hope for the best. good luck!

Agree with the post that said if Delta made the schedule change she should be able to get them to book her on an earlier flight without penalty,Why don't you call Delta yourself and get a first hand version of the possibilities.

If they must then put her on a different transatlantic leg it woul be better than her missing the current connection in Atlanta.You cant wait for her and then if she is late take a different flight together. You are on a different ticket.

Suggest you make a back-up plan to meet in Athens if she misses her flight.

GTG

If Delta has only 1 direct flight and your friend misses it ,they might be able to connect her thru Frankfurt.

Ask Delta.

GTG

If she missed the ATL-ATH nonstop on DL, there are a few later options that will get her to ATH via AMS or CDG later that day.

She probably can't get bulkhead except at the gate. If she gets it, she most likely will be fine.

I appreciate all the tips. Yes we're sharing hotels and ground transport in Athens. (And I know she would definitely pay her share of the Athens hotel and pre-arranged ground transport that she missed.) But I do think at this point I'm just going to let it be. We've already spoken about it twice and she called Delta herself. Yes it's a risk, but at this point I just have to let it go. I would feel pushy calling Delta and making the change myself. If things are tight I'll already be on the Athens-bound plane and I can try to beg the flight staff to wait!

ATL's a huge airport, true, but you can move through it pretty quickly (just trust me on this). Under no circumstances should she attempt to walk between A and E, even using the moving sidewalks. Instead she'll take the train that links the terminals to each other---very fast, very convenient. Because she's already airside she doesn't have to worry about security, and her bag won't slow her down enough for it to make any difference.

She should make this connection just fine. Because Atlanta is Delta's hub, passengers are routinely asked to let those with tight connections off first, particularly if the flight was delayed (which it's less likely to be since the flight originates in Denver, as you note above). And Delta will delay departures briefly if they know you are on the way.

Have you checked connection times for your return trip? It takes longer due to passport control + customs, along with security to re-enter the airport after the formalities. It generally runs pretty smoothly, particularly if you've still got carry-on only and don't have to wait for baggage claim.

Flight 38 may originate in DEN but the aircraft used most likely comes from somewhere else that morning.

LOL -- would your friend absolutely hate us all or what? You're BOTH way more laid back than most of us chiming in on this thread.

best of luck and hope you have a great trip!

When Delta has changed my flights and put me in a similar situation, I have called and they have accomodated me to allow more connection time, no extra charge and no hassle.

I live in FL and connect through ATL often. There are often ground holds and weather delays in the the summer and Friday is an incredibly busy day.

It is not a change I would personally accept but only your friend can make that decision.

I should have clarified, the agent indicated that the aircraft's first flight is the flight my friend is on out of Denver, so the plane will be in Denver all night tonight. Although this is the same agent who gave us that great info about having to get on a different flight to Athens if she switched DEN-ATL flights. :)

So I could finally put this to rest I gave into temptation and ended up phoning Delta myself. The agent I spoke with did say she could switch to the earlier flight without penalty and without change to the rest of her itinerary. So I called my friend to let her know what I learned and she doesn't want a 4-hour layover (only alternative) in Atlanta. In other words she'd rather risk it. It's not what I would do, but I've done all I can do!

I am actually not sure if our return flights have a decent connection time, and I am aware of the time involved in customs, etc., but at the moment I'm just not as stressed about the return. I'd be far less annoyed with missing my domestic connection on the way back than missing my intl. connection on the way there!

Hello from Greece! Just thought I'd drop a line for those who might be curious about what happened with my friend's flight situation. Well in the end she actually decided she didn't want to chance the 1-hr connection time, but when she called to change flights Delta had cancelled the early flight out from Denver to Atlanta. So she was out of luck and had no choice but to take the flight with the 1-hr connection. Her flight departed on time and she made the Athens flight with no problem. She even had time to stop and grab some food at the airport in Atlanta. She made it well before boarding even began, and the flight left on time! All is well. Off to enjoy a sunny day in Nafplio! Thanks again to all!

Thanks for the update, samtraveler. I'm not the least bit surprised, of course, having pointed out upthread that ATL's efficient design moves enormous numbers of people between gates very quickly, but I am very happy for you.

Let us know how the return trip went: my last two returns through ATL have met a slow patch somewhere in the pipeline (baggage return once, passport control another) but overall it's still surprisingly speedy.

An important tip for your return: if you purchase any liquids airside (presumably duty free in Athens), you will need to put them in checked luggage for the remainder of your flight. This is because you will have had access to your checked luggage during customs (when you are technically landside) and could potentially have exchanged an unvetted liquid with your duty free bottle of liquid. If you didn't check your bag for the transatlantic portion you can still do so after you've cleared customs. Failure to check those items will results in your being asked to surrender them when you go back through security.

This information is announced on the plane during the landing process, and is repeated overhead at frequent intervals in baggage claim, but very few people seem to pay attention.

thanks for the update! glad to know it all worked out -

Thanks for the update. I just hate it when you don't ever get the end of the story. :)

Home at last. Two days post-trip and jet-lag and general sleep deprivation (I do not sleep on planes) persist. Therese, all went well for me on the return connection in Atlanta. Your comments on duty-free liquids were spot on. I hadn't made such purchases, but saw many fellow travelers having to surrender their duty-free liquids in the post-customs security line because they had neglected to check them.

On all the return international trips I have made I have to say this was one of the least organized most chaotic--very surprising for an airport who receives so much international traffic. Not only did my flight neglect to mention the duty-free liquid issue, but it did not come up until you were already in line for security post-customs AFTER you had already re-checked your luggage. In other words it wasn't until it was too late that most passengers were made aware of it--I saw many duty-free items being tossed (one was even trying to down a bottle of wine in line!). There must have been about 8-10 international flights that landed about the same time and though I'm guessing this is an established schedule at ATL, I was really surprised at how poorly organized it all was, how unable they seemed to be at coping with the surge of passengers. Passport control was a mess; no one seemed to know which line to enter. The staff wasn't helping by giving passengers conflicting direction. Customs was not any better. I couldn't understand why there was just one line for all those passengers feeding into customs. As a result the line wrapped and curved and snaked through the luggage carousel area causing real uncertainty as to where to get in line for those approaching customs. Because of this crazy long line there was a lot of cutting in line, some unintentional, but a lot of intentional cutting as worried connecting passengers (I think most people here ARE connecting passengers) gazed upon the never-ending line. And all the while airport staff watched the chaos, line cutting and all, and did nothing. Baggage rechecking is a bit of a joke. For all of these passengers there's just one small area. It became so congested with luggage and trolleys that people just started dumping their bags in the general area without ensuring it got into the hands of a back checker hoping it would somehow make it onto the belt and onto their connecting flight. And this brings me to security. Again a real shortage of help. There was one line feeing into only two security check points. There were plenty of personnel on hand to repeatedly yell "keep moving," but none to open the other empty security points. At this point many passengers were in a real panic about their connecting flights. Gratefully for me I had well over two hours and despite all the chaos I had a stress-free re-entry into the US.

Glad to hear your return trip went relatively smoothy, samtraveler, in spite of the hassle at ATL. I've been returning to Atlanta from abroad now for many years, and the last couple of trips have been much, much worse than previously. I'm not sure why exactly, as it's always handled very large numbers of international arrivals, but it is. Staffing (at passport control, for instance) actually seems to be much higher than it's ever been in the past, so perhaps the number of international arrival really has sky-rocketed.

I'll be returning with my family from Italy in a week---I'll post back with our experience.

As promised, a follow-up report on our return to ATL from Milan last week.

Our flight departure was a bit delayed in Milan, and we landed about 20 minutes later than expected (a little before 4:00). The flight attendants specifically announced that the delay was not expected to affect any of the known connections, and also mentioned the issue of moving liquids to checked baggage after clearing customs so as to avoid having to surrender them at security.

We taxied directly to the gate, deplaned, and walked to passport control. We waited in line approximately 10 minutes total (and noticed only one person cutting line---a truly irritating woman in a "sexy" blue sweatsuit with a small dog who made it very clear that she needed to be first in line), retrieved our bags (another 10 minutes---the woman with the dog was still waiting, heh heh), passed through customs (less than 1 minute wait), re-checked our bags (necessary even if your final destination is Atlanta, again less than 1 minute), and passed through security (no wait whatsoever, as there were actually open lanes). We took the train to the main baggage claim and waited another ten minutes for our bags to catch up with us (once again in advance of the woman with the dog).

Caught a cab for the 20 minute ride home, managing to miss the onset of rush hour traffic.

So, all in all very easy and very efficient. As per samtraveler's experience, the frequent overhead announcements re transferring liquids to checked baggage were not being made. I didn't notice anybody having to surrender their liquids, because of course there was no line at security.

Another follow-up to returning from Europe through ATL, from Amsterdam. My flight was due in at about 2:30, and we actually landed a bit early. No line-up to speak of at passport control (less than 5 minutes), baggage claim was less than 15 minutes, walked straight through customs, handed my bag off for re-checking through to the main baggage claim at ATL (because I live here).

My bag arrived at baggage claim while I was on the phone with my husband to let him know he could pick me up. Waiting for him took the most time of the entire day, 20 minutes.

Another follow-up post re ATL international arrivals.

I was returning from Rome after a week's visit with my mother. We'd both checked bags (having carried on only on the outbound trip) because we'd purchased liquids, and since baggage claim tends to take a few minutes we stopped at the restroom prior to Immigration to freshen up. Two arriving flights were announced while we were in the restroom, so I was a bit worried about what we might find at Immigration, but there was no line whatsoever. My mother didn't even have time to get her passport out of her purse.

Baggage claim was also speedy: my bag had been priority tagged, so was already circling by the time we got downstairs, and my mother's (not tagged) arrived soon after. I transferred the bottle of liquor I'd bought at FCO duty free to my checked luggage, and we headed off to Customs (no wait) and bag re-check (where I confounded the agents by first walking to one side to help my mother and then walking to the other to re-check my bag for ATL).

Security was less than five minutes wait (though getting my mother's shoes on and off was a hassle I could have done without).

I escorted my mother to her gate for her connecting flight, and by the time I got out to ATL baggage claim my bag was waiting for me.

Oh, and a note about announcements re carry-on liquids: no announcements that I noticed during the baggage claim process (though this took so little time I might have missed it).

The announcement was made repeatedly on our flight, in both English and Italian. The Italian version was incorrect, as it was only mentioned in reference to passengers with connections to other flights, not to those who'd be remaining in Atlanta. I considered telling the flight attendant about the error, but in the end decided not to bother them.