Originally Posted by
StayingHomeIsBetter
DL routinely schedules flights with less than their own MCT.
For example, I have been told by 3 separate DL agents on 3 separate occasions that the MCT domestic-to-domestic for ATL is 55 minutes.
Note that ExpertFlyer confirms this.
Consider the following itinerary:
AGS to PHL
DL 5024 to DL 1661
ATL 47m Layover
When you dig deeper and see that DL 5024 is late nearly half the time, and over 30 minutes late nearly a third of the time, you have to ask "What's going on here?"
A connection time less than the MCT, with the originating flight on a regional carrier, and connecting through ATL is like playing Russian roulette with 5 bullets in the cylider instead of just one.
It looks like DL management may be moving in the right direction, though. Flights that I have monitored in the past (after some painful personal experiences) which used to have connection times in the range of 30 to 40 minutes are now 40 to 50 minutes, but still less than DL's own MCT.
This issue is discussed further at:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delta...?highlight=MCT
So... can anyone reason why selling an itinerary with a connection time appreciably less than the airline's own MCT is a prudent, proper thing for DL management to do?
There are exceptions to MCT. The Domestic to Domestic may be stated as 55 minutes in ATL but there is a ****** meaning that exceptions exist. Exceptions sometimes are by flight numbers, sometimes by equipment type and sometimes by carriers. The MCT for a flight number 5000-5200 connecting to a DL flight 1000-1999 may be 35 minutes for example. So this would be an exception and a valid connection. It appears that you are not too well educated with MCT since it seems you did not know exceptions exist and are unsure why they exist just from one sample you have made.
The reason they exist (typically) is because someone making a connection in MSP from a Saab to a 50 seat regional jet would likely not have too far to walk as the departure would likely be out of the A or B concourse (sometimes C12-C27 but not a far walk) and 30 minutes is plenty of time. Who really wants to sit in the A or B concourse for 50 minutes? Also, many times when the same plane is scheduled to fly a flight (like a CP plane flying BIS-MSP-MDW or similar) the MCT may be lower because barring an equipment swap the passenger would not need to walk to another gate. At some airports with CRJ service that bumps the MCT down to 25 minutes because they are going to be on the same plane.....pretty hard to miss your connection when you are flying on the same plane.