FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Minimum Connection Transfer Time at Atlanta (ATL): The Definitive Thread

Feb 6, 2015 | 4:20 pm

#2000

A Lyford

Join Date: Feb 2015

Programs: RapidRewards

Posts: 7

Thanks for replies, can you give further advice?

After spending two fruitless hours searching decade+ old posts and the Delta website several times, I reluctantly posted a new thread, and you guys came through!

(If Delta has a recommended minimum connection/layover time at ATL, I'd sure like to know where it's stated on their website.)

Why I need your experienced advice:
I need to know if I should bother to request a change with a change fee waiver, as Delta pushed my outgoing red-eye to Rome by an hour.
Why it matters:
A partially successful surgery means that long periods of sitting causes me severe ankle swelling. Even with "Comfort Economy" seats, elevating my leg on the red-eye won't be possible, and a longer layover at ATL won't help. Now that the layover is 3 hours, and adding an hour for airport arrival, my total travel time (HSV to FCO) is extended to 14 hours.
My choices:
I could request a later connecting flight (reducing my total travel time to 12 hours), but would that be wise? Certainly 71 minutes is adequate time to walk between gates, but is Delta baggage transfer reliably prompt at ATL? How likely is it that my connecting flight (but not my red-eye) would be delayed due to severe weather?
Facts:
The later connecting flight (I'm considering) is rated by FlightStats as 96% on time, with a 10 minute average delay. The red-eye to Rome is rated at 90%, but the severity of departure delays, when they do happen, is far greater. The average delay is a whopping 140 minutes, all (5 out of 50) delayed flights were considered "very" or "excessively" delayed. One was delayed by 5 hours. This might be because it originates in SFO.
My departure date is in April, a common month for severe weather delays. Severe weather between HSV and ATL travels ENE, can I assume weather will affect both flights equally?

Finally, what is Delta's corporate attitude towards stranding passengers between connections? Would they hold departure for two passengers they knew were in the terminal? I fly Southwest frequently, and they go the extra mile. I've seen them make personal announcements and hold up departures for even just one passenger. Southwest passengers know they matter more than good on-time flight statistics. Everyone cheers when the latecomer huffs and puffs his/her way into the last seat. I've never met anyone who's lost a checked bag. In contrast, I have seen American Airlines refuse boarding to passengers even when their baggage was stowed on the plane. They had passed through TSA and arrived at the gate 15 minutes before departure. Attendants had chosen to close the door prematurely at the gate and claimed their policy

prevented them from reopening it. The plane remained at the gate and departed on time after removing the stored luggage. This was at ONT right after the labor union had been forced to make a lot of concessions to AA management. I still fly AA when I have to, but I know where I stand as a passenger.

So if you're still reading this, here's the bottom line:
Which is better:
A) A 71 minute layover, followed by an airline meal on a 9 hour flight... risking that the initial connecting flight would be significantly delayed, but not the departing red-eye (the regret factor in missing the red-eye would be huge).
B) A three hour layover, a dinner at an overpriced ATL restaurant, followed by a 10% chance that the departing flight will be very or excessively delayed by 140 minutes, as well as additional hours of bed rest to elevate my foot required on the first day in Rome.

Travel is always a gamble, I can't plan for every event, and Delta might change their schedule again. Experienced Delta/ATL flyers: please help me decide by telling me what you would choose.

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