Originally Posted by
MSPeconomist
Translation in this context: flights that generally don't have connecting passengers.
I guess the rationale is that if people are generally connecting in ATL, the middle of the airport is find [sic] and even convenient for them on average. For those who start and end at ATL, proximity to check in, baggage claim, and transportation is important.
Just asked someone in operations if this is their rationale for gate planning. "Not at all." (FT rules prohibit repeating the rest of the comment.) They do plan for certain cities at certain gates as regularly as possible, but it's a fluid situation given delays, mechanical, etc. When possible they might plot an inbound w a lot of connections near the connecting outbound, but this doesn't necessarily have to happen in the middle of the airport, if that was a literal assumption. Nor is that scenario always possible.