tentseller

A2 is pretty close to the escalator to the trains. It is also very close to the best Skyclub.
S is a smaller terminal so the distance from the escalator up exit to the gate would not be far.

Xeno

I remember A having a nice SC but I tend to huge near departure gates for international flights when the layover is not excessive.

At least I hope not to get turned around on the SEA train system like I did on a previous run to somewhere in China.

BenA

ND76

I experienced the international arrivals situation yesterday (9/5) traveling HKG-SEA-DTW-DCA. My wife was with me.

DL38 (from HKG) parked at gate S7 at 0821, which was 26 minutes after scheduled arrival (0755). Our connection was to depart at 0930. When we arrived we were the only flight using immigration and customs, although we were soon joined by pax from an AS Q400 inbound from YYJ.

I got separated from my wife in the scramble to get off the plane; as I had GE while she did not, I went through the GE line, quickly used a kiosk and got my receipt, and our bags were some of the first off the plane, so I had to wait for her to get through the immigration line. At SEA, we had to speak to a CBP officer at the customs exit, who let us go after a couple of questions; we rechecked our two large suitcases and then we reached the TSA line around 0850. The TSA line involved two baggage screening machines but just one nude-o-scope. The TSA people were slow and surly, and decided to search all of my wife's carry ons. We didn't finish with TSA until almost 0920; we were able to immediately get on the shuttle train over to the A concourse, and got up the escalators and over to gate A2 by 0925, where the door was still open (the GA told us she was looking for us). About 3 more people got on the flight after us, and the door then shut.

Kaasschaaf

Hi all,

I will have a connection in Seattle this Friday and I was wondering if anyone can tell me if I (and especially my luggage) will make it.

Arriving flight is DL2949 from SFO at gate S10 arriving 8:15PM
Departure flight DL5754 to YEG at gate B5A departing 31 minutes later 8:46PM

I have never before connected in the USA and it's my first time at SEA.

Thanks in advance

Analise

Don't check your bag. Run to the gate assuming your inbound SEA flight is on time. That's your best bet. What is your backup plan?

Kaasschaaf

It's from SFO connecting to Canada so from domestic to international.

Back-up plan? Enjoy a free hotel night provided by Delta :-) I have no time constraint.

Often1

Even if you are late, head to your departure gate.

Don't be so sure about the "free" part of hotel.

Kaasschaaf

So if I do miss my connection due to their mistake, they're just going to let me sleep in the airport until the next moring? I don't think it works like that.

MSPeconomist

Flights can be delayed due to weather, ATC, etc. That wouldn't be DL's fault.

Note that the USA doesn't have EC261 style regulations. Most travelers self insure and plan to sometimes pay for a hotel room when there's a missed connection (or of course the employer pays if it's a business trip). If the costs of missing a connection can be great, such as a missed cruise, one is expected to take travel insurance (which some credit cards provide).

Kaasschaaf

I have insurance on my amex

SSF556

This made me smile and I laughed on the inside....good luck

indufan

Everything will likely be fine if it is ontime and it usually is and usually early. If it is late, I generally bet on the bag making it more than you.

jrl767

(1) the gates that the flights may have used last night are irrelevant for Friday evening
(2) DL operates from Concourses A and B, as well as the South Satellite which you access via underground shuttle train ... leaving S, the first stop is for the A gates, but it's probably better to disembark here for B1 thru B7 as the escalators by the high B gates are a choke point
(3) both SFO and SEA are frequently beset by weather and Air Traffic Control issues ... right now both Friday forecasts look good, but ATC is always a wild card ... if SEA is operating in south flow, likelihood of on-time arrival will go down due to having to fly 30-some miles north of the airport before joining the approach (one of the three runways is also closed for construction, which only further aggravates the situation)
(4) I live in SEA, so I don't have experience with checked baggage making or not making a connecting flight, but I'd speculate that the chances of a bag making a 30-min connection are greater than 90%
(5) about six weeks ago, my son's 845pm arrival landed ~20 min early but blocked in ~10 min late due to late pushback of the previous jet and general ramp congestion

my bottom line to OP would be "Don't check luggage, and don't expect to make the connection"

wxman13

First, don't count on those gate assignments remaining the same three days out. They can, and often do, change the day of travel based on all sorts of airport gate scheduling dynamics.

The domestic to international MCT at SEA is 30 minutes, per the master thread. You do not have to clear customs when leaving the US for Canada, nor will you have to go through security in Seattle. If one of your flights is on the S concourse, you'll need to take a short train ride. The connection is doable as long as you go straight to the date. Especially on the last flight out of the night, Delta may opt to hold the door open and let that flight depart a few minutes late if it looks like there would otherwise be misconnects. Of course there's no guarantee of that happening, so be ready with a plan-B for yourself if you have to spend the night.