Short Delta Layovers

[Dean Martin]

We almost always fly Delta and I'm amazed that there almost always is at least one flight to pick from that has a 35-40 minute layover in ATL. Is that really doable? It'd sure be nice if they showed the gates. but damn... most flights start boarding 30 minutes before takeoff. I love a short layover but don't want to sabotage myself either.
* I edited to add that we almost always fly 1st class these days so we're usually some of the first off the plane so that helps some.

 

[Ten_On_The_End]

Twice in the last two years we've had short layovers in ATL and thought we were fine since our departing gate was next to our arrival gate. Right out of the blue Delta switched gates and terminals on us and we had to literally run to get to the new gate just before the door closed. My new rule is no layover anywhere shorter than an hour and 1 1/2 hours is better. All it takes is a short departing delay to ruin your day.

 

[Sgt_Shultz]

Is that really doable?

Don't bet on it

 

[Flowers]

Twice in the last two years we've had short layovers in ATL and thought we were fine since our departing gate was next to our arrival gate. Right out of the blue Delta switched gates and terminals on us and we had to literally run to get to the new gate just before the door closed. My new rule is no layover anywhere shorter than an hour and 1 1/2 hours is better. All it takes is a short departing delay to ruin your day.

I agree 100% with this. I'm looking at flights now to Tokyo that initially have to connect somewhere in the US before continuing on to Tokyo. One airport, MSP, had a 53-minute connection. That makes NO sense. I love Delta but with all the flight delays for various reasons -- man made and mother nature -- how there could be a less than an hour connection time for an international flight is head scratching, especially with the next available flight not being until the next day.

Even for my domestic flights, e.g., Buffalo to Las Vegas for which a connection is required, I want at least 90 minutes. I actually picked a flight for late August that has a 3-hour layover in Atlanta. That's a long time, but gives a cushion in the event the Buffalo flight takes off late and worst-case scenario is that I've got more time to enjoy the brand new Delta lounge in ATL.

This is why I LOVE non-stops and will often pay a premium for them, but sometimes a non-stop flight, even from NYC, is not possible.

Happy trip planning @Dean Martin!

 

[Dean Martin]

Flowers, I think the same way "how/why do they even offer such a short layover?"... seems like those would create more disgruntled customers than happy ones..lol Actually the flight I'm looking at also has the same departure time with a 3 hour layover and I'm thinking...dinner at the ATL airport And this would be the flight they'd put me on if I missed that 40 minute layover but especially now days, you never know if it'll be sold out.

Breeze has NS flights to Las Vegas but the days are limited and there is only that one flight/day. Also the choice is 3,4 or 7 nights in LV and my preference is 5-6. Plus the outbound flight from my airport is about 8am on a monday or friday and that puts me driving (or attempting to drive) to the airport smack in the middle of work traffic. My sweet spot if departing about 1pm on both legs of a RT flight. As you can see, I'm not very picky at all

 

[rourou]

I don't trust short layovers either. I try to fly nonstop always, but if I can't, I try to choose the longest layover that I can. Flying to the UK last year, I had a layover in London that was 3 hours, I think...but my flight out from the US was delayed for 2 hours, so by the time I landed at Heathrow, there was no way I could get thru customs and change terminals in time to make my connection. Ended up waiting 5 hours to get on the next open flight.

 

[Brandt]

if a flight leaves on time you will have another 20 mins or so as the bake in some cushion. If the 2nd leg is not the last flight of the day I would take it .

 

[AlwaysUpForFun]

I would never do a layover at any airport that is under an hour. I remember a flight we had through ATL many years ago that had a reasonable layover. Well we were late leaving Chicago and by the time we got to ATL we had like 15 minutes to make our next flight. Luckily our next flight was only 4 gates down from our incoming flight. They were well into boarding and we did make it but were the last to board.

Put me in the club of those who are amazed that an airline would offer flights with such tight connections as 41 minutes. I was looking at flights to Maine for this Fall and saw 1 airline, I don’t remember which one, that had a 41 minute layover I at PHL. No way I would take that.

 

[godsonsafari]

If you take a short layover, IMO, that is on you. There's enough out there online to tell you never to do this.

I try to extend grace to people who have tiny layovers when I'm told folks need to book it off a plane to make a connection because perhaps a flight was moved and rescheduled and they had bad/no options. But yeah, there's no way I'm booking a 43 minute layover in DTW or MSP or SLC or ATL. Never ever. You know then you'll wind up arriving in D on a wide body connecting to a CRJ in A.

 

[Dean Martin]

if a flight leaves on time you will have another 20 mins or so as the bake in some cushion. If the 2nd leg is not the last flight of the day I would take it .

That is very true 90% of the time, at least with Delta. I find we're almost always 15-20 minutes ahead of schedule on arrival.

 

[HoyaHeel]

Every airline has an MCT at every airport they use. Minimum Connection Time. And yes, Delta in Atlanta can be very short - I do believe it's 35 minutes for a domestic connection. I have done it - and I'm sure I'll do it again (living in NC and traveling mostly Delta, there are very few nonstop options ;-) It's not my preference, but it happens. If you experience schedule changes in your itinerary ahead of your flight, call in and make a change to a schedule you'd prefer.

 

[Gaggles]

I had a 30 minute layover just this week on Delta from Fort Lauderdale to Salt Lake to Calgary. We got stuck on the tarmac for a few minutes, which was stressful, and we had to run to our gate to get home to Calgary. Had we been on time, the 30 minutes would have been less hectic.

Having said that, Salt Lake is not Atlanta and we were in the same terminal. I would be slightly reluctant to book anything going through Atlanta with 30-45 min layover. If you do book, bring a change of clothes in a carry on, just in case.

This week, Delta screwed up our flights and cancelled our seats going home. We got home the next day but the inconvenience sucked. Our bags actually beat us to luggage claim despite the 30 minute layover. We had prepared ourselves to go home without our bags when we landed. Delta screwed things up initially but they really fixed it after the fact.

 

[Atrophy87]

I've had very good experience with short delta layovers in terms of success rate, but it's a stressful excercise.

 

[STPFan]

I am also worried about the same issue. We are flying with Delta instead of our usual Southwest because my husband is flying for a work conference and the Southwest flights were twice as much and not listed on his travel portal and lately SW has awful times for their direct flights. They are either 6am or 6pm. I don't want either. So our Delta flights have a 36 minute layover in Detroit on the way and a 41 minute in Atlanta on the way home. I looked around for a longer layout but either the time or cost was prohibitive. I was able to upgrade us with points to comfort+ so we are not too far back in the plane.

I just wish Southwest would not have changed so much that they are not worth flying anymore. I have been loyal to them for all our Vegas travel.

 

[Jspigare]

I've had decent experiences with short Delta layovers, but nearly all at DTW which is prob the easiest terminal to move through quickly. ATL/SLC/MSP I wouldn't risk it.

 

[MCann]

Delta boards 35 minutes prior to departure. I do think the Atlanta airport is one of the easiest in the US to travel long distances between gates if you know your way around, and I cant recall a time it's ever taken me more than 25 minutes to get from walking off one plane to my next gate, but I still wouldn't book one with less than a 45-50 minute layover, because you never know which terminal each flight will use, and being a Delta hub, there are constant gate/terminal swaps last second. There are specific gates that may be 30-40 minutes apart if the airport is crowded and you arrive at the far end of the international terminal for example. Plus they close the plane doors 10-15 minutes prior to departure, so a 35 minute layover seems insufficient. If you end up with a 25 minute walk, plane will probably be sealed up before you get to it.

I almost booked one of these 35 minute layover flights just a couple days ago, and noped out when I noticed that during checkout. Charlotte is the one where I really want at least 75 minutes between flights because no tram, and the big and little planes tend to use opposite ends if the airport. But ATL, I still want 45-50 minutes. I had only 43 minutes in ATL on my most recent trip, and that was enough time to make it to my next gate in another terminal, grab a sandwich from the little kiosk nearest the gate, and get in line when my group was called, but I power walked it and did not do any dilly dallying whatsoever. And I didnt have time to wait for fast food takeout or anything.

 

[Ten_On_The_End]

If you're in first class then you'll deplane a good 10 or more minutes ahead of hoi polloi like me in row 36. This makes a short layover even
tighter for economy class.

 

[Dean Martin]

Every airline has an MCT at every airport they use. Minimum Connection Time. And yes, Delta in Atlanta can be very short - I do believe it's 35 minutes for a domestic connection. I have done it - and I'm sure I'll do it again (living in NC and traveling mostly Delta, there are very few nonstop options ;-) It's not my preference, but it happens. If you experience schedule changes in your itinerary ahead of your flight, call in and make a change to a schedule you'd prefer.

Same scenario for us going out of Norfolk/VA Beach on Delta....pretty much always has a connection unless you're going somewhere not fun...lol There is actually 3 later flights from ATL to ORF on Delta if we happened to miss this short connection and those flights to Norfolk almost always have some empty seats. I'm sure we'd likely not get the 1st seats we pay for but at that point, it's a little over an hour flight and it's on the return home not the flight out. In this case we're going to Biloxi, not Vegas.

I think I just talked myself into taking the short connection flight...

 

[UltimateXaddict]

Airlines say they set short shot MCT times cause that's what the customer wants. People would complain if they got off a plane and had to wait 1-3 hours for their connection but now people complain when the MCT is short like 30 mins. There is no winning when it involves people.

 

[Dean Martin]

Airlines say they set short shot MCT times cause that's what the customer wants. People would complain if they got off a plane and had to wait 1-3 hours for their connection but now people complain when the MCT is short like 30 mins. There is no winning when it involves people.

You're probably correct... In my case, I wasn't meaning to complain but more asking what people thought about about the feasibility.