A flying traveler with some questions about airports.

Martin

Hey, I'm flying from New Brunswick, to Toronto, to Atlanta, to Miami.

I change from Air Canada to American Airlines. I have a question about something on the AA site when I check my reservation. It says:

Scheduled Departure: 5:30PM
Actual Departure: 6:10PM

Does this mean that when I bought the tickets it was for 5:30, but now it's been moved to 6:10? That'd be great, cause I don't have a lot of time to get my stuff checked again.

Also, this is my first time traveling alone, so when I change airlines in the states, I assume I have to get all my baggage checked again? And how huge is the Hartsfield Atlanta Airport?

I'll update with more questions as they come to me, thanks guys.

Martin

KMFurDM

Are you sure you were looking at the flight schedule or at the status of a flight?

I have only seen that "scheduled", "actual" departure thing on flight status pages.

In any case, check it the morning of your flight just to be sure of any cancellations and print your boarding passes or whatever. Also, you will not want to be at the airport/gate much later than an hour before boarding. Boarding generally starts 30 minutes before departure. Just give yourself some time. Nothing worse than panicking trying to make a flight. Especially with as many hops you have to make.

Speaking of...who booked your ticket with that many stops? You are going to want to kill somebody. Anyway...another thing to consider since you have so many stops is how long of a wait do you have between flights and are you going to have to run like a madman (and hope your bags make it) to make a flight or hope one flight isn't late hence screwing your whole schedule. Just something to consider.

Yes, you will have to collect your bags and recheck them.

As far as Atlanta Airport goes, I hate it. At least the last time I was there I remember it being very long and very ugly. And by long I mean pray that your connecting flight is nearby and not on the other side of the airport. It is not a pleasant walk.

I think I got everything.

Jinn

Its kind of hard to do the wrong thing with your bags unless you're an oblivious ass. Hartsfield in my experience is, unfortunately, by far the worst when you are incoming international. You will collect your bags and recheck them along with a million lines and checkpoints and just a shitton of general inefficiency. The good news is though its really hard to do something wrong. With all the security and paranoia there are airport employees all over the damn place directing people. Just have a book or ipod or something and some patience and you'll be fine. Edit: Yeah it's really very poorly laid out and if your connecting flight is in a different concourse.... well, best of luck. Hope your bags aren't too heavy or cumbersome.

Don't know about the departure thing though, sorry.

Martin

So let's say I have an hour and 15 minutes from when I land in Atlanta to get my bags, checked, and on the next plane. Insanity? Or should that be fine.

I didn't book my flights, my employers did, and they do this all the time, so I'm trying to just relax and assume they know what they're doing.

EDIT: Upon further inspection, looks like I land in Atlanta in 'Terminal N' and depart to Miami in 'Terminal N'. So that sounds reassuring.

Chief1138

hartsfield is one of the busiest airports in the U.S., if not the busiest. Depending on when you go it can be a real pain in the ass. Finding your way through the airport isn't actually that difficult, they are sort of required to make it idiot-proof. If you don't have to travel between terminals an hour should be plenty of time.

Blake T

Have a talk with the check in people and politely explain that you are in a series of connect flights so if you luggage could be put in last (so it is first out) it would be greatly appreciated.

Most people are reasonable enough to do this for you.

AngelHedgie

Also, get some TSA-certified locks - otherwise, the TSA WILL cut your locks off to manually check your bags if they need to.

GrimmyTOA

Also with your particular route you're quite likely to be pre-clearing customs at Pearson (in Toronto) rather than upon arrival in Atlanta. So don't waste time taking in the sights. You're going to need all the time between your flights to get everything done. I will say, however, that they're pretty good about fast-tracking people whose planes are leaving sooner than is normal.

MichaelLC

The time difference is because airlines reuses the same flight number on different days; i.e, Flight #1234 from New Brunswick, to Toronto on Wednesday will also be called Flight#1234 on Thursday. So on the day you checked it, that flight left late.

The baggage thing varries; depends on if the carriers have agreements, and how long between flights. Best bet is to call Air Canada and ask them.

KMFurDM

Martin wrote: »

So let's say I have an hour and 15 minutes from when I land in Atlanta to get my bags, checked, and on the next plane. Insanity? Or should that be fine.

You should be fine if you aren't late getting on the ground. After going through immigration, getting your bags, and walking to your next gate you may be surprised how much time has been sucked up. But yeah, I imagine you will be just fine.

Just a tip since this is your first time flying alone: Keep your head up and read all of the signs. You won't get lost.

Jinn

Man, I don't know, I hate to be the one to foster your worries but that's less time than I'd be comfortable with. I'd highly recommend asking the stewardesses or security dudes or whoever will listen what you can do to get there as fast as possible. I didn't have a connecting flight but when I flew in from London a couple weeks ago it took over two hours from stepping off my plane to getting out of the airport in to my car. It was fucking ridiculous.

GrimmyTOA

Jinn wrote: »

Man, I don't know, I hate to be the one to foster your worries but that's less time than I'd be comfortable with. I'd highly recommend asking the stewardesses or security dudes or whoever will listen what you can do to get there as fast as possible. I didn't have a connecting flight but when I flew in from London a couple weeks ago it took over two hours from stepping off my plane to getting out of the airport in to my car. It was fucking ridiculous.

That's an international flight though -- if the OP is flying to the US from Toronto, he's probably going to go through customs on the Canadian side of the border. It means that once he lands, there's none of the aggravating processing and so on. His flight will be treated as if it was a domestic arrival.

It really speeds things up, on that end of things. Good advice about getting some help from the staff, though. If nothing else, they'll sometimes call your other plane's gate and let them know you're on the way.