Atlanta Travel Forum

Hiya! I am taking an American domestic flight through Atlanta then international to Manchester, England. I have never been to Atlanta's Airport and I am very nervous! I booked my flight through Expedia.com and My itinerary says that I will arrive in Terminal South from my domestic flight and leave Terminal South for my international. What processes will I have to go through EXACTLY when I arrive? I have a 2 hour layover. Will I have to pick up my bags when I get there or will they be forwarded to my international flight? Will I have to go through security again when I arrive in Atlanta? Will i have to check in again? If someone could answer these questions I'd REALLY appreciate it! Thanks so much!!!

-J

Just tried to give you an answer on your previous posting.

Lol thanks journey. I bet A million dollars you're a man HAHA. Stress is a woman thing apparently. Thanks for the advice though. I really appreciate it

Just make sure that they check your bags all the way through. However, if you do have to reclaim them you have plenty of time. Also, the airport is easy to find your way around. Just find out the departure gate for your Manchester flight and then follow the signs to the proper concourse and gate. One hour would be more than enough so with 2 hours you can have a leisurely drink or snack.

As long as your bags are checked by American Airlines from the airport you check in at all the way to Manchester, you will not have to claim and recheck them in Atlanta. Coming in on a domestic flight and leaving on an international flight in Atlanta you should not have to go back through security. You may have to change concourses. If so follow the signs, take the escalator or elevator to the lower level and you can either take the shuttle or walk from one concourse to the next. You can transfer from the farthest point in one councourse to the farthest point in another concourse in 20 minutes if you move along and take the underground shuttle. You should be fine on time, even if your incoming flight is an hour behind schedule (I have made a similar connection in little over 40 minutes and arrived in Europe with my luggage.)

Relax and Enjoy!

David

One thing that confuses many people about the Atlanta airport is the terminal north and terminal south thing.

Both are actually in the same building and easily accessible to each other. The north side of the building is the North terminal and the south side of the building is the South terminal. Once you have checked in and checked your bags, everyone goes to common areas.

Thanks guys! Delta has emailed me and informed me that I will have to check in again once I get in Altanta. My question is... If I land in Concourse D for example then I have to check in will I have to go ALL THE WAY BACK to the main terminal then back to whatever concourse I leave from?

If you have to recheck then yes you will have to go to the main baggage claim. Once you pick them up however you can recheck them in the main terminal. The check in area is next to baggage claim so it will not take 5 minutes to go there with your bags. Then once checked you will go through security again and to your departure gate. Sounds like a hassle but I still think you have plenty of time. Security lines can be long but tend to move pretty fast. I don't think we have ever spent more than 15-20 minutes in line and it is usually much less. Depends a little on what day of the week and what time. As for getting around the arrival and departure gates and baggage claim, the trams run virtually constantly and are very quick and well signed.

Honestly, this sounds all to complicated and I'm flying the day after thanksgiving. I would really like to enjoy my flying experience as apposed to dreding it. I've been up all night worrying about it so I'm really considering cancelling the flight with Delta and booking with Continental as their airport is MUCH more simple to deal with. This whole Atlanta thing sounds like a nightmare, especially considering it will be a very busy time of the year. I'll go check on some Continental flight prices right now lol. I'll let you know what I've decided to do when I decide it. Thanks for the info guys

As I said-if your bags are through-labelled, (and most prbably will), it will be quite simple. Just check-in to get your boarding pass at the gate-desk.
ATL is not really a nightmare.

Lol, well whatever happens, I'm sticking with this stupid Atlanta flight. Thanks for the help guys. I'm still pissing myself worrying lol. I HATE FLYING!! Once again, thanks again for all your help. I'm a bit more calm about this now anyway. Keep on the lookout for more panic messages from me lol!

Sorry if we (I) made it sound worse than it is. The Atlanta airport is simply and well laid out and there are signs everywhere so I don't think you will have any trouble. It is big and busy but the time to get from one place to another is short. If your bags are checked through you will only have to change concourses and that will take less than 10 minutes. Let us know how it goes.

If it puts you at ease some...: I also had a choice of connecting in Newark or Houston for my coming-december-flight but I decided to go via ATL again, as I have done several times these last 2 years...

That actually does make me feel a whole lot better! I've been in Newark's Airport, Paris', Manchester's, and Allicante Spain's so... I hope you guys are right and it's pretty simple. I'm a country girl and we like to keep things as simple as possible lol. I don't like to make a fuss about anything. This trip is the most important thing in the world to me currently and the thought of it being impossible is literally heart breaking. You really have helped me. You guys are the best!

Looking forward to your "report" afterwards....

:)

have fun!

Thanks again! I'm sure I'll be fine thanks to your help! I'll let you know how it goes!!! Bye for now!!

-Jen

lol... nhoolb... Don't kill me for asking this. But is this train service free or do I need to bring some cash? Also, I noticed on the map of ATL that there is a "Delta Air Lines Connection Ticket Service Center." What is that? Is it possible to check in there or something? Or do I 100% HAVE to check in in the main terminal?

The people mover train is free. You can go to your gate and check-in there (to get your boarding pass). Again: assuming your bags have been through-labelled (through-checked) to your final destination which they most probably will. Maybe even, which would be much better, you can get your boarding pass already when you check-in for your first leg but that's something I'm not 100% sure about as AA and DL are not in the same alliance.

Yeah I contacted Delta and they told me I WILL have to check in again, but I don't know if I have to pick up my luggage when I get in Atlanta or not. I have emailed them and I am waiting for a reply. If I don't have to pick up my luggage that would make it a whole lot easier and eliminate most of my time crunch worry. I'll let you know what they say when they reply me.

maybe best to check with AA at your departing airport about the luggage.

I will do that if Delta doesn't give me an answer. Thanks for the suggestion

Jen, if you look on my Atlanta/transportation page, you will see an overview of the airports layout. It sounds confusing when you try to explain it, but it is actually VERY simple once you see how it is laid out.

And a 2 hour layover is certainly long enough for you to do what you need to. It is not uncommon for bags to be arriving at the baggage claim within a few minutes of you deplaning and getting to the carousels. And that is assuming that you have to reclaim your bags.

The delta connection is their commuter airline, so you shouldn't have to bother with that at all.

There are customer service agents for Delta in either the T gates or A terminal, but I don't remember which. I don't know if you can check bags there or not if you have to reclaim the bags. But if you already have seating assignments for Delta, then you should be able to check in at the gate if your bags are checked through.

Hey again guys!
Yeah you're correct about me not having to check my bags in Atlanta! Apparently they are going to be forwarded through to Manchester, England. So... I check in at the gate where the plane is departing? That seems strange to me. I thought I was going to have to go all the way to the T terminal to check in which also seemed odd. So you're saying if I land in Terminal D and I'm departing from B that all I'll do when I land is go to my gate in B and check in there? That sounds simple and easy enough!

You got it. You will be departing from Terminal E in all liklihood as that is the international terminal. You should have no problem. Have a great trip.

Ditto to what Rex said. The international gates are in Terminal E (where there are quite a few stores to keep you entertained while waiting on your flight) and you just hop the train between the terminals. It is well marked and easy to get around.

Have a great trip!

A small detail: as I said before, most-but not all-departing international flights leave from Concourse E. As an example: I have experienced that sometimes my flight ATL-Bogota leaves from the T concourse.
International arrivals are always at Concourse E.

Thanks guys!! I'm pretty confident about this little voyage now thanks to your help and advise. Yeah I think someone told me terminal E was the international one. Either way, I've obviously got loads of time! I will keep all your tips and tricks in mind when I get to Atlanta. Thanks again! You're the best!!! :-D

-Jen