How much time to change planes?

[dlpmikki]

I am flying from orlando to Bermuda in January. I am going out via Atlanta and back through Boston. I am a non-US citizen and will only have hand luggage. I think I have more plane choices on the way out but don't know how much time I should allow at Atlanta to change and how much security I will need to go through. Coming back immigration to the US is actually done in Bermuda (!) so it will be like an internal flight changeover. I don't really know either airport so would be grateful if anyone could help me out with sensible timings.

Thanks!

[NotaGeek]

Hey there ... you can change planes in Atlanta in an 1-1.5 hours easy -- but the airport is HUGE and you will probably have to take a monorail-ish device to another terminal. I have never gone through Atlanta and not had to ride that thing! I know several people that will do ANYTHING to avoid Atlanta.

Boston is a breeze and if you don't have to do the customs/immigration thing barring any weather delays you can do it easily in 1-1.5 hours.

[NJGIRL]

The Atlanta airport is always a mob scene. I am one of those people who always trys to avoid Atlanta.

[Tygger7]

Transferring planes at any major airport can be a nightmare, but Atlanta & Boston are notoriously bad. Their size alone makes them difficult, and if you add possible flight delays, well, you can end up making a mad dash for your gate.

I book business travel on a daily basis and always try to route my travelers through smaller airports whenever possible. If you have to travel through ANY large airport do yourself a favor and allow at least 2 hours between flights. This will give you a little more breathing room should your originating flight be delayed, and make your travel a little less stressful. Better to have some time to kill versus missing your connecting flight. :mickey:

[dlpmikki]

There were not a huge number of options for airports that fly to Bermuda so I have gone for what I hope is a safe option and left myself at least 90 minutes each way transfer time and am now going both ways via Atlanta. Thanks for your help guys!

[wdw_bound]

90 minutes should be plenty. You won't need to worry about any extra security in Atlanta - you'll have checked in all the way through Bermuda upon your arrival to MCO. I know a lot of people complain about ATL, but I've rarely had problems that were airport related, other than weather. Especially with nothing but a carry-on to worry about, you'll be fine. Have a great trip!