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Connecting time in ATH?

Posted by (Seattle, WA, USA ☔️) on

I'm mulling over a flight home (to Seattle) that would have a roughly 1 hour 55 minute connection in ATH, and wondering how risky that connection time is.

This would all be on a single ticket, starting on some island (either Crete or Santorini - TBD) with that connection in ATH, then onward to North America. So a single ticket, which means if we mis-connect in ATH, they'll get us home, just not on the flight we intended. (And no, I would never accept a 1:55 "self-connection" in ATH on two separate tickets - I may be dumb, but I'm not crazy!)

I know, I know - there are strong and repeated recommendations to "finish" your Greece trip with some days in Athens, because of the unreliability of connections (mostly ferry but also to some extent flights). But we are saving Athens for a future trip, focusing on islands for this one, and I'd prefer to NOT spread our flights home across multiple days.

This would be on a weekday in mid-October (scheduled to arrive in ATH at around 10 am, connecting flight to depart just under 2 hours later). We will have checked bags (though we will be traveling on a business class ticket, so bags would be marked "priority" though that's not really reliable). The connection will be arriving on Aegean, and departing on Air Canada (they are partners and should interline checked bags, but there's that extra risk of the handoff). All that said, if our checked bags arrive home a day later than we do, it's not a disaster (I don't worry about late bags for the flight home, only for the outbound).

Some airports are models of efficiency and provide reliably low-friction when connecting. Others, not so much. I have not been through ATH before, but I am guessing that it doesn't operate with near-perfect, Swiss efficiency. I suspect there's a chance of some chaos and stress. At an efficient (say, Nordic) connecting airport, I'd feel reasonably confident of a 1:55 connection. At ATH, that seems more iffy.

Given all the considerations mentioned above, I'm guessing this is a risky connection, but not an unreasonable one to chance - it's on the edge of my comfort zone, but close enough to accept. I think... Am I right, or am I crazy?

Thanks for your insights - especially if you are familiar with connecting through ATH.

Posted by
13095 posts

My only experience with ATH was flying from/to Rome, so didn't have to deal with passport control, nor checked bags.

It was a painless, easy process, and as the airport is not immense it is reasonably easy to navigate.

Where does the flight from Athens land? If you do not have to deal with passport control there, then the process is even easier/simpler.

The advice from the cheap seats is 'just do it'

Posted by
7453 posts

Where does the flight from Athens land? If you do not have to deal with passport control there, then the process is even easier/simpler.

First leg will be a domestic flight within Greece (coming from an island TBD), connecting in ATH, and then flying onward to Canada (most likely Toronto or Montreal), then connecting there to the last leg to SEA. So ATH would be our departure point from Greece, and we would go through the minor Schengen departure procedures there in ATH.

Posted by
18105 posts

Like any connection, the answer is "it depends on what is happening that day."

Everything could be smooth or you could encounter delays that would mean missing the connecting flight. No one can predict what will happen.

One thing to keep in mind is where the incoming plane parks. I've been on flights at ATH that were parked at remote stands so we had to bus to and from the terminal.

Depending on when you are going, EES may be in full swing and no one knows if that will really save time or take more.

My experience has been that ATH was fairly efficient.

If you decide to give yourself more of a connecting time, and since you are traveling biz class, you can utilize the airline lounge. However, they can get very crowded. (Just make sure Air Canada offers lounge access at ATH.)

Worst comes to worst, you might get a night in Athens on the airline. I could think of worse places to be.

Posted by
3341 posts

I have flown through Athens several times, although my experience has been going to the islands. There are two sections to the airport and the islands are in a different section than the larger international planes. But they are very close together. It does mean going through security again but I have never had any line (three times so not a lot of experience) You usually have to take a bus to and from the smaller Aegean planes.

All that said, I have scheduled a closer connection than that-also on one ticket-and ended up with an hour and made the plane. It is not a difficult airport to navigate.

And you will I assume already been in the airport going to Crete so will have a feel for it.

I would book it.

Posted by
2298 posts

I just did that exact connection — leaving Chania at 9:20, landing Athens 10:10, connecting to Air Canada to Montreal at 12:10, with checked bags. Plenty of time. Go for it.

Posted by
7453 posts

Well, we've figured out our plans for getting outta Greece, but with some differences from what I was looking at earlier.

I found a great deal this morning on a flight home from Istanbul, but to get there we will do a bit of creative routing first (which I always enjoy). We will still be flying from Santorini, but our connection in Athens on the way home will be down to 1 hour, 20 minutes. It's all on one ticket, and there's a later connection we could take if we miss the first one, so I'm going to give it a try. It'll be on a single ticket, booked on and flying on Aegean, both coming from Santorini and onward from Athens.

I may have some questions about the finer points of moving through ATH later as the details shake out. Thank you to all who provided your insights on this.

Posted by
1132 posts

David, the only thing to keep in mind is you will be clearing passport control and a security check in ATH. An hour and 20 minutes should be okay.

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