A method and apparatus are provided for transferring an ATM call. A first ATM call (124) is established between a first party (120) and a second party (116) and a second ATM call (128) is established between the second party (116) and a third party (118). The first and second ATM calls both include a plurality of segments (124a-d, 128a-d) or connections that are coupled to a plurality of ATM switches (208, 210, 212, 214) over ATM facilities to provide virtual connections. The transfer is accomplished by sending a message to the ATM switch over the ATM facility (109) to request the transfer of the first party to the third party. The message identifies the first ATM call and the second ATM call. The switch makes a new connection (220) between the first ATM call and the second ATM call and releases the segments of the first and second ATM calls that connect the ATM switch to the second party. As a result, the first party and the third party are connected for communication.