Air Deviation Questions

[katz]

I just received our airline reservations from O. They did a good job of trying to meet my requests.

 

I have two questions-----They have us flying from Washington DC to Frankfurt, with a 45 minutes layover, than on to Barcelona.

Do we have to go through customs in Germany? I am thinking no.

 

The paperwork says that we have to contact the airline for seat assignments and that we can't do this until 60 before the flight. I am seeing this as a negative since I am very fussy about my seats. Am I going to end up with bad seats if we have to wait until so close to the flight date?

 

Oppps--I have more that two questions----What about our FF mileage numbers? How do I make sure they are used for these flights?

 

Thank you for your help.

[LHT28]

Just call the airline & ask for seats now & see what they say

 

Oceania had assigned us seats for A/C I did not like them so called A/C and they changed them

I added my FF number online at the airline's website under "manage my booking" but I am sure while you are asking about seats they could also add the FF number

 

Lyn

[Jancruz]

I just received our airline reservations from O. They did a good job of trying to meet my requests.

 

I have two questions-----They have us flying from Washington DC to Frankfurt, with a 45 minutes layover, than on to Barcelona.

Do we have to go through customs in Germany? I am thinking no.

 

The paperwork says that we have to contact the airline for seat assignments and that we can't do this until 60 before the flight. I am seeing this as a negative since I am very fussy about my seats. Am I going to end up with bad seats if we have to wait until so close to the flight date?

 

Oppps--I have more that two questions----What about our FF mileage numbers? How do I make sure they are used for these flights?

 

Thank you for your help.

 

Call them now for your seats and be insistant..you are "in transit in Frankfurt" but personally I dont think that is enough time in Frankfurt as it is a large airport and I would rather have more time.You call up and put your FF numbers in your record. FYI it is now $125 for deviations.

Jancruz1

[tropicalkerry2002]

Did you GET Aeroplan points for the flights?

Sometimes "consolidator" fares don't. I am keeping my fingers crossed, though!

Marian

[LHT28]

Did you GET Aeroplan points for the flights?

Sometimes "consolidator" fares don't. I am keeping my fingers crossed, though!

Marian

I am not sure

I upgraded the seats so I did get points there

[orchestrapal]

45 minutes is close for Frankfurt however we have found that our flights in have mostly been early getting in. In addition there are almost hourly flights to Barcelona in the morning and their pretty good at changing your flights should you miss one.:)

 

Fra-Bcn- Lufthansa

8:00 am

9:55 am

11:45 am

1:15 pm

3:10 pm etc.

[Paulchili]

I just received our airline reservations from O. They did a good job of trying to meet my requests.

I have two questions-----They have us flying from Washington DC to Frankfurt, with a 45 minutes layover, than on to Barcelona.

Do we have to go through customs in Germany? I am thinking no.

 

Thank you for your help.

 

What airline are you flying to and from Frankfurt?

I am assuming you are flying on LH to Barcelona. I would very strongly urge you to take the next flight out from Frankfurt to Barcelona (there should be plenty).

You have no time at all for any potential delays. Even if you make the flight, your luggage may not; our friends in a very similar situation (DC to FRA to IST) missed their luggage and they never got it until they returned to Istanbul on a Black Sea cruise.

[jpalbny]

I have two questions-----They have us flying from Washington DC to Frankfurt, with a 45 minutes layover, than on to Barcelona.

Do we have to go through customs in Germany? I am thinking no.

 

I think you WILL go through customs in FRA - you are entering Schengen territory / the EU in Germany, so you arrive in the international arrivals section and pass through passport control to the domestic part of the airport for your flight to BCN, which is considered domestic from FRA.

 

The Schengen argeement / Schengen zone can be confusing - it's mostly the same as the EU countries; they have agreed to share a common border for the purposes of customs and entry/exit. The Schengen countries are more analagous to our states than separate countries as far as customs are concerened. So once you enter a Schengen country you can pass borders without further customs - much like entering the US in New York, then going on to Pennsylvania.

 

For example, we just went JFK-AMS-OSL last month. We cleared Schengen / EU customs in AMS, walked through passport control to the domestic side of the airport, and then took a "domestic" flight to Norway.

 

Interestingly, the UK is not part of the Schengen agreement so were you flying JFK-FRA-LHR (a nonsensical itinerary, I know) you would stay in the international area in FRA and only do customs in LHR.

 

It's the same coming back to the USA - you go through customs at your first US airport, not your final destination. But you don't go through US customs if you're "in transit" to another international destination.

 

The 45-minute layover would worry me but considering that others have posted a robust schedule of flights later in the day, should be OK. In AMS last month there was absolutely no line at passport control and it took all of 30 seconds - though you can't count on that!:)

[no fuss travel]

When we flew into FRA last May, they had people waiting to escort those who had a very tight time between flights. I gather they all made their planes but do not know as we made sure we had 2 hours between flights and by the time we cleared customs and immigration and security again, we did not have long to wait for our next flight.

[rallydave]

I think you WILL go through customs in FRA - you are entering Schengen territory / the EU in Germany, so you arrive in the international arrivals section and pass through passport control to the domestic part of the airport for your flight to BCN, which is considered domestic from FRA.

 

The Schengen argeement / Schengen zone can be confusing - it's mostly the same as the EU countries; they have agreed to share a common border for the purposes of customs and entry/exit. The Schengen countries are more analagous to our states than separate countries as far as customs are concerened. So once you enter a Schengen country you can pass borders without further customs - much like entering the US in New York, then going on to Pennsylvania.

 

For example, we just went JFK-AMS-OSL last month. We cleared Schengen / EU customs in AMS, walked through passport control to the domestic side of the airport, and then took a "domestic" flight to Norway.

 

Interestingly, the UK is not part of the Schengen agreement so were you flying JFK-FRA-LHR (a nonsensical itinerary, I know) you would stay in the international area in FRA and only do customs in LHR.

 

It's the same coming back to the USA - you go through customs at your first US airport, not your final destination. But you don't go through US customs if you're "in transit" to another international destination.

 

The 45-minute layover would worry me but considering that others have posted a robust schedule of flights later in the day, should be OK. In AMS last month there was absolutely no line at passport control and it took all of 30 seconds - though you can't count on that!:)

 

A little confused over your use of customs in the above response. I know that they will need to go thru passport control (immigration) before continuing but, customs is a whole other kettle of fish. I flew into Frankfort earlier this year and wasn't connecting and when I got to baggage, had to go thru customs, walked thru the green line and was then in the arrivals hall. No place to recheck my luggage had I been continuing and I would have needed to get to my departure terminal and go thru security again. Doubt that could be done in 30 minutes. Not needing to get luggage and going thru security could make 45 minutes a possibility as long as you didn't need to leave the secure area.

 

As to your comment about transiting thru the US to another foreign destination, almost positive at most US airports, you would need to clear immigration and customs and then go back thru security as almost all flights from US airports are intermingled with domestic flights. Now, you might have your luggage moved over to the next flight but, once you are in the immigration hall, you are outside security and you would at least have to go back thru security. to get to your gate. Most US airports don't have transit lines for those transiting to another country as other countries have.

[jpalbny]

A little confused over your use of customs in the above response. I know that they will need to go thru passport control (immigration) before continuing but, customs is a whole other kettle of fish. I flew into Frankfort earlier this year and wasn't connecting and when I got to baggage, had to go thru customs, walked thru the green line and was then in the arrivals hall. No place to recheck my luggage had I been continuing and I would have needed to get to my departure terminal and go thru security again. Doubt that could be done in 30 minutes. Not needing to get luggage and going thru security could make 45 minutes a possibility as long as you didn't need to leave the secure area.

 

As to your comment about transiting thru the US to another foreign destination, almost positive at most US airports, you would need to clear immigration and customs and then go back thru security as almost all flights from US airports are intermingled with domestic flights. Now, you might have your luggage moved over to the next flight but, once you are in the immigration hall, you are outside security and you would at least have to go back thru security. to get to your gate. Most US airports don't have transit lines for those transiting to another country as other countries have.

 

You're right - should have used the term "passport control" instead of customs. Oops.

[Earl Rosebery]

I just received our airline reservations from O. They did a good job of trying to meet my requests.

 

I have two questions-----They have us flying from Washington DC to Frankfurt, with a 45 minutes layover, than on to Barcelona.

Do we have to go through customs in Germany? I am thinking no.

 

The paperwork says that we have to contact the airline for seat assignments and that we can't do this until 60 before the flight. I am seeing this as a negative since I am very fussy about my seats. Am I going to end up with bad seats if we have to wait until so close to the flight date?

 

Oppps--I have more that two questions----What about our FF mileage numbers? How do I make sure they are used for these flights?

 

Thank you for your help.

 

Last time we flew into Frankfurt, we were connecting to Istanbul. Our flight from Vancouver was 2 hours late leaving which used up all of our connecting time and then some.

 

No worries, they were very efficient. Went through immigration in about 2 minutes, down a staircase with an escort to a waiting bus and were driven directly to the plane. The plane was held for a few minutes. They have figured out that getting people connected is better than rescheduling them. (insofar as possible) Our luggage was checked through to Istanbul from Vancouver and somehow made the connection.

[PaulMCO]

As many suggested ask for a later connection. You do yourself, your health and your luggage a favor.

 

I flew this weekend from IAD to Vienna via Frankfurt. Our flight was 20 minutes EARLY and I still missed a 60 minute connection.

 

Had a bus gate which means an extra 20 minutes in getting to the terminal. You then go through passport control. The queue for non -EU citizens was so long I spent 20 minutes in line. Barcelona leaves through the A gates so you first go through security. I am Star Gold so I can take the shorter line and it still took 20 minutes -- then a run under the ramp -- on the people mover. 10 minutes later I am at the gate as they closed the flight.

 

I went to the transfer desk and did get a flight in 3 hours. However the people ahead in the line were going to Copenhagen to catch a cruise and LH could not accommodate them until evening -- unfortunately that meant they missed their cruise.

[eddmel]

Our experience with a connection in Frankfort was of a long, long walk and multi-security checkpoints. While we enjoy the excercise, we were glad that we listended to the check-in agent in Berlin and she changed our flight to the US to allow more time for the connection.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I agree that this seems too short a connection at Frankfurt. It's a very big airport. I can't remember whether we went through customs/immigration there, or at our final destination. I believe the former, but not sure.

 

I believe that O and R use a similar system of consolidators, and if so, you will have no problem registering your frequent flier numbers and getting the points for the flights.

[rallydave]

I agree that this seems too short a connection at Frankfurt. It's a very big airport. I can't remember whether we went through customs/immigration there, or at our final destination. I believe the former, but not sure.

 

I believe that O and R use a similar system of consolidators, and if so, you will have no problem registering your frequent flier numbers and getting the points for the flights.

 

Wendy, you and several others on this board as well as Regent's have been using the term consolidators for the air program and I don't believe that is the case. Regent and Oceania use the same air dept. although the pricing may vary. I recently booked a Deviation with Regent Air and talked to the Air Dept. a few times directly and they told me that they were waiting for a Contract to be signed with the airline as a reason I had to wait the first time. Once I did get my air booked, they provided me the confirmation code as well as the seats assigned. I was able to enter our FF numbers and change some of the seat assignments and then found out that the flights were reserved but, not purchasedd as the reservation showed the flights were reserved and had to be paid for by the end of the day and every day that date changed by one day. Called the Air Desk once again and they told me not to worry, their contract with the airline allowed them to reserve a flight and not pay for the flight until 30 days prior to the flight. Have since seen the date move one day at a time every day. Had these been consolidator tickets, this process would not have occurred and also, most consolidator tickets are not eligible for FF miles and our numbers were put into the system and it shows how many miles we will get.

 

This process may vary by airline but, for our chosen airline, it worked quite well. I also have the ability to change my seat assignments as much as I want on line.

 

Thanks,

 

Dave

[Paulchili]

As many suggested ask for a later connection. You do yourself, your health and your luggage a favor.

 

I flew this weekend from IAD to Vienna via Frankfurt. Our flight was 20 minutes EARLY and I still missed a 60 minute connection.

 

Had a bus gate which means an extra 20 minutes in getting to the terminal. You then go through passport control. The queue for non -EU citizens was so long I spent 20 minutes in line. Barcelona leaves through the A gates so you first go through security. I am Star Gold so I can take the shorter line and it still took 20 minutes -- then a run under the ramp -- on the people mover. 10 minutes later I am at the gate as they closed the flight.

 

I went to the transfer desk and did get a flight in 3 hours. However the people ahead in the line were going to Copenhagen to catch a cruise and LH could not accommodate them until evening -- unfortunately that meant they missed their cruise.

 

I couldn't agree with you more - not worth the headache and worries about making connections and luggage transfer (IMO).

If OP ignores your (and our general) advice and keeps the tight connection, he will have nobody but himself to blame if any problems arise as a result of this.

[katz]

Thank you, everyone, for this discussion. I have changed the flight with the 45 minute layover. When I contacted O, they apologized saying they had made a mistake and changed the flight to one with a reasonable layover.

[Paulchili]

Thank you, everyone, for this discussion. I have changed the flight with the 45 minute layover. When I contacted O, they apologized saying they had made a mistake and changed the flight to one with a reasonable layover.

 

Good move on your part.

Pays to be vigilant and checking your flights carefully - assuming nothing.

[Benita]

Thank you, everyone, for this discussion. I have changed the flight with the 45 minute layover. When I contacted O, they apologized saying they had made a mistake and changed the flight to one with a reasonable layover.

 

Excellent choice. On our Insignia cruise a few years ago, we flew Luftansa from Miami to Frankfurt, then connecting to Barcelona. We had almost three hours to make the connection. Unfortunately, there were only two people to check the passports of the several hundred passengers who just got off planes. We made the plane with ten minutes to spare.

[hondorner]

Adding to the discussion about deviations, I just went through the process for Riviera's Maiden Voyage (I originally took the air credit at the time of booking). I requested a flight to Athens for a Saturday and learned there would be a differential up-charge. I remembered that often flying on a Thursday was cheaper. I had my agent request a Thursday flight and the up-charge disappeared; all I have to pay is the deviation fee. The lower fare is enough to almost cover my hotel for the two additional nights! Sure, there will be some additional costs such as dining, but they are worth it for two additional days in Athens.

[spindrift]

You've already had the important advice, but let me tell you that we were in Business Class with a 3 hour delay, and yes, we had to clear customs and barely made the flight.

[bloomcruisers]

I have a question about the $125pp non-refundable air deviation fee. Does the non-refundable mean that if we choose not to do the deviation (for example...if the upcharge is too much), that we are out the $250? Or does nonrefundable only mean that we lose it if we change/cancel flights after booking the air deviation?

[rallydave]

I have a question about the $125pp non-refundable air deviation fee. Does the non-refundable mean that if we choose not to do the deviation (for example...if the upcharge is too much), that we are out the $250? Or does nonrefundable only mean that we lose it if we change/cancel flights after booking the air deviation?

 

You don't pay the deviation fee until you are happy with the flights and you accept them so if the upcharge is too much, you are out nothing if you refuse the deviation. It is refundable at any time after you agree to pay the fee and accept the flights from Oceania.

[LHT28]

It is NON refundable after you accept the flights offered