Do you have Munich airport experience?

[h-sar]

My family of 4 (we have 2 able bodied teenagers), will be flying into Munich on Icelandair from Canada via Iceland next Monday. We then fly out of Munich to Venice on Air Dolomiti, 2 separate tickets, two different terminals. We have a 1 hr 50 minute connection time. For those of you with personal experience in Munich, is this enough time?

 

Also, can you guide me through the process of what to expect - baggage collection, security, customs, etc.,thank you!

[grandma*knows*best]

Yes, I was there last week. I didn't have to deal with luggage or immigration/customs as I was flying FCO-MUC-ORD-BWI (yes, I know, terrible routing). There is intense security at German airports, which takes extra time. I would be a bit uncomfortable with a connection as short as yours if I had to also go through customs/immigration and recheck bags.

Edited July 28, 2014 by grandma*knows*best
wrong route

[TravelnAl]

Just did a trip from US to Poland via Icelandair. We cleared EU immigration in Iceland so you should be considered a domestic traveler in MUC. You will not have Customs until your final destination. Sounds like you will have enough time to make your connection in MUC.

[Zach1213]

While Munich is an incredibly efficient airport (in my opinion, the most efficient large airport in the world), you have a couple of issues that could create problems. I know this goes against the previous two posters, but I would be concerned with that connection. Sorry for the slight reality check.

 

First off, Air Dolomiti (operating as Air Dolomiti, as the Venice flight does (as opposed to operating as Lufthansa)) does not have an interline agreement with Icelandair, as per the Icelandair website @ http://www.icelandair.us/information/travel-guide/optional-service-and-fees/ (scroll to the bottom). What does this mean? That Icelandair will likely NOT be able to check your bag through to Venice, meaning you will have to claim it in Munich, requiring you to exit security, grab your bag, transfer terminals, and re-check with Air Dolomiti before going through security again.

 

The terminals are about a 10-15 minute walk apart. Let's say you arrive on-time (never something to assume, but we will).

 

10 minutes to exit aircraft if you're towards the back = 1h40 transfer

5 minutes walk to baggage claim = 1h35

15 minute wait for baggage = 1h20

15 minute transfer to other terminal = 1h05

 

At this point, you must note that the minimum check-in time for Air Dolomiti at Munich is 45 minutes (http://www.airdolomiti.eu/book-and-fly/airports/munich.html). So you have 20 minutes to spare. If your inbound is 20 minutes late, or your bags are late, you are in risk of missing your connection.

 

So in comes the second potential problem - separate tickets. There are no protections on these. You have only contracted with Icelandair to get you to Munich, so if they get you there so late that you miss your connection, it's not their problem - they got you where you asked them to get you. In that case, you show up as a "no show" to Air Dolomiti - someone who bought their tickets and just never showed up, meaning your tickets become worthless. While they MAY (big may) allow you to take the next available flight because they are nice, they are under no obligation whatsoever to do so, and may well say "sorry, you'll need to buy four last-minute tickets to Venice". I am seeing two Air Dolomiti flights MUC-VCE after what I assume to be yours (2:55pm or so), and they may be kind enough to put you on one of those, IF there is room. "Next Available Flight" does not always mean "Next Flight", and that's likely a fairly popular route with smaller planes.

 

I'm not trying to be Negative Nancy or Negative Norberto here, but I am letting you know that there is a decent amount of risk on this. If Icelandair would let you through-check your bags, that would be great...but unless your ticket is technically a "Lufthansa operated by Air Dolomiti" flight (which Venice is not), it doesn't appear that they will. If someone could correct me, that would be great.

Edited July 28, 2014 by Zach1213

[fbgd]

J We cleared EU immigration in Iceland

 

There is no such thing as "EU Immigration".

 

Iceland is part of the Schengen zone, a common travel area within Europe but all EU members are not part of the Schengen Agreement and vice versa.

 

The UK is an EU member state but not Schengen and Norway and Switzerland are Schengen but not EU.

 

Very important difference.

[FlyerTalker]

There is no such thing as "EU Immigration".

 

Iceland is part of the Schengen zone, a common travel area within Europe but all EU members are not part of the Schengen Agreement and vice versa.

 

The UK is an EU member state but not Schengen and Norway and Switzerland are Schengen but not EU.

 

Very important difference.

To paraphrase from another recent thread...who cares about semantics?

 

:D:D:D

 

And don't forget that in addition to the EU and Schengen, there is also the Eurozone for currency. And other groupings as well.

 

I love the Venn diagram shown at THIS PAGE.

[6rugrats]

To paraphrase from another recent thread...who cares about semantics?

 

:D:D:D

 

And don't forget that in addition to the EU and Schengen, there is also the Eurozone for currency. And other groupings as well.

 

I love the Venn diagram shown at THIS PAGE.

Let's keep this factual. I believe the exact quote was:

 

I am entitled to my opinion without nitpicking about semantics instead of facts to back up a point.

 

Besides, there's no need to have any discussion on boards such as CC anymore. We can get the facts about pretty much everything from Twitter.

 

(For you senior citizens who find it hard to make sense of all that mumbo jumbo nowadays-[it's] a worldwide and extremely popular social media site)

Edited July 28, 2014 by 6rugrats

[hsaroya]

Thanks to all those who replied. I will definitely check with Icelandair to see if they can route the bags through - slim chance, but doesn't hurt to ask. Waiting for the bags to arrive on the carousel in a timely fashion is a big concern. Usually, I can convince the family to do carry-on's, but three weeks in Europe meant they weren't buying in!