Flying through Frankfurt, Germany

[Cruising89143]

Hi, we will be flying through Frankfurt from LAX on our way to BCN and wonder if anyone has had any recent experiences of what we will need to do to catch our connecting flight. Both are on Lufthansa. I assume that we will to pass through passport control. Average time?  Any comments would be appreciated.

[CruiserBruce]

It is commonly recommended here that 90 minutes is about the minimum connection time, although if you get lucky you can do it faster.

 

Been through FRA many times,  once in 40 minutes, but that was in the "off hours" for international arrivals, and it wasn't comfortable,  believe me.  But we, and our luggage made it. 

[Cruising89143]

13 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

It is commonly recommended here that 90 minutes is about the minimum connection time, although if you get lucky you can do it faster.

 

Been through FRA many times,  once in 40 minutes, but that was in the "off hours" for international arrivals, and it wasn't comfortable,  believe me.  But we, and our luggage made it. 

 

First, thanks for your quick reply. Did you have to go through security or passport control? I have read conflicting reports. We have two hours in between both flights if our first flight from LAX is on time. In the past I have always flown direct from the U.S  So layovers was not an issue. 

[CruiserBruce]

You will have a passport check only. I would ge pretty comfortable with 2 hours.

[Cruising89143]

7 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

You will have a passport check only. I would ge pretty comfortable with 2 hours.

 

Thanks. 

[dogs4fun]

We regularly fly Lufthansa and are very comfortable with 2 hours connection time in FRA - in fact, we are very comfortable with 1.5 hours. It is a large airport and our flights always depart FRA from  gate "Z" (international flights) - quite a hike from our arrival gate.  We have had no issues in making our departing flights - even have time to stop for a quick snack (this is with a 1.5 hour connection time).

Relax - you have plenty of time.

Edited July 11, 2019 by dogs4fun

[CruiserBruce]

1 hour ago, dogs4fun said:

We regularly fly Lufthansa and are very comfortable with 2 hours connection time in FRA - in fact, we are very comfortable with 1.5 hours. It is a large airport and our flights always depart FRA from  gate "Z" (international flights) - quite a hike from our arrival gate.  We have had no issues in making our departing flights - even have time to stop for a quick snack (this is with a 1.5 hour connection time).

Relax - you have plenty of time.

A and Z gates (the common arrival and departure gates for Lufthansa) are the same gates, just different floors of the same building.

 

The issues that cause slowing at FRA are the common practice of parking the planes away from those gates, thus having to bus to the Terminal, and going through passport checks during the common major international arrival times, which is the morning hours. Lufthansa planes almost always get a gate at A/Z, but non-Lufthansa flights usually get a parking stand (away from the Terminal) and have to bus during those hours.

 

Flights to local airports (like BCN) may got out of A or B. Going in/out of B means a little walk, and possibly a bus to the plane. We happen to have that on the 40 minute connection I mention above (a SFO-FRA-CPH flight), but as the SFO-FRA flight was outside of the busy international arrivals time (and late to boot) we got a A/Z gate, and there was literally no line at passport check. But we were the last to board the smaller plane (after a short bus ride) for the flight to CPH, and the door closed immediately after we boarded.

[purduemom1]

12 hours ago, cruisingator2 said:

Hi, we will be flying through Frankfurt from LAX on our way to BCN and wonder if anyone has had any recent experiences of what we will need to do to catch our connecting flight. Both are on Lufthansa. I assume that we will to pass through passport control. Average time?  Any comments would be appreciated.

 

Just a “heads up”, Lufthansa is prone to strikes that seem to be a never ending thing. We flew LAX-FRA-PRG and since our TA (now former TA) did not warn us about this prior to purchasing our tickets, we found out the hard way when Lufthansa posted an alert on their website. Depending which employee group is striking, their tactics can vary from affecting all flights to just certain flight routes or certain airports. 

 

Not much you you can do about it as strikes just seem to be ongoing. But you can keep an eye on it and know which alternate flights will work for you so you are prepared to request a change should your original flight itinerary be affected. Hopefully your ticket fare class allows your ticket to be used on partner airlines. That said, some will say “don’t worry about it” or “it’s never happened to me” or if it happens they will rebook you. However, when a strike occurs they are also trying rebook many others and there might not be sufficiently seats to accommodate everyone. Getting to CS ahead of others with  your options is important.  

 

Hopefully your flights will will go smoothly.  BTW, take a look at the FRA app. Also FRA has pretty good signage. 

[Cruising89143]

Thanks for the heads up.

[FlyerTalker]

4 hours ago, purduemom1 said:

Just a “heads up”, Lufthansa is prone to strikes that seem to be a never ending thing.

 

Guess that if LH is "prone" to strikes, by comparison Alitalia and Air France are continuously on strike.

[dogs4fun]

9 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

A and Z gates (the common arrival and departure gates for Lufthansa) are the same gates, just different floors of the same building.

 

The issues that cause slowing at FRA are the common practice of parking the planes away from those gates, thus having to bus to the Terminal, and going through passport checks during the common major international arrival times, which is the morning hours. Lufthansa planes almost always get a gate at A/Z, but non-Lufthansa flights usually get a parking stand (away from the Terminal) and have to bus during those hours.

Our flights are connections with Lufthansa so fortunately we have never been faced with the bus issue. We arrive at A (usually from Russia but occasionally from another european country enroute to the US), walk down the length of A, stop in the common area to have a snack and continue the trek on to Z. Unfortunately, our departure gate always seems to be near the end of the concourse. It is quite a hike for us but nothing that we cannot easily handle.

Our last flight (from Budapest) had us arriving MUC and then on to the US. We much prefer MUC and, bonus, there was a very short layover (45 mins). Unfortunately, a few weeks before our return flight, our flight was changed from MUC to FRA with a 6 hour layover. Huge disappointment but there was little we could do.

 

Edited July 11, 2019 by dogs4fun

[purduemom1]

7 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Guess that if LH is "prone" to strikes, by comparison Alitalia and Air France are continuously on strike.

 

Not sure about Alitalia but Air France has caused havoc with my travel plans more than once! 

[1982CruzStart]

Our last flight through FRA in Nov 2018 was a very unpleasant experience. We flew YVR-FRA-LIS all on LH in  business.  There were long lines at passport check and then we had to go through security. Fortunately we had a long layover as many people in the long line up for security were still standing there while their flights were leaving.

 

They had layovers of an hour to an hour and a half and they were not going to make their connecting flights. We let a number of people go by us as we had lots of time. This was in the priority line. 

 

The business class lounge was packed and unpleasant. We fly to BCN this fall and decided that we would not go through FRA as this was one of the options we had.  

 

I hope your experience is considerably better than ours was. 

 

[swixpat]

On 7/11/2019 at 5:36 AM, CruiserBruce said:

You will have a passport check only. I would ge pretty comfortable with 2 hours.

In flying in to FRA from the US you will have first a passport control and then a security check within the terminal. But when you get then to Barcelona, there is no passport check on arrival, you can go straight to the baggage hall.

When you leave Barcelona airport you will need to go through a customs area - green or red gates. If you are not importing into Europe anything that is to be left behind of higher value (gifts) or large quantities of alcohol/tobacco, you can walk through the green gates, but customs officials may still do spot checks (btw, even if you have only hand luggage). Otherwise you need to go through the red gate and declare.

 

Luggage that has only been on the FRA-BCN sector in the hold will have luggage tags that have well visible green stripes on them. Your luggage from the US won't have the stripes, so the customs officials will quickly see that you have started your flight outside of the European Union.

[CruiserBruce]

3 hours ago, swixpat said:

In flying in to FRA from the US you will have first a passport control and then a security check within the terminal. But when you get then to Barcelona, there is no passport check on arrival, you can go straight to the baggage hall.

When you leave Barcelona airport you will need to go through a customs area - green or red gates. If you are not importing into Europe anything that is to be left behind of higher value (gifts) or large quantities of alcohol/tobacco, you can walk through the green gates, but customs officials may still do spot checks (btw, even if you have only hand luggage). Otherwise you need to go through the red gate and declare.

 

Luggage that has only been on the FRA-BCN sector in the hold will have luggage tags that have well visible green stripes on them. Your luggage from the US won't have the stripes, so the customs officials will quickly see that you have started your flight outside of the European Union.

In going to another country within western Europe (not sure of the correct term, Schengen or not) we have not had an additional security check.

[hallasm]

2 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

In going to another country within western Europe (not sure of the correct term, Schengen or not) we have not had an additional security check

Might depend on your origin however for FRA in most cases you must clear security check on you way through the airport.

Edited July 17, 2019 by hallasm

[swixpat]

18 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

In going to another country within western Europe (not sure of the correct term, Schengen or not) we have not had an additional security check.

This was exactly the reason why I worded carefully my answer for cruisingator2 with his/her trip.

 

When you originate in a Schengen country and end in a Schengen country, even with a change of plane in an intermediate Schengen country, you will only have a security check at the originating airport, not even a passport check (except maybe at the gate). Example: Oslo - Berlin - Warsaw. You will have a security check in Oslo (Norway), but not in Berlin. The reason is that Norway is in the Schengen system, although not in the EU.

 

When you originate in a non-Schengen country, be that EU or outside EU, to end in a Schengen country with an intermediate stop, you will have a security check at the originating airport and at the intermediate airport. Example - Zagreb - Vienna - Frankfurt. Passport and Security checks both at Zagreb and Vienna, but not in Frankfurt. Zagreb (Croatia, in EU) is not part of the Schengen zone, but both Frankfurt and Vienna are, so Vienna is your entry into the Schengen zone and will perform security and passport checks on behalf of the Schengen countries.

 

The list of Schengen countries can be found here, among others of course. https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/schengen-visa-countries-list/

[dabear]

We've changed flights in FRA a number of times without a problem. In fact, when we were going to BCN and our first flight was late, a LN agent met us at the gate and ushered us quickly through passport control to our gate for BCN. With a 2 hour connection I would not worry.

[TruckerDave]

With the numerous direct flights to BCN from the US (mostly east coast), why would you go through FRA to begin with.  Early morning flight form LAX to MIA,ATL,CLT,JFK,PHL or EWR(off the top of my head) then an overnight right to BCN. 

[CruiserBruce]

54 minutes ago, TruckerDave said:

With the numerous direct flights to BCN from the US (mostly east coast), why would you go through FRA to begin with.  Early morning flight form LAX to MIA,ATL,CLT,JFK,PHL or EWR(off the top of my head) then an overnight right to BCN. 

Because that changes the whole situation. If you go through a eastern US airport, with an early morning departure out of the West Coast, that frequently puts you into the European airport at 7 or 8am, which complicates the hotel situation, as you won't be able to check in. Going from a west coast airport to FRA, (or another connecting airport like LHR), then to another European airport, gives you a later departure (like 1 or 2 pm), and puts you at the final destination early to mid afternoon, and you can check into your hotel. That can cut your actual travel and time left standing around by a few hours. Have done both options here a number of times...would always select the  later afternoon West Cost departure for a cruise departure. A business trip might be entirely different.

 

There are other ways of looking at things versus your point of view. I am guessing as you live on the east coast, you don't see it the same as someone who lives on the West Coast.