FCO A nightmare?

[rg123]

Hoping that our experience at FCO will help others. We were a little nervous about our 11 am flight out having read so many things about such a tight time frame from leaving the port and getting to the airport. But it worked fine for us and we had plenty of time!!

 

We were booked on flight from Rome to IAD on Sun Oct 15. We took our luggage and disembarked at 6:45 am. Our 7 am pickup with CabRoma was already waiting for us. We got to the airport around 8:15 (?) and used the kiosks to print our boarding passes/luggage tags.
 

Went to the United desk to check our bags and the woman asked if we would like to volunteer to give up our seats. (We were originally booked for 11 am to Newark with an arrival time of 9 pm). She said we could be on a Lufthansa flight leaving at 10:15 am and get home at 4:30 pm but we would have to walk about 7 min to another terminal. She assured us we could make the flight. They offered hefty compensation travel vouchers as well so we said yes! Win-win!
 

Walked to the other terminal, checked in with Lufthansa and then used our fast track pass for security (we had a printed copy with a QR code). It was a breeze and we were still at our gate by 9:15 am. Great day and we got back 4+ hours than originally planned. 

 

[phabric]

9 minutes ago, rg123 said:

They offered hefty compensation travel vouchers as well so we said yes! Win-win!
 

 

I will be using FCO Fast Track on Nov 25.  Hope it goes as smooth as yours.

 

Out of curiosity as I have never been offered to be compensated to take a later flight, what was offered to you, is there a time period that it has to be used?

[rg123]

They must have been pretty desperate for seats as they were very generous in their offer. Enough for my husband and I to make two separate visits to Austin to see our grandbaby who will be arriving in March! 😊 We have a year to use them.

 

Good luck with your travels!

[new_cruiser]

Is there any point to fast pass if you are flying business class? Will that get you into a faster line anyway? We will be on United.

[cruisemom42]

15 minutes ago, new_cruiser said:

Is there any point to fast pass if you are flying business class? Will that get you into a faster line anyway? We will be on United.

 

I don't know about United but on Delta, you definitely will have access to a separate, faster check-in line if flying business class.

 

Honestly, I think all this fuss is unwarranted. FCO is at least in line with, if not better than, many other large airports. Just allow 3 hours, as recommended for ALL international travel, and you will be fine.

 

[marazul]

Please, everyone,  JFK is a nightmare.  LHR is second worst.

FCO is a walk in the park compared to those.

[bennybear]

1 hour ago, marazul said:

Please, everyone,  JFK is a nightmare.  LHR is second worst.

FCO is a walk in the park compared to those.

And then there’s FRA and CDG😂.  I’ll take LHR as long as it’s terminal 5

[new_cruiser]

13 hours ago, bennybear said:

And then there’s FRA and CDG😂.  I’ll take LHR as long as it’s terminal 5

FRA gets my vote for airport I'd most like to avoid. Sometimes your gates are so far apart. And then they use remote gates so often - you get through the gate. Go down stairs with your carry-ons, board a bus that drives forever to get you to your plane and then up the boarding stairs. This trip, we had the joy of remote gates for both arrival and departure.

 

It's well run and facilities inside the airport are good but it is a pain to get through.

 

[bennybear]

9 hours ago, new_cruiser said:

FRA gets my vote for airport I'd most like to avoid. Sometimes your gates are so far apart. And then they use remote gates so often - you get through the gate. Go down stairs with your carry-ons, board a bus that drives forever to get you to your plane and then up the boarding stairs. This trip, we had the joy of remote gates for both arrival and departure.

 

It's well run and facilities inside the airport are good but it is a pain to get through.

 

The pretzels are good! 

[cruisemom42]

5 minutes ago, bennybear said:

The pretzels are good! 

 

I like the way you think.

 

Similarly, macarons can make CDG bearable. 😉

[slidergirl]

4 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

I like the way you think.

 

Similarly, macarons can make CDG bearable. 😉

Or, picking up that ham & cheese baguette at Paul...  (my CDG guilty pleasure).

I like the transit in CDG mainly because I can relax in one of the Air France lounges.

[euro cruiser]

I used to travel with someone who could not walk through ORD without eating an O'Hare dog, even first thing in the morning.  😬

[bennybear]

Lol!  Great minds think alike!  I even like the duck wraps at Boots in LHR.   
But  best of all was the ramen bar and sushi chef at the ANA lounge in Narita 

[cruisemom42]

I'll admit to always stopping off in the Venchi store in FCO on the way back to the US. My rationale is that as long as I still have some Venchi chocolate to eat, my trip hasn't ended.

 

O'Hare dogs -- not so much.

 

[Hlitner]

Our own experience at FCO (and other airports) has been that most delays are more an issue at airline counters then with security.  Each airline does their own thing and some do it very badly.  The way to get quickly through the airline counters is to book Business or First Class :).  In over 50 years of extensive travel we have never missed a flight, and that is simply because we err on the side of caution and arrive at the airport in plenty of time (for flights to the USA from FCO that would be at least 2 1/2 hours before our flight).  Worse case is that you will find yourself with lots of extra time at the airport (which is why we like lounge access) but that sure beats the anxiety when you worry about missing a flight.

 

Hank

[WESTEAST]

15 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Our own experience at FCO (and other airports) has been that most delays are more an issue at airline counters then with security.  Each airline does their own thing and some do it very badly.  The way to get quickly through the airline counters is to book Business or First Class :).  In over 50 years of extensive travel we have never missed a flight, and that is simply because we err on the side of caution and arrive at the airport in plenty of time (for flights to the USA from FCO that would be at least 2 1/2 hours before our flight).  Worse case is that you will find yourself with lots of extra time at the airport (which is why we like lounge access) but that sure beats the anxiety when you worry about missing a flight.

 

Hank

Just a note re lounge access, many airlines are now restricting time spent in the lounge - one can enter only 3 hours prior to flight time. However, if your flight is delayed, you can stay past the 3 hours which we did on a very long delayed flight.  Lounge access is offered to many preferred credit cards, etc. which makes most lounges very crowded and this is an attempt to control the number of guests in the lounge.

[new_cruiser]

Our experience this morning. Sunday morning for a flight to the US at 10:30 AM. 

7:15 Left our Rome hotel

7:45 get to the airport zipping along with no traffic.

8:15 arrive at duty free (after dropping off bags, security and passport control). 

8:30 in lounge (my husband isn't a fast walker)

 

Only line was at the United counter to drop bags. Using the kiosk and bag drop might have been slightly faster. Other than that, we were practically continually moving. It almost couldn't have been any faster for us.

 

Walked past a large empty rat race before security so it isn't always that easy. 

 

Glad I didn't spend money on Fast Pass. It wouldn't have been any faster this morning 

 

Caveat: US passports use the electronic passport control gates along with EU and some others. There was a significant line for the non-electronc passport control desks - no guess on the speed of that line.

 

 

[Hydro ergo]

Left FCO Saturday on a 940am flight. 550 train to FCO, arrived at 625. Quick bag drop at Delta, maybe about 10-15minutes, if that. Breezed through security. We had purchased the fast pass and used it, but definitely didn't need to. Passport check was maybe another 15 minutes. Plenty of time at the gates to wander around and get some breakfast before boarding at 845. Like the post above, I think it could be a lot worse, but I also think all the hype is unnecessary. FCO was a breeze compared to the flight change at JFK and US Customs lines 🤷🏼‍♀️

[erby2283]

On 10/8/2023 at 7:53 PM, Hydro ergo said:

It's a QR code,,,you can print and/or have the confirmation email available on your phone (I'm assuming they will accept either, but I haven't done it myself yet at the airport)

I was able to purchase this for our September trip - I'd rather pay the 7eu just in case - you never know and it's not a lot of money for peace of mind.  My question is this....I got the initial email for payment, then a separate email that just said Guest 1, Guest 2 and Guest 3 and with separate bar codes.  Is this all I get and/or need? Do I not need to submit names, flight info or anything else? Will they send anything else prior to my flight? I was a little confused by the lack of information when purchasing so I came here hoping to find more info.  Thanks in advance. 

[NateUpNorth]

On 10/25/2023 at 3:21 PM, phabric said:

I will be using FCO Fast Track on Nov 25.  Hope it goes as smooth as yours.

 

Out of curiosity as I have never been offered to be compensated to take a later flight, what was offered to you, is there a time period that it has to be used?

Was the Fast Track simple and easy to use? Is the premise that you check bags and get tix at the airline counter then through the Fast Track line with the pre-purchased QR code to get to security checks quicker?
Will be flying out of FCO later this year and any slight advantage helps....... 🙂
 

Edited March 25 by NateUpNorth

[phabric]

2 minutes ago, NateUpNorth said:

Was the Fast Track simple and easy to use? Is the premise that you check bags and get tix at the airline counter then through the Fast Track line with the pre-purchased QR code to get to security checks quicker?
Will be flying out of FCO later this year and any slight advantage helps....... 🙂
 

I bought the Fast Track, but did not use as there was no line for the regular security line.

[erby2283]

On 3/25/2024 at 1:26 PM, NateUpNorth said:

Was the Fast Track simple and easy to use? Is the premise that you check bags and get tix at the airline counter then through the Fast Track line with the pre-purchased QR code to get to security checks quicker?
Will be flying out of FCO later this year and any slight advantage helps....... 🙂
 

I'm not sure I know the answer to your questions as I haven't used it yet but this is what i can tell you.  I purchased three fast track for our outbound flight in September from FCO to the US (direct).  I received a couple emails - one was a receipt confirming the purchase and the other was an email with three QR codes that just said Guest 1, Guest 2 and Guest 3. I emailed them bc I was still a little unsure as to how this worked and received the following response:

 

"once completed check in formalities you need to go through security to reach your gate.

Nearby the common lane you will find the fast track lane to go through.

Just show your boarding pass and the QR code on the voucher received."

 

Therefore, I'm assuming after I drop off my luggage and walk inside, there's a separate line we can go through (I believe it's to the right) for fast track people and the QR codes are not tied to anyone specific in my party. 

Edited March 27 by erby2283

[NateUpNorth]

2 minutes ago, erby2283 said:

  I purchased three fast track for our outbound flight in September from FCO to the US (direct). 

We also travel in September, perhaps we'll be with you in line? 😆

[BethesdaSC]

On 10/27/2023 at 11:03 PM, Hlitner said:

Our own experience at FCO (and other airports) has been that most delays are more an issue at airline counters then with security.  Each airline does their own thing and some do it very badly.  The way to get quickly through the airline counters is to book Business or First Class :).  In over 50 years of extensive travel we have never missed a flight, and that is simply because we err on the side of caution and arrive at the airport in plenty of time (for flights to the USA from FCO that would be at least 2 1/2 hours before our flight).  Worse case is that you will find yourself with lots of extra time at the airport (which is why we like lounge access) but that sure beats the anxiety when you worry about missing a flight.

 

Hank

Not sure if you know the answer but we are doing carry on only so no need to check our bags.  Will we be able to use mobile boarding passes to proceed thru PC/security? I’m also hearing someone representing the airline needs to make sure we have our passports but hoping to use the person at the gate counter (who’s to say even after the regular ticket counter my passport doesn’t become lost in a restroom?). Thank you!

[Hlitner]

14 minutes ago, BethesdaSC said:

Not sure if you know the answer but we are doing carry on only so no need to check our bags.  Will we be able to use mobile boarding passes to proceed thru PC/security? I’m also hearing someone representing the airline needs to make sure we have our passports but hoping to use the person at the gate counter (who’s to say even after the regular ticket counter my passport doesn’t become lost in a restroom?). Thank you!

It has been more than a year since our last visit to FCO, so we cannot be sure about the current procedures.  In Italy, all things can change overnight with little or no warning.  Personally, we always like to have a hard copy boarding pass, even when we rely on our phone.  We think of it as a backup and it has saved us time and hassles in multiple airports.

 

Hank