raghu

I am traveling with my 77 year old mother-in-law (and, an Indian 77 year old is physically much older than an American or European 77 year old!). Both of us are US citizens.

We were supposed to travel on June 1 from Miami as follows:
MIA-TXL-MUC-DOH-BLR.
The two tickets are business class awards, using AA miles.

When I found out last week that MIA-TXL is being canceled effective May 3, we asked for rebooking and as of now, are being rebooked as follows:
MIA-DUS-MUC-DOH-BLR

But while we had nearly 2 hours connecting time in TXL, we now have only 1 hour and 20 minutes connecting time at DUS.

Questions:
1. Is 80 minutes enough to connect at DUS, with a 77 year old lady who has limited mobility (can walk about 500 meters, slowly)?

2. Do we have go through immigration / customs / security again, or is it only transit security?

3. How good is wheelchair or other special services at DUS? (At FRA, we found it to be highly variable quality; sometimes good, at other times, we were left at many intermediate stops, sometimes for 30+ minutes waiting at an intermediate stop, never knowing when the next pickup will happen).

4. If, we find that we are lucky and have time, where would the better lounge be -- in DUS, or in MUC? And, what lounges can we access? (Unfortunately, the DUS-MUC is an all-economy flight.)

Thanks in advance for your help.

raph

Wow... that's quite a journey at that age. Do you think it's worth it? With elderly or infant travelers I'd prefer to 1-stop (in Y), over 3-stops in C... - but that's just me.

By comparison to some places like MIA, DUS is a tiny little place. 80 Minutes are (normally) plenty. A "regular" traveler (unlimited mobility) could go gate to gate in less than 5 Minutes. Considering #2 though, you probably won't have time for lounging but can go gate to gate.
You'll have to go through immigration.
No personal experience here, if you request it in advance, I'd expect them to be waiting for you at the gate as soon as the doors open, but you could also end up at the back of the queue.
Since you'll be departing from the B Gates in DUS, you can access the Hugo Junkers Lounge... Nothing too exciting or fancy there. Good for a Coffee and a Joghurt, not much more. MUC should have significantly better lounges (Long-Haul), I assume you're flying QR?

Phoenixtinct

80 minutes is certainly sufficient for transfer at DUS. You'll be arriving at Concourse C and there is a joint AB+Etihad lounge there but you mention your flight DUS-MUC is economy only, so not sure access will be allowed but certainly can try given that the ticket is in business. You can't really stay too long as you have to get over to Concourse B where your MUC flight will depart from. You can spare no more than 10-15 minutes at the lounge. You can also try the Hugo Junkers lounge in Concourse B, which I find quite acceptable.

Yes, you have an immigration check but no customs as you're transit passengers. The walk between concourses should take no more than 10 minutes and that's taking into account a slow walk. You will have to re-clear security but that shouldn't take more than 5 minutes. Not sure about the quality of the lounges at MUC but I'm sure QR would have made a suitable arrangement. For contract lounges though, an invitation may be necessary, so as transit passengers not sure where you may be getting that.

Also, showing up at the gate for the AB flight from DUS to MUC about 20 minutes prior will be sufficient to board. If you want to pre-board, you may get there a few minutes early. AB usually gives 25 minutes for boarding but they never start on time - usually with 20 minutes or less to departure.

Good Luck on this long journey!

raghu

Thank you, raph and phoenixtinct.

We had MIA-DOH-BLR available, but my MIL did not want a 15 hour flight.
She can handle one long (9+ hour) flight, so this was the best option.

Yes, MUC-DOH-BLR is by Qatar, and both are 787s, full-flat business class, as is MIA-DUS.

I assume there are lounges with showers in MUC that we can use?

Thanks again.