El Al Matmid - Connection at FRA, LY to AA

I have a one hour connection at FRA arriving on LY357, leaving on AA83. Officially it's a legal connection and it seems like both flights arrive/depart from same terminal, but is it really enough time? Do I still need to go through a security check?

Any recent experience with this connection will be much appreciated,
Thanks.

I did this connection last year. Yes it is doable. The departure from Frankfurt is one of the later ones. 9:20 am is not as bad as 6:00 am as many of the other departures to Europe to make the connection to Chicago, so you do not have to wake up at 2:00 am to make it to the airport early. At 9:20 PM, Ben Gurion airport is not congested, so I highly doubt there will be any delays. I would guess there would be a rush at 6:00 am, and then your flight might get delayed but not at 9:00 AM. All morning flights already departed.

EL AL is responsible for you. So if you see there is a delay, ask to board another connection to Chicago. One option is via JFK, the morning departure to JFK, or via the morning flight to LHR and connecting to one of AA flights from London or BA. Continental via EWR is also doable. Not to mention quite a few evening departures to the east coast with convenient connections to O'Hare.

In Frankfurt there is a person near the gate who asks if you have any questions and tries to help. EL AL station manager was also at the gate, and he actually brought me my son's stroller, so if there are issues there are people to talk to in Frankfurt. I would not get on the plane to Frankfurt if it is delayed significantly, just insist in Tel-Aviv that EL AL would find me a better solution.

AA flight departed from a remote gate that also was used by EL AL, as it had EL AL posters. There is a security check there very strict and after you get in there are seats and vending machines and that's it, but like you said in an hour you would not have much time to do anything else.

EL AL can give you the boarding pass to the next flight, even though the agent at AA gate replaced it.

One note if you are traveling with small children, I would pay extra money and fly one of the night flights to the East coast and take a connection to Chicago. It was a nightmare from Frankfurt to Chicago. My son was tired from watching movies on the DVD players and was really hyper. I was so sorry as it was for an hour that I could not occupy him with anything, until he fell asleep and slept until landing. Next time, Delta, Continental or EL AL direct from the East coast to Tel-Aviv. A few minutes after the take off and they are asleep until 2-3 hours before landing. Much easier on everyone.

Good luck

Erez

The unwritten rule (or maybe its written somewhere...), Is 2 hours gap
between connections, This allow enough time for small delays, luggage transfer for the airline and etc...

Make sure that beside the fact your luggage will be tagged that you will get
your boarding card for the AA flight from EL-AL (As Erez mentioned).
(You will need to verify with your agent that the EL-AL and AA are booked together and not as separate flights).

Have a safe trip!

I recently did LY-AA @ FRA, but with the overnight connection (I went to DFW, you're going to ORD). The gates are very close to each other (assuming that both carriers use the ones I saw them use when I was there earlier this month). You will only need to go thru the metal detector at the gate entrance -- no passport control or anything. Just don't buy duty free liquids on LY, or you'll lose them at FRA.

This connection is doable. Are you sure that it's only 1 hour connection time? I thought that LY 357 arrives at 12:55pm and AA 083 departs at 2:25pm. So it should be plenty of time. The MCT in FRA is 60 min. As you do not only arrive and depart at the same terminal but also the same pier (C Gates) you should easily make your connection. You may want to have a look at the FRA connection thread in the M&M forum (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles-more-lufthansa-austrian-swiss-other-partners/982019-beginners-guide-connecting-fra.html). Even though it is mainly written for FRA LH and *A connections it might be helpful as you will arrive and depart in at the C Gates which are used by LH as well.

Enjoy your trip,
totti

This connection is doable. Are you sure that it's only 1 hour connection time? I thought that LY 357 arrives at 12:55pm and AA 083 departs at 2:25pm.

The flights are in Jan. LY 357 arrives at 1:10pm, AA departs at 2:10pm.


Thank you all for the excellent advice!