Originally Posted by
cptlflyer
So, when I see an arriving gate marked with an "A" after the gate number (e.g., Z54A), that means the plane is a non-Schengen arrival that will dock at Z/A54 but deplane into the Z departures level rather than the Z arrivals level on A+?
No, it's the other way round.
Z54A means the arrival level of Pier A+ ('A' for arrival), Z54 is the departure level where passengers on flights from the US can deplane.
For all the times I've departed for the U.S. from what are now Z gates (pre-Pier A+), I've never once seen an inbound flight deplane pax into the Z concourse... but, perhaps I just haven't been there early enough for my departing flight to catch an arrivals bank!
The status of the old Z gates have been a little unclear. Sometimes FRA/LH tried to turn the whole of non-Schengen Z gate area into US bound passengers only area and prevented passengers not holding a BP on a US-bound flight from accessing the Tower Lounge. After the last US-bound flight departed they sometimes used Z gates for arrivals from the UK (non-Schengen but a 'clean' country).
With the opening of Pier A+ they seem to have streamlined the use of Z gates and the old Z gates are used for US arrivals/departures while the new Z gates are used for non-Schengen arrivals/departures including the US.
On a related note, I also have noticed at LH.com that some U.S. arrivals into Piers B & C also show an "A" suffix after the gate number. What does the "A" signify (if anything) with regard to these piers -- which do not have a separate arrivals level?
I think the 'A' suffix means the arrival level. Piers B and C do have arrival levels (or at least arrival corridors) but unlike Pier A+ it does not seem possible to separate arriving passengers from departing passengers completely. So if your flight from the US arrives at a B or a C gate, you cannot avoid transfer security if you have a connecting flight.
The ANS bus gate(s) is/are new as of the Pier A+ opening, no? Just want to make sure I'm not totally losing my mind, as I never knew of them prior to your post.
Yes, I believe it is new. I started noticing ANS as the arrival gate for some UK flights and asked
hch who is the real expert on FRA. He tried to explain its location to me but I couldn't figure out until I actually went there.