Originally Posted by
jjw2
First time flying UA and Swiss on a IAD-ZHR-DAR route in Sept. Some newbie questions and appreciate the help
Arriving UA 936 ~8:30am, transit time 1 hr 20 min, to LX 292 on to DAR
Are these in approx same areas or will I be changing terminals? Is there a transit area -or do we go through customs/immigration/security and then go to another area of the airport. Have never done this as we usually do not go through Europe to get to Africa, but found some good biz class tickets and went for it. First Timers out of our usual Econ. Plus!
Don't want to be an ignorant American upon arrival and hope I can get an idea of what to expect.
Your UA flight will arrive at an E gate and your LX flight to DAR will also depart from E. No need to go through passport control/customs. You used to have to clear security before your connecting flight but they are currently trying out a new procedure so arrivals from the US do not need to re-clear security. This may or may not work but whichever way you don't have to leave E Terminal. As departing Business Class passengers you should have access to the Panorama Lounge but don't expect much.
On return we are on LX 293 arriving ~6:30 am with a 5 hr layover (thus the deal on BIZ I suppose) so would love to use the Arrivals shower before the day begins all over again. Will I be able to since I am theoretically departing on United not Swiss- and where is it located in reference to Swiss arrivals from DAR? Do I hand them my Swiss LX 283 arrival boarding pass copy - or my UA 937 to IAD boarding pass. I would love to have all options available and as I said not appear too dense when negotiating ZRH
Your arriving LX BP should give you access to the Arrival Lounge which is landside after passport control and customs. It is by far the best lounge in ZRH apart from the FCL though I think the Arrival Lounge has better (and more) showers.
For 5 hours I doubt DH will want to go on any expeditions, so we'll stay put in the airport in a lounge and perhaps I can sneak in a bit of shop browsing.
Appreciate any help for this newbie!
I lurk here quite a bit, but this is our first international biz class and I'd like to have all the info I can before I exit the plane. Also, what is Schengen vs. non-Schengen in relation to a US citizen arriving and departing?
We only take a small duffle (safari camps do daily laundry!) so no worries of collecting bags etc.
Thank you very much in advance for a walk through of our first time in Zurich. I am now regretting not taking a few days to enjoy the area, but after the pics I've seen it will be on my list!
With 5 hours you have just enough time for a quick trip to downtown Zurich but you may be pushing it a bit if you want to go to the Arrival Lounge for a shower and breakfast. BTW it's not worth waking up for breakfast on the plane if you are going the Arrival Lounge.
As US passport holders you have no problem going through passport control into Schengen/Switzerland to visit the Arrival Lounge and/or a quick visit to Zurich. They may not even ask you the purpose of your visit but if asked you can say you are in transit. They are quite used to it.