Hello All,

I'm sorry if this has been covered recently, I did a few searches but couldn't find an answer.

I booked some holiday tickets for my family from LAX to DUS via FRA. The leg from Frankfurt to Dusseldorf is with the Deutsche Bahn. Our final destination is actually closer to Frankfurt, so not only would the train ride to Dusseldorf make the travel longer - so would the car ride. Adding an unnecessary 5+ hours of travel.

My question is, do we collect our luggage at Frankfurt Airport before boarding the train and could we leave the airport and skip the train ride to Dusseldorf? Before I book a car reservation at Frankfurt Airport I want to make sure our luggage won't automatically be transferred to the train on its way to Dusseldorf.

Alternatively, we need to do the same route for our return flight home - Dusseldorf via train to Frankfurt then Frankfurt flight to LAX. Is it possible for us to simply check-in at Frankfurt Lufthansa terminal? Will they require some sort of proof of train-ride and/or will they allow us to book our one-bag-per-person at the check-in terminal?

The savings with booking Dusseldorf as the final destination was significant ($~1,500) for the our party of three. Ultimately it is worth the ten additional hours of travel if need be but being the holidays and all - it would be nicer to see more of the family longer.

I know, cake and eating it too.

Many thanks