Originally Posted by
MSPeconomist
From Koln, do you save much time by flying from CGN versus taking the train to FRA and flying from there? It's too bad that the LH Airport Express train no longer operates as it once did, with the ability to check in for flights and check bags right on the train, although there's still the advantage that some DB trains go into the FRA station with no need to transfer.
On a long-haul flight, I wouldn't save much time by flying from CGN. On flights within Europe, it's often the only feasible option. In this particular case, it was the long-haul award ticket that was available for me as an FTL, it seemed convenient and I generally like flying with Swiss.
Originally Posted by
demiurg
Fortunately this has not been my experience. Unless there is no or only a short queue at the airport I usually call the SEN line and I cannot remember a case where they couldn't rebook me outside of the ticket rules in an IRROPS situation. OK, I use EW only for direct flights and never use them with connections because they are an IRROPS nightmare (CGN is one of my departure airports, too).
That's what I had expected/hoped the FTL line would do. But I learn, and I will try to avoid EW on connections in the future, especially if the turn-around seems short (60 min layover in ZRH as booked by M&M should have alerted me as being rather optimistic, knowing how delayed EW often is...).