Minimum Connection Time FRA
 

Coming back from FRA on US707. Looking at tacking on a little jaunt in IST for a few days at the tail end of the trip before I come back on 707. Trying to figure out the schedule. There is an LH flight ariving into FRA at 07:45 same day. This shows as a valid booking on US' website. Aside from the obvious risk of tight connection times on separate PNRs, the question is what is the minimum connection time in FRA, would 90 minutes be enough, also would LH print me a ticket for 707 in IST and interline the bag with separate PNRs? Thanks

Go Gators

If I'm reading this correctly, it'd be a 90 min minimum connect time:

[KVS Availability Tool 7.1.9 - Reference: Minimum Connection Time [MCT]: FRA/LH-US]
Not sure on the interline with different PNRs. I don't think they'd have to. Is your FRA-CLT refundable where you wouldn't get stuck with a big change fee or refare if you missed it?

The MCT is 45 minutes. The 90-minute exception is only for connections from Train (TRN)-operated LH 'flights'.

Shouldn't be an issue, as this is a *A to *A connection.

Thanks. I don't think I'd ever be comfortable attempting a 45 min connection at FRA though as I'm not a marathon runner ...

I might be tempted to try it at MUC but still probably wouldn't do it.

I'm not certain any rational actor would be OK with a 45 minute connection in FRA. The place is massive and the US gate is conveniently cordoned off from the LH lounges near the higher international gates as a side note.

With that said anybody have experience interlining and getting tickets printed on separate PNRs?

Go Gators

I have an upcoming Star Alliance itinerary I booked with my US Airways Dividend Miles which includes a connection in FRA. The layover is only 1 hour, 20 minutes and the connection is going from Lufthansa to Air Canada. Anyone know how far their gates are from each other? Will the 80 minute layover be problematic even if everything runs on time?

As your question now doesn't have to do with US Airways, I'm moving your thread over to the Germany forum. I believe there are some existing threads there about MCT's at FRA.

Thanks!


aztimm

Check the first post of this thread about connecting between Lufthansa and *A flights in FRA.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...on-thread.html

Hi,

I am on a LA flight MAD-FRA arriving in FRA at 6pm and I am then connecting to a JL flight leaving at 7.20pm... Will I make the connection? Apparently I will have to switch from terminal 1 to 2. Same PNR.

Thanks!

Easy peasy. LAN arrives in 1C, JAL departs from 2D, just take the skytrain from 1B to 2D.

Is a intra-schengen BSL-FRA-HAM (all on LH) doable with a 45' connecting time; probably hand baggage only. Thanks.

You may like to check the FRA Connection thread in the Lufthansa/Miles & More forum. The connection is a little tight but should be ok provided your incoming flight is not very late. The arrival from BSL is likely to be a bus gate.

Hello, I hope I can borrow this thread.

Is a 45min connection at FRA doable?
I'm concidering a LH99 arriving at 10.05 from MUC and depart onwards to JFK on LH400 at 10.50

Seems crazy to me, but it comes up when searching for tickets. All LH flights.

Have you checked the FRA connection thread linked in the previous post?

Lufthansa does sell this connection on their website so it must be legal but it does not guarantee you will make the connection. There should be no need to clear security in FRA but you will have to go through passport control and possibly a random security check for passengers on US-bound flights.

I wouldn't count on them to check your bags through and even less printing an onward boarding pass if it's on two tickets. I would go the safe option and book a 3-4 hours stopover. You will be glad in case of delays, and if you need to go landside and recheck it can take up a lot of time, especially if you fly US as they're in another terminal than LH.

The Minimum connecting time shown by the user above is never ever doable on a T1 to T2 nonschengen connection. The problem with ITA is that is shows the general MCT loaded by the airport in the GDS, but airlines are loading their own MCT, and they can considerably differ. And they would not apply to you if you travel on seperate tickets anyway.

If you have too much time, better spend some time in one of the numerous cafes and restaurants, T2 has very nice views to the airfiefd too. You will not get bored in FRA.

@Reifel, whose question(s) are you answering? Since you mention transfer from T1 to T2 and flying US Airways are you answering two-year-old questions?

Haha, good point :)

To answer to Soph, 45 minutes are cutting it a bit short even from LH to LH, but it's a legal connection.
As said earlier with the new layout in Terminal 1 you can go to the Z gates without reclearing security. But you will still need to reclear immigration. Also, Frankfurt is still heavy bus boarding. I guess from MUC it's more seldom, but if you are unlucky you will need to debark your MUC flight by bus which will make loose you time. And finally, there is no room for delays of any kind. Also, consider that you might make your connection, but your bags don't.

Keep in mind: basically at the time you arrive they start the boarding for the longhaul flight. FRA-MUC is flown quite a lot per day, and if you have the possibilty try to look up an earlier FRA-MUC flight and you will be fine.

If you still opt for the 45 Minutes connection and miss your onward flight, Lufthansa will reprotect you, but that always require that there is a later flight that day, and also that space is available, so better avoiding that altogether.

Thanks for all the input.
Decided in the end to avoid the tight connection.
This forum is so great, everyone is friendly and helpful :-)

I booked this flight direct from the Lufthansa web site:

MAN-FRA-NUE

Has 60 mins transfer time.
I expect this will be do-able as both flights are Lufthansa, and I will have hand baggage only.
Downside is that arrival to gate at FRA is usually by bus. Also, I believe this is a non-Schengen to Schengen transfer.

Piece of cake -- just follow the transfer signs?
I hope so, anyway. On the way back, transfer time is 45 mins!

Provided you don't mind being put on the next flight in case of misconnect you should be ok. On the way out you have to clear passport control and security in FRA. On the way back you have to clear passport control.

Flights to NUE usually use bus gates so you can expect scenic tours of FRA. ;)

Didn't make it on the way out. Left MAN on LH949, Saturday 22 Aug. Arrived at bus gate B65 or something, quick passport check, turned right and walked what must be the long way round to A48, no tunnel. But was still at security 50 mins before take off. However, security speed was was glacial. Only about 30 people, took me 35 mins to get through. The fast track queue just fed into one main queue, anyway. One security queue had a whole body scanner which was playing up, the other had elderly and wheelchair passengers going straight to the front. Security staff were totally disinterested, like they were on a semi-strike.

Worse was to come, when I had to go to the Lufthansa service center to get re-booked on the next flight. I had to queue for 30 mins to just get in the place, it was all very chaotic, not enough staff processing customers. LH staff seemed to think it was my fault I didn't make the connection. "The incoming flight was on time". Eventually, after waiting for 2hrs, they put me on the 12:30 to NUE.
But we were then sat on the tarmac for 60 mins while they changed a tyre on the plane. And I was sat next to a morbidly obese passenger. FRA-NUE was only a 25 min hop, thank God.
------
On the return leg, no problems. Through NUE security in about 60 secs. Left 5 mins early from NUE. Bussed to an A gate at FRA, LH rep told me to go to A15, then lift down, then through "the tunnel" to B. Quick passport check before going to B28. Only 15 mins transfer time, if that.
---------

On a positive note, I now know how to find "the tunnel". This seems a quicker way of getting between A and B.
On the minus side, FRA uses lots of bus transfers from tarmac to gate. These can really eat into your allowed transfer time.

I feel your pain. I haven't had B bus gate arrivals from MAN for a while but it sounds like you went landside and went through A security. Most of my recent arrivals from MAN have been to A non-Schengen bus gate which is slightly more convenient for connecting from an A gate.

Security in FRA seems to be getting worse exacerbated by holiday traffic. What annoys me is arrivals from the UK should not need to clear security at German airports but FRA cannot manage this unless you arrive at a Z gate.

Booked this deal and elected KEF-MUC-FRA-ORD in J as I really want to try 748 upper deck.

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/premium-fare-deals/1938799-ua-lh-lx-bos-kef-1260-r-t-j-2.html

105 min in FRA (Schengen - non-Schengen [US]), would I be able to connect comfortably with this much time? If KEF-MUC is delayed they can put me in MUC-ORD instead, just hope MUC-FRA is not delayed.

FYI, specifically, I'll be connecting LH430 (typically at end of Z concourse) from LH97 (typically at the beginning of A concourse)

Should be plenty of time, assuming the inbound is not badly delayed.

sound a bit stupid, is it possible for SK1635 ETA 1945 frankfurt connect SK1636 ETD 2030?

This should work most of the time, but is is not without risk.

If the flight gets assigned a gate (which seems to happen in most instances for SK1635), you will be good. Arrival and departure gate will be one and the same. You exit the aircraft through the bridge and can simply remain in the gate area until boarding starts. Easy as pie.

If, instead, SK1635 receives an apron position, more can go wrong. You will be picked up at the apron position with a bus. This bus can be delayed for a variety of reasons. It ain't the norm, but if something goes wrong, it can take 30 min or more until the bus drops you off. The so-called bus gate at which you get dropped off can (and usually will) differ from the (bus) gate SK1636 departs from. It could happen that you have a 10-15 min walk from the bus drop-off point to your departure gate.
I think you would still make SK1636 in the majority of cases. But there definitely is a non-trivial risk in this case.

Frankfurt is not a good airport for immediate turnarounds.

It depends.

SAS from/to CPH is certainly one of the lower-risk options. It's Schengen-to-Schengen. They don't have a base in Frankfurt. SK1635 has a good number of people connecting to the last wave of long-hauls out of FRA: GIG, BKK, SIN, JNB, GRU, CPT, HKG, and EZE. Except for HKG, those destinations don't have non-stop service out of CPH by SK. So again, SK1635 is really a feeder flight to a large extent.

It does get a gate positon a vast percentage of the time. SK also cannot run some of the games on you which LH sometimes is liable for (e.g., with LH, you might be coming in on a Schengen flight and receive a gate position, but still have to take a bus as the aircraft's next flight is a non-Schengen one).

I disagree. With the possible exception of some intra-Germany flights, there is always a risk of an apron position, which makes a back to back that much more difficult.

I don't understand what you disagree with. Yes, there is a risk. That is not controversial. I indicated there is a risk in a post above your first reply to the question.

What's relevant is how much risk there is. Then the OP can decide based on his attitude towards risk.

In light of the argument I put forward above (and also in light of the history on Flightstats) I would guess the probability that SK1635 gets an apron position is 10% or less. And if it gets an apron position, there is still a good chance to make SK1636 as long as nothing goes wrong with the bus transfer (like, there being a huge line of buses at ASO/ASW, delaying the drop-off of the SK1635 busses). But normally, you should make SK1636 even when arriving on one of the bus gates in the root of A. This assumes user yauee is reasonably well on foot (as the departing bus gate may be as far as A69).

I had a flight EDI-FRA-ZRH. Scheduled arrival was 15:20, an departure fo the next flight was scheduled at 16:25.
The EDI-FRA flight left late, and touched down at 15:36. We then parked at a remote stand and were bussed top ASW, where we arrived at 16:05. I then followed the signs, and came to transfer security. (Why was this needed btw, as I believe UK airports are considered clean).
At security there was a monitor indicating which flights could use the fast lane, and so the fast lane I took. It was not very fast though, as I was stuck between a few people that need a lot of help properly distributing their stuff over several trays...
Then after security I was through passport control in no time. The e-gates used in FRA (and also in ZRH) are a lot quicker than the ones used in the UK. I walked briskly (but did not run) and got to my gate for the ZRH flight (A26) at 16:15 and could still board. And there were even a few that boarded after me (amongst them one of the gentlemen that held up the queue at security...).
So moral of the story: Do not waste time, follow the signs, and even a shortened connection can still work.

From what I recall a Bus ride puts the pax always on unclean condition, thus security check

Connecting from a non-Schengen flight (e.g. EDI-FRA) is very different from Schengen to Schengen (e.g. CPH-FRA-CPH) connections. Arriving from EDI and departing to ZRH involves clearing passport control and although the UK is clean for security purposes bus arrivals from non-Schengen almost always put passengers in the terminal outside security.

For more info on connections in FRA check (especially the first post of) the following thread. https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luft...kfurt-fra.html

BTW I find e-gates at MAN much quicker than those at FRA.