AdithyaNewbieTraveller

Hello all,

I am very new to FT, and this will be the first thread that I will be posting. Apologies if I am breaking any rules, please correct me if I do so.

I have booked a Lufthansa flight via Frankfurt and Munich to Charlotte on August 11th, 2014, and I will be travelling from Bangalore, India. I have never traveled in any flight before this. I have only two doubts:

1. Since there are two stop overs in Germany, I need to take a domestic flight from Franfurt to Munich. Apparently this requires a Schengen Visa (Both German consulate and Lufthansa, India confirmed this). Is this true? I do have a valid Visa to USA. Do I still need this Schengen Visa?

2. Secondly, my layover time at Franfurt is 1 hour 20 mins, and Munich is 1 hour and 30 mins. Can anyone tell me if this time is enough to make the transition?

Yes, I should have looked at all this before booking the flight tickets, but sadly I did'nt. Now, the flight tickets have rocketed like crazy, and I can't even cancel this ticket and rebook a new flight. So my major concern is if at all I miss the flight, will I have to pay for the new flight tickets, or will Lufthansa itself take care of it?

Any other helpful tips/suggestions regarding this would be most welcome.

Thanks in advance.

Aviatrix

Welcome to Flyertalk.

Yes, you will need a visa as you are entering the country. You would not need a visa for an airside transfer at either FRA or MUC (or anywhere else in Schengen), but as you are taking an internal flight you will need one.

The transfer times should normally be sufficient - they are certainly within the Minimum Connecting Time (you wouldn't have been able to book the flights otherwise). If there is a delay and you miss a connection then it's the airline's responsibility to get you to your destination, at their expense (i.e., they will just put you on the next available flight).

But first of all you need to get your visa sorted out... and you haven't got a lot of time for that.

NewbieRunner

Welcome to FT, AdithyaNewbieTraveller!

As Aviatrix has already replied you will need a Schengen visa for this itinerary assuming you have an Indian passport. 1 hour 30 mins should be enough in MUC but 1 hour 20 mins in FRA could be a little tight since you will have to clear passport control and security there. If you miss the connection they will put you on the next available flight and put you up in a hotel as necessary either in FRA or MUC provided all flights are on one ticket. Since you will have a Schengen visa you won't have to spend the night at the airport if you are unfortunate enough to miss your connection.

AdithyaNewbieTraveller

Thank you so much Aviatrix!! That really brings me a lot of relief I should say. I have already started off with the Visa procedure.. I will try and be done with it within the next 2 weeks (possibly 1).

Thanks a lot again for replying!! Brought me relief from a lot of confusions.

AdithyaNewbieTraveller

Thank you NewbieRunner I will try and make sure that I don't miss the flight. But yes, I will be prepared to stay back I guess. I know it'll be hard, but I'm willing to do it. Yes, all the flights are on one ticket. Thanks for your reply.

And by the way, I think I will only be getting only a Schengen Airport Transit Visa.. not the Schengen Visa itself.. I might have to stay back at the airport won't I?

NewbieRunner

No, you will need a (full) Schengen visa since you will have to enter Germany to fly between FRA and MUC. An airport transit visa is only applicable for someone staying airside for a short period of time.

You may like to check this website.

http://www.germany.info/Vertretung/u...sit__Visa.html

AdithyaNewbieTraveller

Wow! That link just made things even clear for me Thanks a lot NewbieRunner!!!

NewbieRunner

You are welcome! If you were simply transiting in FRA or MUC (but not both) you didn't need an airport transit visa since you hold a visa for the US, but since you have to enter Schengen you will need a Schengen visa.

AdithyaNewbieTraveller

Yes I understand now Thank you

LondonElite

I thought I would just throw in the obvious point that it may make your travels easier if you only go via one airport in Germany. Is this possible for you?

Ber2dca

What would he have done if people had said he doesn't need a visa. Go with what the German consulate and airline said or what randoms on an internet forum say?

NewbieRunner

Randoms? This is FlyerTalk.

AdithyaNewbieTraveller

Thank you for your suggestion Yes, that was an option, but that would be very very expensive right now. It would set me back by about 40K INR (or about 700 USD), instead of which I have decided to go ahead with this flight itself

And since IFF I miss the flight, Lufthansa should be taking the responsibility, and I don't have any obligation about reaching the destination on time (it would obviously be helpful if I could be on schedule, but maybe it's alright if at all the flight gets delayed little), I decided to go ahead with this flight

To summarise: Schengen Visa set's me back by about 1/8th of the amount that cancelling and re booking a new flight would cost me

AdithyaNewbieTraveller

Hi LondonElite! Thank you for your suggestion. Yes, that would be an option, but the loss that would incur in cancelling the flight and rebooking is way too high right now (about 700 USD), and so I thought I would rather go with this flight. Moreover, though I would prefer reaching on time at the destination, it would not be of great loss to me if at all I reach the destination a little later, provided it would not incur any kind of financial loss like booking new flight tickets or staying at the hotel.

AdithyaNewbieTraveller

Hi Ber2dca! Lol. A tough question indeed Like NewbieRunner has already said.. this is FlyerTalk.. not a random forum In 1 day it earned more respect from me than any other forum which I have used. I would have gone ahead and taken the Visa, but just as a safety precaution.

I will keep this forum updated with my journey