NW.BTR.Than.The.Rest

Did some searches but can´t quite find my situation.

1. Flying in from Spain to FRAnkfurt on Lufthansa with 1h 10m time between flights.
2. Flying out of FRA to AMS on KLM, so I will switch from T1 to T2. From AMS to MEM, but that is not important.
3. For some reason, my boarding pass would not print on the KLM site, but I received a CONFIRMATION to be exchanged for the BP at FRA.
4. I have only hand luggage.

My questions are,

1. Will I be able to take the Skyline train from T1 to T2?
2. Will I be able to go directly to the boarding gate and receive a BP at that time, or will I have to go out of the secure zone to a ticket counter?
3. Since these first two flights are all intra-Europe and intra-Schengen, will I have any security checks at all moving from T1 to T2 on Skyline?

I did not get the full experience coming over MEM-DTW-FRA on NW because I spent one day in FRA and then flew LH to Bilbao, Spain the next day. That was not too bad of an experience, just a long ways to the end of A from check-in counters. This just became an issue when KLM online checkin did not work. My experience with that can be described as sporadic at best.

Thanks!

DanTravels

Honestly, since this involves LH and KL, and not NW... you may want to try posting this somewhere else. And since it's really a question about FRA itself... I dunno, is there an English-language Germany forum?

formeraa

Yes, it is possible to get from one flight to another in 1hr 10min. However, it is going to take a BRISK (I mean, BRISK!!!) walk. Pray that your LH flight is on-time. Most likely, you will go through security at least once, if not twice (lines were not long when I was there two weeks ago). It really depends on what gate the plane comes into.

FRA is VERY confusing. LH employees and airport employees can be really non-helpful (in a friendly way). Just keep moving and asking where to go. Eventually, you might make it to the right gate BEFORE your connecting flight departs.

Good luck! Let us know what happens.

slippahs

Lets move this thread to the Germany forum (2nd one today).

Thanks,

slippahs
nwa forum co-moderator

mrcimino1

Yes, you must leave the secure area in Terminal 1 and ride the SkyTrain to Terminal 2. It is located above the B check-in area of Terminal 1, look for the signs and the escalator up to the station.

Once in Terminal 2, go down the escalator to the AF/KL check in desk to get your BP. I seriously doubt that you can get through Passport Control and Security Check in Terminal 2 without a real BP, but you can try it if you like.

As mentioned in an earlier reply, this is going to be a very BRISK connection! No one in their right mind would book only a 1:10 connection at FRA, even in the same terminal!! You need to do a lot of praying.

GOOD LUCK!

NW.BTR.Than.The.Rest

The LH flight from Bilbao to Frankfurt arrived only 55 minutes before the KL flight to AMS was scheduled to depart. I proceeded to gate A15 where there is a bank of elevators that take you up to the Skyline (train) that takes you from T1 to T2 - there was also an airport employee there to give directions. It took just 4 or 5 minutes for the transit from T1 to T2 on the train, BTW, it stops at the BC concourses of T1 before proceeding to T2. No security checks up to this point.

Upon arrival at T2 you are forced out of the secure zone by the airport configuration. You must walk down two flights of stairs (or take an elevator) and you are at the check-in counter level. On that same level you proceed through security to get to the D (and I presume E) boarding gates. There were absolutely no lines at either the check-in counters or the security checkpoint.

Now, as things turned out, I really don't know whether that CONFIRMATION printout that showed I was CHECKED IN that I had in hand would have gotten me through security or not because here is how things transpired: I did not see the KL flight listed on any departure screens, so I surmised that something was up with the flight. Being able to view the lack of lines at both the check-in counter and the security checkpoint, I decided to run on over to the check-in counter where I discoverd the KL flight FRA-AMS was delayed by at least an hour - perhaps fortuitous. At that point, it was somewhere between 35 and 40 minutes prior to the originally scheduled departure of 10:50, and I obtained a full fledged boarding pass. Ultimately, we took off at about 12:15. Then my AMS-MEM flight became the issue, but I was one of the last 3 or 4 passengers to make it onto the flight before the boarding gate closed. WHEW, what a travel day.

So, it worked out for me, but I agree that one should not try any connection less than 90 minutes. Though my LH flight pulled up to a jet bridge, many flights used stairs followed by a bus ride to the terminal which would have really eaten up some valuable transit time. The airlines seem not to factor this issue in when scheduling flights, and I find this to be true in AMS as well. I think signage was fine, and the one question I asked along the way was answered with a good attitude. The sheer size of the airport is the biggest problem. From my arrival near the end of the A gates (A30+) to the Skyline train at A15 needs some sort of train itself.

flyingfkb

Thanks for the follow-up. It is always nice to hear from people back especially when they share their experiences.


Frankfurt airport is not really designed for people to connect between Terminal 1 and 2. Terminal 1 is all Lufthansa and Star Alliance, while Terminal 2 is the rest.

mrcimino1

Glad it all worked out this time. I had forgotten about the additional SkyTrain stop at the A Concourse, as I usually only ride it from Terminal 2 to the B/C stop and then get off there and hop the train to town, or to out of town!

Thanks for the follow-up report.