avi8tir

Last week I had about a 90 minute layover in FRA. Figured I'd have just enough time to enjoy the FCL. I LOVE LH F... in fact the flight to LAX was likely the best I've had on LH. But their ground service is severely lacking.

Arrived from AMS into gate A42. The very last gate in the A terminal. Figured I'd hustle over to the B FCL and get a car to my flight to LAX.

After a 20 minute walk and arriving at the B terminal, passport control was a complete disaster. Several hundred people in line. I'd estimate it was at least an hour wait. I looked everywhere for an LH representative to escort me through but couldn't find one single person. After about 10 minutes I decided to head back to the FCL in A. When I arrived at the FCL in A, they informed me I was in the wrong lounge and I should head to the lounge in B. Told them I tried, etc.

To add to it, my gate to LAX was Z66.... about as far away from the FCL in A as you can get and the FCL in A doesnt have car service (I knew this already). By the time I arrived, it had been about 45 minutes since I had walked off the plane from AMS.

So, at the end of the day for my 90 minute layover, I walked a few miles, worked up a good sweat and got to spend 10 minutes in the FCL. Not a great experience when on an F ticket.

LH needs to step their game. Even Thai greets you at the gate with a golf cart and escorts you to where you need to go inside the terminal. AF escorts you all the way to the curb after arriving. LH needs to have representatives at passport control to escort passengers through. As well, if there is no car service available, they need to escort (golf cart) to the departure gate.

As well, lesson learned that I should have just walked to the FCT instead of going to B -- which will now be my standard practice!

worldclubber

That's what I was going to suggest: Don't walk to B if you can also go to the FCT.

You obviously were not lucky, as LH's F ground product is usually considered among the best out there (lounges with security check and immigration facilities in the lounges, tarmac car transfer to the plane with escort to your seat etc.). Apparently, some additional "treats" are not permitted by the authorities, such as direct car transfer from the plane to the FCT. Try MUC next time, it is so much more convenient.

jpasiczn

Exactly. MUC FCL is incredibly convenient and just as great as FCL A or B or the FCT. Always a quick and easy walk. Anything more than a 60 minute connection at FRA and I’ll just head that way!

chris63

FRA is just awful to connect through, OP did the right thing & got caught up in the FRA mess. FCT is ‘officially’ just for departing pax.
LH know this can happen & should indeed work with FRA to assist their F connecting pax.

MUC is indeed good for connections 👍

TennisNoob

In August 2015 I went to A because I had a 4 hour lay over. The business lounge reps at Terminal Z told me to goto A because there would be transportation and much better food.
I did get ground transport from FCL-A to a Z Gate headed for IAH.

wfiring12

I have a related question as I've only transferred in MUC before in LH F. Next week, I'm arriving in FRA from LAX around 11am and transiting to BCN. I have two hours presuming no delays. I presume no one will meet me at the arriving gate. I've been told I should walk to FCL B if I want a car transfer to my gate for BCN. My biggest priority though is to have a nice shower and breakfast/lunch rather than spend most of my time walking around the terminal. Any suggestions. I've experienced FCT before with FRA departures, so don't need to do that unless it's my best option.

Thanks!

oliver2002

Sorry, all you had to do is walk up to Z at A26 and go thru immigration, then chill at the FCL A and wait for your flight. What is the fascination with the car transfer??

LonLH

In your situation I will get past passport control and security at the first (and least crowded) opportunity and then look for the FCL.
On a recent arrival from the US, we ended up in one of the Z gates, had to walk for 20 mins to B passport control, spent close to 20 mins in line for passport control and another 10 mins or so for security and had no time for the lounge as departure was from B6.
MUC is much better, last time I arrived at a satellite gate from long haul I used the passport control at the entrance to new FCL in the satellite terminal which meant no lines.

wfiring12

Thanks, this makes sense since I'll likely arrive at a Z Gate and depart to BCN from A Gates. I suppose it would be easier to get to FCL A.

daumueller

especially as FCL B can NOT drive you to BCN flights.

FCL A can only drive you to (bus gated) Schengen flights. If the flight is at a Gate or departs to a non Schengen destination, you’re on your own.

FCL B will drive you only to non schengen flights including gated flights that do not depart from B.

FCT will drive you either way.

avi8tir

There is still a thing called "competition" in most marketplaces.

The "competition" has LH beat when it comes to the overall ground experience. At it's best, LH is very good. But it is entirely inconsistent based on several variables which result in different levels of service.

From a post above -- and this proves my point:

especially as FCL B can NOT drive you to BCN flights.

FCL A can only drive you to (bus gated) Schengen flights. If the flight is at a Gate or departs to a non Schengen destination, you’re on your own.

FCL B will drive you only to non schengen flights including gated flights that do not depart from B.

FCT will drive you either way.

athome

The FCL's way of working is based on a quiet easily understandable logic:
FCL A is in the Schengen Area. Therefore no direct transport to Non-Schengen flights, as there is no border control in the lounge.
Same is valid in the other sense for FCL B.
FCLs in MUC work on a different set-up with the Border Control in the lounge.
The set-up in FRA is enforced by the set-up of the airport.
I assume it is quiet healthy and reasonable to make your walk to the gate, if the flight has a gate position.

Or are you proposing to be carried in a litter to the gate? Please let me know when one of the "competitors" introduce such a feature.

hugolover

Yeah it is sorely lacking in a few areas.

How about paying for priority security at GLA and EDI?

Management must be laughing at pax who have F tickets and endure regular security while every other legacy airline (plus Easyjet) arrange Fast Track. BA Silver also, it is a joke.

LH must be useless at negotiation with the airports. It takes a real stretch of the imagination that SN pay for that but LH don’t.

worldclubber

I don't think that "the competition" has LH beat when it comes to the overall ground experience. There may be some aspects that may sometimes work better with other airlines, but the overall ground product is more than "good" and very competitive, even when compared with other top airlines (including 5* airlines). You did not get exactly what you (erroneously) expected, partly because you did not bother to understand the fairly straightforward rules, and now you have an axe to grind. Going upstairs from A to Z or taking the short walk to the FCT would have solved many of your "problems" very easily.

NewbieRunner

I'm surprised you were driven from the FCL A to a non-Schengen flight as there is no passport control facility within the lounge. How did you leave Schengen before boarding a flight to IAH?

The FCL A in FRA was originally designed to work in the same way as the FCLs in MUC, with an entrance on the Schengen level with the actual lounge upstairs on the same level as non-Schengen departure gates. LH's plan was for passengers departing from Z gates to leave the lounge on the upper level and walk to the departure gate. Unfortunately the authorities did not allow LH to have passport control within the lounge.