flyertalker7

Hi,
Not sure whether it's the right forum but I didn't find a more relevant one.

I was flying out with LH from FCO, and I started moving from the lounge as soon as the "Boarding" announcement went up. I arrived (walking quickly, but it was far) to the gate, but it was closed. The announcement board was still saying "boarding" (not "last call").
As a result I missed my flight and my connection. Lufthansa asks me a huge amount to rebook for next day. (They would even not downgrade from Premium Econ down to Econ to fly the same day in another star alliance flight.)
Is there anything I can do, or is it entirely my fault and as a result not?
Thanks!

MichielR

I'm afraid that it is your fault. Boarding does not mean "leave the lounge" and as you indicate the gate was relatively far from the lounge.

Electronic and home printed boarding passes also state "please be at departure gate at the boarding time stated" and this is usually also reiterated at the check in desk.

SK AAR

I agree. Relying on boarding still to be in process when boarding is announced and leaving the lounge for the gate, is risky - I guess you were out of luck here.

Fabo.sk

Unless you reached the gate in time specified on your BP as gate close (20 or 15 minutes before departure or whatever it is) you have no leg to stand on.

LioM

FCO has a new boarding area, and in some cases the gate is ridiculously far from the lounge, with a 10-15 mins walk ahead depending on how swift you can move. If you wait for the boarding announcement in the lounge, you are by default too late. And indeed, if you arrive past the gate closing time (typically 15 mins before departure) there's nothing you can do.

erik123

Normal would be to announce boarding well in advance. Not sure about FCO but many airports show "go to gate" and end with "gate closing" at which point you still have 5-10 minutes. Typically when I see boarding I know I still have a lot of time. I suspect the plane had to make a quick turn-around and they closed the gate quickly. Do you remember the time you were at the gate?

hugolover

Bad luck. It closes 15 minutes before, just like LO, and that’s updated with regards to a posted delay (ie you get a notification). The gate closing is what I base my boarding time on, not the stated “boarding times”

ManInExitRow

Never trust the screens. Even when properly installed. Especially at MANchester.

curt

what?

hugolover

Just “relax”? What happened to “Shop and relax”

RetiredATLATC

I'm so sorry, and this sucks, but alas this is on you.

Don't ever trust electronic "boarding" announcements or anything other that what printed on your ticket.

This is not a slight on the OP, however it is fairly easy to see your given BP and the check-in/arrive at gate time etc and I always find it slightly mystifying that people believe they can saunter from the lounge and get on-board, let alone still have premium space for they're baggage.

I'm anal to a point and fastidious and always attempt to be 1st of so onboard and I've never had and issue.

I get wanting to spend a few minutes in a lounge, but honestly they're all crappy lounges and you need to admit you just lost track of time.

zkzkz

As the other poster said, your post doesn't have the relevant information to decide if it's your fault or not. The info displayed on the board is not authoritative. The scheduled departure time of your flight (minus whatever the airline says is the cutoff to be at the gate) is what's relevant. Were the doors closed when you arrived and was that prior to 20min before the scheduled departure time?

In the future consider flying a North American airline which would have accommodated you on a later flight subject to space. European airlines tend not to do that. But then there are other disadvantages....

GrayAnderson

I guess a related question is what to do in the event of a (significant - say, one hour or more) flight delay?

Tyrolean

I have a bit of a paranoia in missing flights... Since LH removed the wardrobe with storing space I tend to board as early as possible - especially if you sit in the first rows. Better wait a few minutes at the gate than get no space for your luggage or miss the plane.

For a delay I tend to have multiple sources of information:
- The LH App shows the current state of the inbound flight. If it is not there, no need to wait at the gate.
- Some lounges - especially at smaller airports have aporon view - so you easily can see if your plane arrived.
- I sometimes ask the agents at the lounge if they have any current information
- Flightradar shows the position of your plane.
- Of course the official boards.

When the plane has landed I slowly move to the gate. I have seen incoming flights with only a handful of passengers or packed full planes. So deboarding can take very long or can be over very fast. So mostly I will arrive when deboarding is finished and it then takes only a few minutes before the boarding starts. When the Flight is delayed I did spend enough time in the lounge, so a short and slow walk is a good way in passing a bit of time.

I did many flights in my life. I only missed a flight once, where the Autobahn was blocked for 4 hours by a truck accident. Better save than sorry.

scottishpoet

were lots of people arriving at the gate late and unable to board on time or were you the only one?