cdepks

How about non-schengen to non-schengen? What security checks are there in ZRH? I am going EWR-ZRH-IST, looks like UA flight in and LX flight out are both in Term E. Is there secondary security at the gate also?

Bruxelles9

I'm flying JFK-ZRH-DEL on SWISS with less than a 2 hour layover. Would there be enough time to go from Terminal E to the SWISS Lounge in Terminal A/B, spend roughly 20-30mins, and head back to E? How long does passport control + heidi train take from E to A?

PaulRO

LX Lurker note this please.

This thread seems to feed the theory that the world can be viewed in two.

1. Those who believe in LX (and other practitioners of common sense and decency.)
2. Those who need to loosen up a little and allow themselves to believe in LX (and other practitioners of common sense and decency.) And who in the meantime gets themselves twisted into incredible contortions.

PetzLUX

The heidi train ride take maximum 3 minutes.
With empty security and passport control I made my way from E to the lounge in A in less than 15 minutes yesterday.

NewbieRunner

And a separate security lane for "short connections".

I obviously belong to the latter group and can't see how believing in common sense and decency helps anyone with a tight connection. Do you think LX should delay departures because some connecting pax are held up by late arrivals of incoming flights due to congestion in ZRH which seems to be getting more common? Or by unnecessary security checks because ZRH's centralised security check arrangement is not centralised in reality?

When they rebuilt Pier B/D why didn't they make it possible for pax already in secure area of Pier D to ride in a secure carriage of Heidi's train? When you arrive in E the non-secure carriage is at the front and the escalator takes you further towards the higher E gates. However, at the top you have to turn back towards the lower E gates to go through security (which are not clearly marked and still look like a temporary arrangement). According to the airport map other security checkpoints are there but the only one in operation appears to be the one towards the lower E gates.

My recent shorthaul > longhaul connection in ZRH was 80 minutes and should have been more than enough but the incoming flight was 22 minutes late and I was one of the last to board the longhaul flight. Last time I made the same connection the feeder flight was 31 minutes late and they had given away my seat on the longhaul.

On the way back the incoming longhaul flight was 30 minutes late mainly due to congestion in ZRH. My 85 minutes' connection was cut down to 55 minutes, still more than enough in the eye of many posters in this thread. I was one of the first to deplane, got on Heidi's train straightaway and walked briskly to Pier D security, where only one lane was open. No priority lane for premium or status pax, or a fast lane for short connections. After I stood in the queue for a while they opened another lane and I moved there, but unfortunately I found myself behind a young woman with a bagful of duty-free liquids purchased outside EU. Sensing there would be a long discussion I moved to the original lane - by this time three security lanes were open but still no priority lane. By the time I cleared security my flight was already boarding (from a bus gate D5x).

I would never book a 40-50 min connection in ZRH unless I fancy an overnight stay at LX's expense. And I prefer to have a chance to visit a lounge even for a short period between flights and not to have to rush from gate to gate as I had to do during my recent 80 minutes and 85 minutes connections.

vbroucek

Just to chip in... From my own experience, ZRH is not only experiencing lots of congestion, but also weather related delays... So, while their MCT is rather generously short, I will in the future do what NewbieRunner suggests and rather have longer connection... On the other hand, if there are delays on arrivals due to weather, then the same applies to departures... Now, I am confused...

vbroucek

Where did they put you? Last time, I was late from Barcelona to Rome and they just put me on the next available flight with op-up from whY to C (I never buy C on these short flights)...

NewbieRunner

I've never experienced weather related delays in ZRH except once when I'd planned an overnight stay (at my expense) since I was on separate tickets.

As longhaul flights tend to leave the gate on time even in adverse weather you can't count on making the connection if your feeder flight is delayed.

The only time I booked a 40 minute connection the flight from BCN arrived late but they picked me up from the plane and drove me directly to my connecting flight to MAN.

Once I was staying at the Airport Hilton and saw a long queue of people with airline vouchers at the reception, so the Hilton must be one of the hotels they put up stranded passengers.

TRAVELSIG

Well said.

Common sense and decency while very nice indeed do not help at all with tight connections.

Back on topic- ZRH really has three options (ranging from easiest to most difficult to implement):
1) Increase MCT
2) Study and fix the security and passport options which are not set up to enable a short connection customer to make their connection
3) Implement a capacity increase

In the interim- I would follow the suggestion of other frequent OP to ZRH and book a longer connection if I really need to make my connection. The night curfew is another point which can come into play however I am not even going to touch this one at the moment.

ENFO

I am considering an award on Singapore-Zurich and Zurich-Boston both on Swiss. The layover is 11 hours, the incoming flight arrives at 6.10am and the outgoing leaves at 5.30pm. Will the flights arrive and depart from the same terminal?

I believe I'll be doing some back and forth. The Business Class Lounge is in A, Childrens Play Areas are in A and E, and the bookable Sleep Rooms are in E. Can I access all these in the non Schengen zone?

PS. We will not have Schengen visas, so as far as I understand must stay in the non Schengen zone. Will that have access at all to the 3 things above - Business Class lounge, play area and sleep rooms? Any other suggestions for things to do without clearing immigration?

NewbieRunner

Both flights will use E but there are limited facilities in E (other than children's play area).

If you cannot enter Schengen you are limited to areas E and D. Bookable day rooms are in D so you can access them without entering Schengen. I don't know of any day rooms in E.

You cannot access the Business Lounge in A as it is in Schengen. Your best option will be the Business Lounge in D (not far from the day rooms).

You can ride the Skymetro train between E and D without going through passport control but you will have to go through security every time you travel between the two terminals.

ENFO

Thank you! My mistake about the location of the sleep rooms. So no access to the Arrival Lounge either correct? So my options are Business Lounge in D, Dayrooms in D, Panorama Lounge in E, and Play Area in E.

Can I go in and out of the Business Lounge?

Has anyone had experience with the bookable Day Rooms? It looks like I'll be spending a good part of my time here, reserving the Lounge Access for eating.

YuropFlyer

Yes, you can visit any lounge several times.

No access to the arrival lounge, as it's land side (Schengen)

Some more information about the day rooms: http://www.zurich-airport.com/deskto...spx/tabid-154/

And keep in mind, the food really isn't the best in the lounges, and I would think twice of spending a full day in ZRH (Non-Schengen) airside..

Do you need a Schengen Visa? Many nationalities don't need one, and I think some kind of US permanent residence visas also do allow to visit Schengen area. If you give us some more information about your status, we might help you on this. ZRH for a full day visit definitely would offer much more than staying airside at an airport that is, frankly, not really made for such a long layover. It's not Changi, not ICN, not even DXB.. (for example, you'll be limited to free internet for 60 minutes every 6 hours, otherwise it's pay-per-use)

ENFO

Philippines passport with US Permanent Resident Card (green card). Travelling with my daughter who holds a US passport. It's my understanding I'll need a visa.

I was about to ask your opinion of the 11 hour wait, so thank you for anticipating me.

My alternative is a 7 hour layover in FRA, arriving on Thai and leaving on Lufthansa. Would that be better in terms of lounge access, play rooms and renting a place for some peace and quiet?

YuropFlyer

I was adding a few information in my posting above (editing it) - please check again, you were a bit too quick

While 7 hours is better than 11 hours, FRA definitely is worse regarding a layover. I think I would prefer ZRH over it, if your daughter enjoys it, she can ride the train couple times, for example FRA isn't horrible though, but unless you fly business class on the new Thai A380, the LX product will be better.

I'll see if I can find any information regarding your card. As day rooms aren't really cheap (you can see on the link I added in the above post) it might make maybe even some sense to get a Visa for Switzerland (and you only need one, not two/three, while for the dayroom you pay more the more people there will be), as that would enable you to have a nice little trip to Zurich or any other Swiss city (depending on weather)