Celestar340

My trip to BCN from LHR almost turned into a nightmare. Well, at one point, it sure felt like it. How on earth can LH advertise a 40 minute connecting time when almost all of its flights are late getting into and out of FRA airport.

I had a 40 minute connecting time in FRA. My flight leaving for BCn was at 1225pm. The London flight arrived an hour late and by the time it did, it didnīt even park at the gate but at the bay which meant we had to be bussed to the terminal. My flight to BCN took off without me. LH ground staff are so indifferent to passengers getting in late - they just presumed that youīd be okay on another later LH flight. No way I said. Get me on the next flight to BCN on IB. They did. But without any apology for that matter.

Anyone tried transferring between terminals 1 and 2 at FRA? It is the most confusing and not planned plan! NEVER again.

Forget about points - Iīd fly direct next time. Incidentally, IB arrived 2 hours late too.

doc

"Almost" is the operational word here it seems! I've had the same problem there not just with with LH, but with AF and another carrier that I can't seem to recall (from Athens (but not Olympic and I was on my way to London). Have a great time in Barcelona!

stimpy

Pretty much only transcontinental flights get gates at FRA. Every Euro flight I've taken requires a bus out to the plane and back. And isn't every Euro flight delayed these days? Even on early morning flights there are delays.

Europe is simply overloaded with travelers and it isn't going to change for a very long time. So it's best to accept it and plan for it. That's why I don't do connections much in Europe. I fly the night before to the connecting city, spend the night at an airport hotel and take a morning plane out to my destination city. That way I have no stress or worries.

Rudi

yes - I plan a 90' transfer time when I do ZRH-FRA-the world - on returns I don't care, and take into account for my ZRH-plans, that my FRA-ZRH connection might be (50% the case) the next LH flight later that day (it also happened that I was one flight EARLIER (... just once in the past year ...).

Eidetic

FRA Terminal 1 and FRA Terminal 2 are like two separate airports, and finding the monorail between them is an exercise. Somehow, SIN Terminals 1 and 2 seem much easier to navigate.

EuroControl says congestion, and therefore intraEU connections, will get worse.

How could die Deutschen so drastically underbuild FRA? Makes the prospects for MUC as a hub very high, IMO.

RichG

stimpy: (re EU hotels vs. connections)
I do the same thing whenever possible. Also avoids red-eye flights, if you fly from NYC to London.

Celestar340

Actually, I find transferring through Zurich so much easier and nicer. Even Paris with itīs confusing Terminal 1 and 2 gets by better than FRA and that is one gigantic terminal!

Alas, I have to go through FRA again next week to meet a friend coming in from TLV. I wonder who gets priority gates this time?

bokich

FRA is a mess. Last year when I was doing ZRH-ORD on Star (thus via Germany) fairly regularly I would try everything possible to either connect via DUS or MUC - unfortunately I still ended up in FRA more than I wanted to, making the trek from the bus drop-off in A to the waiting "heavy" sitting @ a B gate.

aysegul

Well, bad reputation of Frankurt Main Airport is well known. I always try to use MUC but unfortunetly I managed to do only 2 out of 8 this year. And I will use that airport again in October when flying to BRU.
Even the inside looks like a dark warehouse. I love the windows of MUC Airport.

indogulf

After spending the last week connecting through FRA and MUC I can totally agree with all of these posts. Out of some 8 flights connecting through none were on time and three delays caused mis connections. (the last with an overnight stay in FRA) LH min connex time are a joke as there is no way you can make a connex unless you have at least 20/25 min in the terminal (not between landing and the next flight) and LH ground staf are definitely the weakest link in the company. well maybe next to the most inefficeint baggage delivery system i have seen.

Most of the flights start of with a communication from the flight deck informing of airborne slots of at least 20 - 30 minutes after scheduled departure due to eurocontrol delays.

so if you have a important meeting to make be sure to leave enough connex time or else try leaving on the first flight of the day.

by the way MUC is better for connecting but the departure delays are the same + it is a longer distance if you are flying further west.