mahasamatman

They closed it to save money. Id say there's a very low chance that they would ever reopen it. You can use the LH lounges.

RichardInSF

It wasn't the greatest lounge in the world anyway. Main problem with the LH lounges is that they are often really crowded.

bwicoplat

I don't see that opening anytime soon. Unfortunately the IFL is gone as well and there is no arrangement to use the LH FCL (not even going to pretend about the FCT)

kevinsac

I travel thru FRA 6 or 8 times a year, I'm fluent in German, my first goal is a shower in the lounge, and I do not even pay attention to what I am doing as I transit from one flight to another. Transting FRA has become rote for me.

One of our administrative assistants just graduated from college; and she and her Mom are flying to Italy for 15 days. It's their first trip out of the country.

They are arriving on UA from ORD (UA 944), then connecting to Rome/FCO on LH. I will print a map of FRA airport for them, but also want to write up some directions for them. Can someone give me detailed instructions on how I should write this up, which terminals to go thru, where security is, etc.???

LOL....I had no idea how blindly I have been making this trek for years and years until I realized I wanted to help her....and had no idea how to describe this transit.

cheers!

cheltzel

Have you seen the sticky on FRA connections in the Miles & More forum?

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...on-thread.html

Chuck

kevinsac

Yep, Chuck, I have. But instead trying to combine the various elements of a lengthy thread into directions with a wrong set of steps for someone who has never traveled internationally, I was hoping to get a simple reply to a very specific fact pattern instead of someone pointing me to a thread with over 200 posts, some of which might be outdated, especially since UA recently has moved at FRA.

Make sense?

SFOTurtle

How much time do they have in between flights? I think their biggest concern would be if UA sold them an itinerary with a very short connection window which is likely to cause them much greater stress.

When I have connected from UA to LH to FCO, my UA flight arrived in C gates where most UA flights arrive (but my last UA flight into FRA was 9 mos ago, so others can update this if it has changed), and onward connecting flight to FCO departed from A gates. Either way, they will need to check the monitor when they arrive into the terminal after de-planing to determine what gate their flight to FCO is departing, and then proceed to the immigration check followed by security for those gates.

It also helps if they have boarding passes printed for their LH flight when they check-in at ORD, and to insist on that before they depart. If they don't, they'll need to go to the LH transit desk to get their BPs, and then get in line for immigration (pain).

notquiteaff

I can't help you with your task, because -- quite frankly -- I am pretty much feeling the same. FRA is a constantly changing confusing mess, but I never really have a problem navigating my way to where I need to go without thinking. I have tried to follow my own paths on the maps in the Hemispheres mag, but that just confused me

My advice, if someone asked me for directions, would be to just carefully follow the signs and have a basic understanding of the terminal structure (terminal 1 with its various concourses, terminal 2 connected by air train). Written instructions might be more confusing than helpful, especially since you can't really predict the starting point (sometimes it's a C gate, sometimes a remote parking area with a bus to B (?), sometimes...).

richk_30

All of my UA flights landing into FRA this year have had the aircraft parked remotely and all of the passengers bussed back to Terminal 1. Once at Terminal 1, there's a set of monitors showing all connections and their gate numbers. If their connection isn't shown (within 4? hours) then ask the LH rep near the monitors where their gate will be (Either A, B, or C gates).

According to flightstats, it appears that the FRA-FCO flights are consistently leaving from the A gates.

Once up the escalator, they'll need to pass thru passport control.

What I can't remember (since I'm usually brain fuzzy after the flight) is after passport control, I believe you end up outside security and have to go back thru security to get to the A gates. I believe that is the case, but having a memory lag.

NewbieRunner

Will they be on UA944 or UA940? Which is their connecting flight to FCO?

They will arrive and depart from Terminal 1, but beyond that I can only second notquiteaff's advice to follow the signs. They will have to go through passport control to reach their departure gate but if they follow the signs they will be directed to passport control anyway.

milepig

The map is useless. Just tell them to look at the GIANT departures board when they deplane and their connecting flight will be listed. From there, just follow the signs.

andymell

As a regular at FRA, I can tell you that the "beginner's guide" on the M&M board is quite good, and kept reasonably up-to-date. BUT, it's very hard to predict what gates your flight will be using, so it's hard to give step-by-step directions.

If I were in your place I'd give the following advice:
-if you arrive with more than 1 hour before your departure, you have time to shop, relax, etc. If not, you should proceed directly to the departure gate.
-check the departure board for the gate # and then follow the signs.
-you'll need to pass through immigration, but will not reclaim your luggage. Make sure you get in the non-EU lines.
-after immigration, you'll need to reclear security. You can leave your shoes on, but the metal detectors in FRA are more sensitive than the US. Also, they will carefully examine your freedom baggie, so make sure that it is out of your carryon.
-if you get confused or in trouble, then ask one of the LH personnel for help. They tend to be better informed than FRAPORT personnel.

cheltzel

Kevin,

Now you have me worried. I'll be flying from ORD to FCO in early July (on LH not UA). I was planning on using that thread as my guide.

I have plenty of time (over 4 hours). But I was planning on spending as much as possible in the LH lounge ... and not getting lost in FRA.

Chuck

notquiteaff

If you have four hours, please do NOT worry. You will have no problems finding your way to the gate and a nearby lounge. Take it slowly, look at the monitors and signs, and you will be fine.

cheltzel

Actually that has been my experience at FRA. I have read the M&M thread on connecting (just the first post), did what they say there "just follow the signs".

Now I have always done UA to LH or LH to LH. And it was pretty straightforward. My personal experience has been that there are enough English speaking staff at FRA to help you along, if you get confused.

If you have never been in a large international airport before, it might be a intimidating and scary place.