marks88

50 min connection AMS-FRA-IAH - LH HQ radioed my AMS-FRA hop to tell me to go directly to Z gates (we landed at A, so no car).

But still - if there is no priority F (or even J/*G) lines at these checkpoints, what should GS expect?

cfischer

what checkpoints are you referring to There is only a passport control A --> Z unless I am missing something.

chitraveler1975

Historically, we have had incredible service from Global Services reps at pretty much every airport they were stationed. Outside the US, have been walked through zoo security lines (outbound and inbound) in Sao Paulo, driven to tight connections in Frankfurt and London, proactively rebooked after delays in Paris, ... not to mention tarmac transfers in Houston, phone calls ahead of weather delays in LaGuardia, Annie in Sydney, the Detroit and Honolulu phone reps... The team has been incredible, and that level of service has made it worth it for me to skew $50k-100k in spend per year to United and earn more than 3M lifetime miles. On this trip, service was not the same as it was historically. With a missed connection and a failed rebooking at O'Hare, I did not think it was unreasonable to expect a GS agent to meet my wife at the gate in Frankfurt, rebook her, and get her on the way. I'm sorry if others feel I'm asking for too much. Other GS members, treat this as a cautionary tale and come to Frankfurt prepared for the worst.

nomad420

It must be Sao Paulo thing as I received the same treatment there back in 2018 during my GS tenure. It was one of the few niceties that I received during my two years as GS. Even back in the day I didn't really receive any special treatment in FRA but the few times I past through I really had no issues. But I would say no one every even approached me and rarely even recognized the fact I was GS during those 24 months. Over all I was unimpressed with GS and posted about it here on FT. I'll concede that perhaps my expectations were too great after flying UA for decades and finally achieving the GS status in 2017 and again in 2018.

HNLbasedFlyer

All it has really gotten me is better upgrade success (which - for me, is very important) - My LAS-SFO flight was very delayed a few months ago - landed at International terminal - and I knew my SFO-HNL was being held (not just for me - many passengers) was hoping for a golf cart to get me to the flight and nope - nothing - made the same run as the other passengers - I was thankful they preserved my upgrade though.

PsiFighter37

Interesting topic to arise now...at least pre-pandemic, just given its sheer size, I never felt FRA was that friendly of a *A hub to navigate on the contingent. MUC, VIE, or ZRH were always much friendlier IMO.

uastarflyer

If you’re into miles of bare concrete walls though, FRA will hook you up

cfischer

while that is generally true and certainly when originating in FRA ... a Z to A connection is a piece of cake ...

milepig

I've been pondering the same thing, and there might be a better spot to have this conversation than this thread, but with the list of airports that are basket cases steadily growing, are there some that we should be looking at as better options. I'd put MUC on the list, since it is generally efficient. I also have a let in September that involves MXP which is a smaller airport, which makes we wonder if right now smaller is generally better.

bmwe92fan

Unfortunately for ex-EU destinations nothing can compare with Frankfurt - intra-EU ZRH and MUC are my new favorites…..

findark

I haven't been since the pandemic, but FRA has always had its legions of haters and I have never understood them. Connected at FRA many times, never a major issue - it's a big airport but always seemed efficient.

CMK10

I flew through FRA in late June. I had a 15 hour connection so I entered Germany and spent a day at the Sheraton FRA and downtown. I will say that I was glad to have a lot of extra time because:

- The walk from Z69 to passport control was a very, very long one
- The security line took a while to get through even though there wasn't much of a line due to staffing
- Gate B1 is actually in Saxony judging by how long it took me to get there

But hey I got my steps in!

findark

That would be runway 7R (although not as bad as AMS 36L, which might as well be in London).

ExplorerWannabe

Different strokes for different folks, I guess. I liked FRA prepandemic much more than EWR, ORD, BOS, DTW, LAX, AMS, EZE, or FCO (although my experience at FCO was admittedly 30 years ago so things may have changed a bit ...). I found it about on par with JNB (except that I found the need to go through Customs at JNB just to catch a connector to a whole other country rather annoying). The one thing at FRA that annoyed me was the need to catch a bus between the airplane and the terminal. In all the times I've gone through FRA, I think I had to use the bus all but perhaps once.

milepig

I came to think of FRA as being orderly, which changed my approach. Don't try to preplan or to keep track of where exactly you currently are. Instead, just follow the signs and it always works out.

I';ve come to like the busing. Better than than landing at some far flung gate. The bus drops you at a central location with clear signage with status for onward flights and how to navigate your way there.