First time poster so please bear with me. We are flying to Tallinn on 12/15/17 from the US via Frankfurt on a single ticket. We arrive in Frankfurt at 8:50am on United and depart for Tallinn at 2pm on Lufthansa. Plenty of time, right?
Same question on the flight home: We fly back to the US from Copenhagen on 12/26/17 via Toronto, single ticket again. We arrive in Toronto at 2:50pm and depart for the US at 7:25pm on AirCanada. On paper it looks like plenty of time but in reality I guess I need to figure out which terminals we will be in for each flight and at what point we go through customs. Thanks in advance and let me know if you need more info. I love reading these forums.
Posted by
TN, USA
2154 posts
You should have PLENTY of time on both connections, unless there is some really crazy reason your first flight is extremely late (mechanical, unplanned stop en route due to some nut case on board, etc.). But, there is a 99.999999999999999999% chance you will have absolutely no problems.
Welcome to the Forum!!
Posted by
Chicago
8159 posts
too much time but not enough to do anything but wait
Posted by
11553 posts
That is way too much time between flights.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
Perhaps you can buy a day pass to the lounge and relax between flights?
Posted by
Folsom
2732 posts
You'll have time to kill. United is part of Star Alliance. The Lufthansa (same alliance) lounges at Frankfurt are quite nice if you can buy a pass. Comfy seating, endless food and drink.
Posted by
Magyarország / Rep of Texas
20000 posts
Duty Free Shops!!!!
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
14648 posts
I would way rather be sitting at the gate or in a lounge being bored than be chewing my nails as I try to race to a gate only to find boarding closed.
Enjoy the extra time you’ve got!
You’ll actually want to know where you pass thru Immigration rather than Customs. Immigration or Border Control is where your passport is stamped and you are admitted to the country, so that takes the longest. Customs in Europe is usually just a door you walk thru that says nothing to declare.
Posted by
alameda, ca, usa
2682 posts
I hope you love Tallinn as much as I did! The airport is about 10 minutes from the Old Town by taxi. I like connecting through Frankfurt because there's a great book shop--the Pocket Shop--and they have books in paperback that are still hardcover in the US. In both instances you'll have plenty of time to get to your next terminal and get something to eat, relax a bit.
Posted by
OP
32 posts
Hi guys, thanks for all your expertise here. I figured it would be too much time but I am OK with that, I purposely selected flights with more time in between because I am a bit of a nervous nelly. Hopefully the first legs will not be extremely late, especially the one on 12/26 as it is right after the holiday. I agree, I'd rather have way too much time then not enough, it's just how I roll. I am usually the person who shows up early for everything, go figure. We will certainly check out the Lufthansa lounge, duty free, and bookstore in the Frankfurt airport, as well as eat and stretch our legs.
In this case, would we be going though immigration between flights or would that be at our final destination, since we are not planning on leaving the airports in between flights?
It is our first time in Tallinn, which we are REALLY looking forward to! We are going to try and catch a Christmas market and we are for sure going to take the ferry to Helsinki for a day trip.
Posted by
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
4087 posts
US immigration and border security operates in Toronto Pearson airport so you probably will go through their screening as you change planes while returning home. Be careful to select the correct line; you do not want to go through general Canadian clearance. Even so, you have more than enough time.