I'm not arguing that it's egalitarian etc, but express immigrations/customs lines for front of plane travelers are a thing now in some airports. If you are sitting up front, you may as well use it.
Does FRA offer this perk? Can't recall. Thanks!
Posted by
Salem, Oregon, USA
2963 posts
According to this, yes https://www.lufthansa.com/iq/en/security-fast-lanes
Posted by
OP
City of Seattle
2015 posts
CL thanks, the link appears to be for security. I'm curious about immigration/customs.
thanks again
Posted by
Freedonia
16877 posts
CL, he's talking about immigration not security,
Frankfurt does have a fast-track system but you have to apply for it. It has nothing to do with where you sit. You have to register for it in Germany. It's good for all airports in Germany.
https://www.easypass.de/EasyPass/EN/EasyPASS-RTP/rtp_node.html
Posted by
Salem, Oregon, USA
2963 posts
Sorry Hank, not enough coffee this morning. Looks like Frank covered you.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA ☔️
6944 posts
Not in my experience.
I've flown in to Frankfurt several times flying in business class, typically arriving on United. I've always had to stand in long, slow (in fact, agonizingly slow) lines for immigration. Most recent example was September 2024 (on a Saturday, early September, around 10 am), on United in business class arriving from SFO. As I recall it took us a full hour to get through the immigration line - I was shocked. I tried asking multiple officials there but every one of them just pointed to the long, long line (moving at glacial speed) we were already in and told me there was just the one line, everybody had to wait in it (the long, slow line was for non-EU passport holders; there WAS another set of immigration agents working multiple windows for those with EU passports - there was no line at all for them and zero waiting...I asked if business class passengers could use that line or if there was any other expedited line and was told no). So we slowly shuffled through the long queue for an hour.
I was connecting to an onward flight on a separate ticket (on Lufthansa, from Frankfurt to Bastia, Corsica, so an intra-EU flight). Fortunately, we had 5 hours to make that connection, so it was just a minor inconvenience, not something that derailed our plans. But I've found clearing immigration at FRA is generally not the example of German Efficiency that one might expect.
Bottom line: I've never seen or heard anything about expedited immigration lines at FRA for those arriving in premium cabins. If such a thing really does exist, I'd love to know about it, as I find myself transiting through that airport fairly often (and if I'm arriving from North America, I'll be in business class). YMMV.
Posted by
OP
City of Seattle
2015 posts
David thanks very much for the first hand account!
Posted by
1706 posts
We had the same experience as David in August 2023 coming off a business class flight. And we had been warned by frequent FRA travelers to expect a long slow line no matter where you sat. We were behind a frequent flyer who knew she wasn't going to make her connection and just shrugged since there was nothing she could do about it.
Posted by
Northwest Arkansas
809 posts
express immigrations/customs lines
I have US's Global Entry (which includes TSA Pre) and I'm planning to get the German EasyPass on my next trip into Frankfurt this September. It is my undertanding that with Global Entry I am automitically cleared to get EasyPass. These programs are open to anyone who pays for them, not just the front of the plane. Anyone traveling to Germany for business on a regular basis, IMO, should get EasyPass.
...I hope this all doesn't change.
Posted by
Freedonia
16877 posts
I hope this all doesn't change.
It's hoped that once the EES is up and running, Americans will be able to use the egates when entering Schengen.
Like with the UK.