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Frankfurt Airport

We have an AA flight arriving in Frankfurt on Saturday November 29th. Assuming an on time arrival, what would be the estimated time to clear passport control and retrieve checked luggage? We are looking at booking a 12:05 pm train from the airport station to Nuremberg,

Posted by
359 posts

You may* be able to book/add a flexible DB Rail & Fly ticket to your airline ticket. This is a joint program between Deutsche Bahn and many partner airlines, including American Airlines. The ticket is booked through your airline and is connected to your flight. The beauty of this flexible ticket is that you don’t have to guess what train you might be able to catch - you’ll be asked to “book” a reasonable departure to match your flight arrival, but if you miss that train (or you arrive early), you can use the ticket anytime the day of your arrival. From DBs website:
“…the Rail&Fly ticket can be used flexibly on the selected day of travel on the selected route without being fixed to a specific train.”

I’ve used this program twice, very successfully - once from Frankfurt to Cologne on Lufthansa (added after I purchased my flight) and once from Frankfurt to Munich on Condor (purchased at the same time as my flight). For more info Google “Rail & Fly” or search the topic on this site or I’d be happy to answer any questions.

*I say “may” because I don’t know if AA allows this as an add-on after the original purchase.

Posted by
9580 posts

Because I pick up people all the time at the airport, my guess for average time to go through immigration and to pick up your bags is about 1 hour. Saturdays may be a bit busier than a week day, but it is also Nov. so not high tourist season. Terminal 2 is also a bit faster than terminal 1, that has more flights and gates.
Your airline uses terminal 2, so you will need to get from that terminal to terminal 1 and the long distance train station. I would take the free shuttle bus. They are easier when you have luggage and they drop off next to the escalators that will get you closer to the long distance train station. Look at the airport map to see what I mean. You walk from the bus to the train station will be at least 10 min.

Posted by
1002 posts

I plan for two hours. No issues with two trips this year.

Posted by
224 posts

Thanks for the help. We arrive at 8:50 am. I will check out the DB & AA combo. I also thought 3 hours and I am looking at a 12:01 pm train departure.

Posted by
14 posts

Hello! I also need some info about Frankfurt Airport. I am flying into Frankfurt from Rome to San Francisco. This is another airport I have not been in before. It's a United flight on a Friday, November 7 at 7:05 am operated by Lufthansa. If all runs on time, I have 1 hour 10 minutes in Frankfurt to catch my flight to San Francisco. Is this enough time? This flight is much cheaper for me, but it isn't showing up on United's website.

Posted by
22833 posts

mberlin8, I see you deleted your other post regarding Zurich Airport and now you are piggy backing on the OP's topic. Please start your own post.

Posted by
2916 posts

Our last arrival was so fast that I made notes on it. The plane touched down at 1:40. By 2:05, we were through immigration and at the baggage claim (we were seated in economy so not the first off the plane by any means). By 2:35 we were in a cab to the hotel.

Posted by
224 posts

So Ms. Jo, the free shuttle bus from T2 to T1 is an additional option to choose instead of the Skyline train? I did notice that when arriving at T1 by the train , it is a very long walk to the long distance train station. The bus gets you closer and faster, correct?

Posted by
9580 posts

Yes, because the shuttle bus stops right by the escalators going up to the passage way going to the long distance station.
This all may change in 2026, when terminal 3 opens and the new Skytrain and S-bahn stations open too. Will have to change all of my directions advice.

Posted by
19492 posts

What time does your plane arrive?

Therein lies your problem. No one knows when a trans-Atlantic flight will actually arrive, only when it is scheduled to arrive. I've flown to Germany 11 times in the past 25 years, and my flight was an hour late arriving three times.

If you buy a "Savings Fare" ticket to Nürnberg, you'll save a lot of money vs. a fully flexible ticket, but if your flight is late arriving, you risk missing your specified train and loosing your ticket. Then you'll have to buy a new ticket at the flexible ticket price.

I would suggest a couple of risk free solutions to your problem.

One, plan on staying somewhere close to Frankfurt for the first night, somewhere you can get to quickly using local transportation. You'll be jet-lagged the first day anyway. Then, the next day, when you know you can catch you assigned train, use the Saver Fare to get to Nürnberg.

In 2017, we arrived in Frankfurt and were going eventually to a small town in the Allgäu, near Füssen. But my partner had never seen the middle Rhein, so we took local transportation down to St Goar, spent two nights there, and the next day took a cruise from Bingen back to St Goar. Then, the following day, when we knew we would be in Germany and could catch the specified train, we went to Bavaria on a Saver Fare, using an IC from Bingen to Ulm.

Or, two, you can use regional trains and a Bayern-Ticket instead. It will probably cost a little more than the Saver Fare, but you won't risk the higher cost associated with missing the train specified on a Saver Fare, and you can start as soon as you clear immigration. Buy an RMV local ticket (11€) from the airport to Kahl am Rhein, the first stop in Bavaria, plus a Bayern-Ticket. Take an S-Bahn to the Hbf. There's an S-Bahn (S8 or S9) leaving every 15 minutes. When you get to the Hbf, take a regional train (RE 54 or 55) to Würzburg; there's an RE leaving every hour. The RE goes through Kahl. You don't change trains there, just tickets. In Würzburg you change, still on the Bayern-Ticket, to another RE to Nürnberg.

Regional trains take about 4 hours from FRA to Nürnberg vs. 2½ hours for a long distance train, but you might get there as soon, because you can catch the first regional train instead of having to wait your "cushion" time to assure not missing your assigned long distance train.

Posted by
19492 posts

In 2007, I bought a ticket from Philly to Munich on USAir (bought by AA). Then I started to follow the flight. In the next week it arrived 8 and 9 hours late on two days. I called the airline to ask why the flight was delayed. I got passed between all sorts of people who, of course, knew nothing. Then, by some mistake, I ended up talking to someone who actually had access to real information - in operations. He checked and found that they were replacing an important module in the avionics equipment.

Then I noticed something suspicious. USAir had flights everyday from the A concourse to nine European airports; everyday the flight to a particular city left from the same gate, except for the date that the Munich flight was late departing. On that day, the Munich flight left from a different gate than normal, one usually assigned to a different city. I figured out that Munich was a low priority, maybe the flight wasn't full, so whenever there was a problem with one of the planes, it was assigned to Munich.

The day I flew, the Munich flight was actually on time arriving.

Posted by
2872 posts

Your 3 hours should be fine if your plane is on time. Mine usually aren’t

Posted by
224 posts

Ms. Joe, where is the shuttle bus pickup location in Terminal Two? Is it well marked?

Posted by
9580 posts

The shuttle buses stop right outside the main exit. The airport is well-signed.

Posted by
589 posts

I have flown into Frankfurt a few times. Each time it took me about 10-15 minutes of walking just to get to the passport control desk so be sure to factor that into the equation.

Posted by
9580 posts

I think any kind of information about any airport or flights or airlines from almost 20 years ago should really be discounted as not very valid today.