Frankfurt FRA connection time

If your travel is on one ticket, even if there is a delay for your first flight arriving, the airline will put you on the first available flight. There's no way to tell how long it will take to get through to your departure gate. I made it through in about 30 minutes in December, arriving on a flight that was full.

Two pieces of advice for a quicker exit: upgrade to Economy Comfort (or whatever your airline calls it) and take carryon only.

You should have plenty of time. You are in the same area of Terminal 1, maybe 10 minutes walk between gates. Z is just the international level. If your plane does not gate and is on the tarmac and you are bused in, the bus entry is centralized at where the A and B sections of Terminal 1 connect, again a short distance to your gate. And Passport control will not take that long. Plus, you are on a Lufthansa connection, if there is a time issue they will expedite you, and if something has gone seriously wrong and your incoming flight is badly delayed, they will rebook you. We were on a delayed flight from PHL last year and many passengers were given their rebooking before leaving the plane, or met directly on the tarmac. We left the bus at 9:55, asked and were told our 10:05 flight from the end of the B area was still boarding, and made it before i closed. Granted, this was going to Istanbul so we did not have to go through immigration, and we do carry-on only, so those two issues did not factor in. Had we had checked bags I am certain we would have been rebooked before we landed. Can't help you with your connection issues in SFO.

We are also dealing with a 1:40 layover from O'hare to Frankfort to Prague. If we check a bag, won't it go through to Prague?

Customs is at the last destination, therefore any checked baggage will go through directly to the final destination. So no need to pick them up in FRA and re check them again. Only passport control will be at FRA (first EU Schengen port of entry).

1:40 min is plenty assuming on time arrival of the incoming flight from SFO.

In case of very significant delay, LH will rebook you for next available flight. If you travel with carry on only, there is even the more desirable option of being rebooked to Milan Linate, which is near the city center. LH has more flights to LIN than MXP. There are flights to LIN at 1:15 and 3:45pm, so in case of rebooking you don't need to wait for the next MXP flight at 4:50pm.

Thank each of you for you helpful replies. We appreciate your "good news" and are looking forward to our adventure!

I don't mean to hijack this thread but we are also connecting in Frankfort to a Lufthansa flight the beginning of May. However, our flight from Chicago ORD to Frankfort is on United and we will connect to Venice on Lufthansa. My husband's round trip ticket is on one reservation number and mine is on two reservation numbers due to the fact that I used miles and he didn't have enough and purchased his. I had to purchase the flight from Frankfort to Venice as Lufthansa apparently didn't have any award seats on that flight. I spoke with a rep from Lufthansa a couple months ago and he "linked" the Lufthansa and United flights. I am hoping that I won't have any problems going through passport control to get on that flight to Venice. We have 2 hr. 10 min. connection.

Any suggestions or will it all work just fine? Never been to Frankfort airport. Thanks much.

Ruth

Ruth,

I'm assuming you mean Frankfurt. I think the place you mentioned is in Kentucky.

Regarding connection times, the shortest time I've had to deal with there is ONE hour and I did make the next flight but it was close. You will have to go through Passport control as that's likely your entry point into the Schengen area. You will also have to go through security again prior to boarding your next flight. While Frankfurt is a HUGE airport, they seem to be very efficient at getting passengers to connection flights, especially if time is an issue. The security process I went through on that occasion was one of the quickest I've ever seen, including a pat-down.

The electronic signs will show your next departure gate, but given the size of the airport you'll probably be doing some walking, up & down elevators and stairs, etc.

One important point to mention is that de-planing from your first flight may be a factor in whether you make the next one. I was fortunate in that I was close to Business Class section so was off the plane very quickly. That meant being in front of the queue at Passport control, and I think that helped. You could mention the time limit to one of the Flight Attendants and they may be able to help you get off the first flight a bit quicker.

Good luck!

FRA is a big but efficient facility. Your only problem is a significant delay departing SFO. SFO's closely spaced runways are such a known issue that I think that air carriers build in delays into their schedules.

Download the FRA transfer guide, review it and many of your questions will be addressed:
http://www.frankfurt-airport.com/content/airport-site/en/infopool/download-center.html#endownloadairportguide

Should I allow for extra time for passport and security checks?

In most cases, on your way between planes you'll have to pass through
security and passport checks. Please allow enough time for them. If
you are in a hurry to catch your connecting flight, you can save time
by using one of the “Fast Lanes” at the security check. Monitors at
the checkpoints list the current flights for which passengers may use
a “Fast Lane”.

If you have mobility issues that make a long trek difficult, look for FRA mobility assistance personnel in red jackets.

Ruth,
2 hours layover is sufficient time at Frankfurt especially when a lot of times the flights arrive earlier than scheduled arrival time. I did a quick look on the United website and it seems like the last few flights from ORD-FRA have been getting in before the arrival time.
If there happens to be a delay, there are multiple flights from FRA-VCE that LH will re-book you on... so no worries there at all.
You will be going from the Z concourse to either A or B and that could be a bit of a walking distance so just head straight to customs when you de-plane and then to your gate... and/or like others have suggested, ask for assistance especially if your layover has shortened to less than an hour.

Frankfurt is a very efficient and big airport and the handling of baggage and passengers by Lufthansa systems and their staff is pretty impressive (and very much automated!) so I think your journey will be pretty smooth! I have traveled through the airport many times and while I have walked a lot - I have had very few problems with making my flight(s).

I would highly recommend that you double check at the United counter in ORD during check-in to ensure that your bags are tagged all the way to VCE. Due to the multiple PNRs, LH might have fixed it in their system but you want to ensure that United has it correctly reflected as well.

Andy..
1:20 is a bit tight but still "do-able" connecting time between SF domestic and the international terminal.
The United terminal (Terminal 3) is connected internally to the international terminal so just use the connector walkway and you won't have to go through security again but instead head straight to the Lufthansa. If you have any doubts, check with the ground staff when you de-plane. You could ask them for transfer assistance. It usually takes around 10-20 minutes to walk depending on the gates you land and the gate your connecting flight departs from. Sometimes smaller United Express-jet airplanes do not land in Terminal 3, so please ensure you know what terminal your flight is landing at. If it is anything other than terminal 3, I would add another 10-15 transit time. Whatever you do, try your best not to exit the domestic terminal otherwise you will have to go through security again and that could take up some time.