Rome/SFO Flights -- Layover Connection Times

it really, really concerns me when I see a layover/connection times of
one hour or one hour and twenty minutes.

It makes perfect sense that such a tight time crunch concerns you.

We avoid tight connection times like you described above because that first flight could easily be delayed for any reason. 60-80 is not enough time especially catching a transatlantic flight that could close 30 minutes before departure. Then your 60-80 minutes becomes a 30-50 window.

For flights home, we arrive at the city for our transatlantic departure the day or night before. In early November, we'll be flying to JFK from AMS but we'll be originating outside of Dortmund. We won't risk flying from Dortmund or Düsseldorf to AMS the same morning we fly home. So we'll take the train to Amsterdam the afternoon before and arrive in time for dinner. Who needs that kind of stress?

I recently had a disaster with a one hour layover time in Munich, and
that was leaving from the same country; i.e., Germany.

What happened? I'm guessing you missed the flight. Were you then stuck?

I think you're venting more than asking for real answers.

Nobody here can tell you anything other than general guidelines, and your experience can (and will) vary. Connecting at major European airports takes some time. If all goes well, you make a tight connection. If it doesn't you may miss it. Some airports are a bit better or a bit worse (more/less efficient. more/less prone to delays) but that doesn't change the fact that it's always a roll of the dice.

On my last trip (US citizens), our inbound flight had a somewhat tight connection through AMS (an airport that's generally quite efficient). Turns out, it didn't matter how fast we got through customs/etc,. because our (Delta) flight departed Seattle 2 hours late. They had a tailwind and they tried to make up time, but we arrived in AMS over an hour late. We practically flew through passport control (carry-on only so no wait for checked bags) and made a beeline for our gate, but we missed our connection.

On our return, we had a perfectly reasonable connection (over 90 minutes) through Frankfurt. Our inbound flight was on time. But we came within a few minutes of missing our connection, because the airport was jammed, passport controls were chaotic (airline reps came out and yelled to waiting crowds, "follow me to faster passport control!", 200 people followed the agent as she popped through previously closed doors, up back stairways, down corridors, only to arrive at a small immigration desk whose computers all crashed; hundreds of passengers were stuck there with nobody moving for 20 minutes while their IT staff tried to troubleshoot; 30 minutes later they started slowly processing people one at a time). We made our connection, but just barely.

The point is: stuff happens sometimes. To a large degree it is beyond your control. You won't know until you're in the thick of it.

I prefer to build in a lot of time for critical connections, and that greatly reduces stress. Lately I find myself building in more and more of it, as I'd rather have time to kill at the airport than be stressed over the "are we gonna make it?"

We have had good and not so good experiences connecting at a number of major airports in Europe. We use Aer Lingus because they fly direct to Europe from our home airport (Hartford - Bradley).

At the end of our trips, we fly to Dublin and stay overnight in Dun Laorghaire, which is connected to the airport by bus. On the day we fly home, we have a leisurely breakfast and take the bus to Dublin airport to catch the 2:20 flight home. It is also nice to be able to go through US customs and immigration in Dublin on the way home.

The consensus of what I have seen here is that Paris (CDG) is to be avoided like the plague as a transfer point. AMS seems to get the most positive comments.

Have you looked at FCO-US-SFO routing? A lot easier to get to SFO from a US airport than from Europe if there is a problem with a connection.

SFO is also my flight base. I know not to book tight connections out as there are usually delays in SFO. Coming back to SFO, I have a couple of strategies:

• I tried to get at least 2 hour connection times. I typically connect through Frankfurt and Munich and infrequently through Paris. If you don't hit a strike, 2 hours typically works for me when I am connecting through a European City. It is a bit riskier when I use Frankfurt as a connection from Bangalore or Tel Aviv.
• I always look at an airport to connect through that has additional flight options that day and try to travel in the morning that way if I miss a connection, then know exactly when the next flight options are.
• I have all my customer service numbers handy (if you use a travel agent, traveling internationally I still find it easier to go through the airline customer service for a rebook.
• If I am really concerned, then I will book a flight the night before, stay over at an airport hotel, and then catch the flight in the morning. I have only done that when I really needed to be home on time, like for my parents 50th anniversary.
• Last tip, if there is not a big price difference, choosing an airline that you have status on helps. It doesn't get you through security/passport control faster, but it does help in rebooking.

Good luck,
Sandy

"Have you looked at FCO-US-SFO routing? A lot easier to get to SFO from a US airport than from Europe if there is a problem with a connection. "

That is my suggestion too. At JFK or Newark or ORD, you do have to allow a few hours for a connection when coming from Europe, but the advantage is that if you miss it, there will be other flights to SFO that day.

Alitalia flies Rome to LAX; you should be able to book a single ticket FCO-LAX-SFO on Delta, and from LAX to SFO you will always have options if there's a problem.

There's also the nonstop flight on Norwegian from OAK to Rome, if you can use OAK instead of SFO.

Not sure when you are trying to fly. Previous poster noted direct flights on Norwegian to Rome, but for 2019 they don't start until April and only on Tuesdays and Saturdays. And it is to and from Oakland.

We have had good luck when our transfer airport was Frankfurt, even with very tight connection times.

Norwegian Air has a non-stop flight from Rome FCO to Oakland (OAK). That's how we're getting to/from Rome next year. I know you specified SFO, but if necessary, you can take BART from OAK to SFO. Or Uber to your real destination.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions and ideas. I hope to firm up my plans any day now.

Munich (MUC) is actually one of the best to transfer if you take Lufthansa from SFO, together with Amsterdam (AMS) if you take KLM. So your incident at MUC was a rare occurrence. I wouldn’t worry about a one hour only layover at either airport.
You can fly to Italy from the Bay Area in several ways:
OAK FCO with Norwegian (the only non stop, however it’s seasonal and twice weekly only)
You can also take Norwegian to Rome from OAK via their hubs in LGW and ARL.

Otherwise, from SFO you can go to FCO via the following European gateways:
LHR (British or a combination of Airlines)
FRA (Lufthansa and United)
MUC (Lufthansa)
ZRH (Swiss)
AMS (KLM)
MAD (Iberia)
CDG (AirFrance)
IST (Turkish)
CPH (Scandinavian Airlines System, or SAS)
I don’t recommend to fly from SFO to FCO Via a US airport in the eastern US, unless the price is substantially lower. The journey would be hours longer, and the possibility of missed connection is high due to weather conditions in the northeast (thunderstorms in summer, winter conditions in winter). Atlanta is less risky but also longer. Remember that if you miss a connection in the US due to weather (or, as rules say, “act of God”), you are responsible for the hotel and transport expense while stuck in NY or anywhere. In the EU, the airline is always responsible for the ground costs while stuck (Europeans are not into God much). Also the day you return, if your first port of entry is NY you must retrieve your luggage and go through customs at that port of entry. That significantly delays your layover in the eastern US. When connecting in Europe, your customs is at your final destination, only passport control is at the first Schengen port of entry, therefore no need to worry about luggage.

You can also take Norwegian to Rome from OAK via their hubs in LGW and ARL.

ARL ? Presumably ARN is what was intended?

Last year we flew Rome to SFO via Philadelphia. The flight was delayed and they rebooked through Chicago as we would be unable to make the connection. We ended up home about the same time.
We also flew SFO to Rome several years ago through Frankfurt. We were delayed out of San Francisco so we got rebooked. At the time the connection at Frankfurt coming home was a mess. We have since flown from Frankfurt twice with no problems. I prefer the long flight to the US, then the shorter flight home.

No Joe. I meant Arly National Park airport (ARL) in the Burkina Faso.
Norwegian flies from Oakland non stop to the Burkina Faso and connections at that airport are fast, especially if you are chased by a lion on the way to the gate.

I meant Arly National Park airport (ARL) in the Burkina Faso.
Norwegian flies from Oakland non stop to the Burkina Faso and connections at that airport are fast, especially if you are chased by a lion on the way to the gate.

I suppose making a change at CDG really isn't that bad when the alternatives are considered

@roberto lmbo. thanks
know about "act of God", i call "mother nature" happened in new orleans years ago, 3 hour wait for thunderstorm, got to houston at midnight missed flight to oakland, given packet with comb, toothbrush and toothpaste, no deodorant, no clean paper panties or pj's and an $89 hotel bill for airport hotel. we laughed so much and still do, taught me well about booking flights, layover times, arrival and depature times.
aloha