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1 Hr 45 Min connection time at Cologne airport enough?

These are not my flights - a friend bought them for her daughter. Rome CIA on RyanAir. Then 1 hr 45 min layover. Then Eurowings to Seattle.

These are separate tickets.

She will have checked luggage. I don't know this airport. Is this enough time?

Posted by
3931 posts

The airport is fairly small, straightforward and easy to manage. iF her first flight is on time she shouldn't have trouble with a 1 h 45 min connection. Hopefully she will be able to get her boarding pass to the Eurowings flight while still in Rome (print out at her hotel?) or sent to her phone?

If her Rome to Cologne is delayed or cancelled will she have a back up plan? What is the cost of another ticket, Cologne to the US? Does eurowings fly 7 days a week? Just me the worrier thinking about, what if...

Posted by
19515 posts

What dates? I'm looking and Ryanair leaving Ciampino at 12:55 arriving Cologne at 15:05, Eurowings leaves for Seattle at 12:25, 2 hours and 40 minutes before the Ryanair flight arrives.

Posted by
2610 posts

CIA to CGN 12:55 to 15:05

CGN to SEA leaving at 16:50

And according to the Eurowings website, there's no online check in for these international flights at this point. So she'd need to go all the way out to the check-in counter at Cologne to get her ticket, I guess?

Posted by
19515 posts

You say she has checked luggage, so she will have wait for that. Flights to North America are required to be closed 1 hour in advance, although I don't see anything on the website about this. You can check-in on-line 72 hours in advance. They should contact Eurowings. I just think flying with an unrelated carrier to connect, with no recourse if Ryanair is late, is asking for trouble. I'd recommend she fly to Cologne the day before.

Posted by
2610 posts

Thanks, Sam. That was the conclusion I came to as well. I saw the check in closes at one hour prior and I saw that Eurowings cannot offer online check in for flights to Seattle at this point. It just seemed like a recipe for disaster and this is a 20 year old traveling alone on her first solo trip to Europe. I think I have talked the mom into rebooking her for a flight from Rome to Cologne the night before.

It just didn't seem doable to land, clear customs and immigration, go to the ticket counter, get a boarding pass and redo immigration with 1 hour 45 min when she'd need to be checked in for the new flight 45 minutes after she lands from Rome.

Small lesson for that family - just eating the cost of the first Ryan Air ticket.

Posted by
7709 posts

I flew from this airport for the 1st time about a 3 weeks ago on Eurowings and everything went swell (counter to all the negative stuff I read);

I take travel risks to save money when I don't have anyone but myself to depend on but I would never arrange and could not afford the consequences of air travel like this for someone else depending on me to get them somewhere;

Posted by
19515 posts

Not a biggie. You can buy a Sept 19 ticket for $46. Sept 18 is just $55. I also was just looking and Ryanair arrives at Terminal 2 and Eurowings departs from Terminal 1.
Cologne is a nice town to spend a night in anyway.