My husband and I are leaving for Europe in just over a week and I was wondering if anyone can answer my question. We are flying into Frankfurt Germany and then catching a connecting flight to Salzburg Austria. Will we have to go through customs in Frankfurt or not until we get to Salzburg? I'm concerned about having enough time to catch our connecting flight. Has anyone ever missed a connecting flight? What happens then?
Posted by
Denver, CO, USA
1601 posts
Even if you are flying 2 different airlines, the key is whether it is all on one ticket or if you have 2 separate tickets.
You should be able to interline your bags through to your final destinations. Especially if the airlines are part of the same alliance, you will not have any problems.
If you do not get your boarding passes when you check in for the first flight, which is a good possibility if you have 2 separate tickets, then when you land in FRA go straight to the transfer desk to get your ownward boarding pass. The transfer desk will be the ones to help if you miss your connecting flt.
Posted by
Bend, OR, United States
1167 posts
If you are using carryon only or have your bags checked all the way to Salzburg (which you should do) you may not have to go through Customs at all. You will, however, almost certainly have to go through Immigration (passport control) at Frankfurt. If you booked both flights through the same airline they should have given you enough time but, if not, they are responsible for re-booking you on another flight.
Posted by
OP
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
40 posts
Thanks for the information Jeff. Unfortunetely we are flying two different carriers. It does make me feel a bit better to know that the airlines will help get us on another flight if we do happen to miss ours!
Posted by
Portland, OR, USA
805 posts
Sarah,
Give your airlines a call and see if they can merge your itineraries into a single ticket (often possible). That way you can have your bags tagged thorough at your initial airport and not have to worry about picking them up in Frankfurt.
Posted by
Keizer, Oregon, USA
588 posts
Last year we flew from Vienna to Frankfurt and had to change planes. We had to leave the secure area to catch the Lufthansa flight. We didn't make it due to short time frames. Our bags were checked through but we spent the night in an hotel near the airport with only our carry-on Civita bags. Neither Lufthansa nor Air Berlin picked up the hotel tab. We left the next day and our checked bags arrived in Portland with us. Always have at least a couple of hours between flights if not on the same airline. Good luck!