Plane transfers in Munich

I flew United from San Francisco to Munich with a 35 minute connection scheduled to Air Dolomiti and worried almost the entire flight…. The total time gate to gate, including passport control, was 20 minutes. Everyone had assured me that this type of connection at Munich was very common and entirely possible. Obviously one hiccup anywhere in the process might have caused an issue, but the connection between United and Air Dolomiti was quick and efficient.

Munich is as efficient an airport as you can get under normal circumstances. As long as
your flights are all on one ticket, you are protected if for some reason you miss your
connection. I would say there is a pretty good chance you will need to take the
train between the main terminal 2 and the "remote" terminal, but other than that,
you should be fine.

As others have said, you only need about 40-45 mins for a connection in Munich

A quick google search on shows Lufthansa is on time for 2 out of 3 flights. (1 out of 4 is more my experience with other airlines....) With a tight connection like this, if the first segment is late, odds are you’ll miss your planned connection. However, if you are on that 1 out 3 flights that are late, you’ll be automatically rebooked on the next available flight. Given that there several of these a day, it would give me peace of mind to book the tight connection knowing that if there is problem I’ll be taken care of. If you are worried, you can book the later connection (which may be the same plane you'd get if your flight is late!) However sometimes booking the wider connection takes the stress out though. Good luck and happy travels!

What percentage of Lufthansa flights are on time?

In 2023, 65.3 percent of flights operated by the Lufthansa AG arrived
on time, almost the same as the previous year.Apr 16, 2024

The Lufthansa terminal in Munich has been build with the express purpose of making short connections feasible. Competition between the different airline groups is fierce in Europe, and short connections is how they attract passengers.

So you can expect that whatever connection the airline offers you in Munich will work. The airline has a strong incentive to make this work. And in my experience they will sometimes even hold connecting flights.

UAL is showing 1 hr 50 minutes so that should be enough, or they wouldn't sell the ticket for that combination of flights.

Thanks everybody for your speedy and helpful replies. I have my answer -- Yes. United will book a connecting flight with plenty of time to connect. Onward!