Please advise: Dresden to USA Layover Times?

I realize you are trying to get the lowest price, but if you could use the same airline (e.g. Lufthansa for both of the first two legs, or United, a "partner" with Lufthansa) you would have almost no worries. Having two tickets from two airlines makes you a mote of dust blowing in a hurricane.

Frankfurt is an immense airport, but I've flown home on two segment flights with no problem. Obviously, Lufthansa "knows" the relative proximity of the two terminals you'll be in. The only wild card is possible crowding at the "non-EU" passport control in Frankfurt. (No luggage if you were on the same airline, it's checked through to Chicago for U.S. customs and immigration.)

Some advanced prep would be to use the Flight Information to see what two gates were involved at Frankfurt "yesterday" , on a few days this week, assuming they are "real" airlines with such a link on their home page. I have already checked gates for my Lufthansa code shares next month. (Not going through Frankfurt, sorry)

Edit: We have changed in Frankfurt with only an hour, successfully. But you have pointed out that there are big consequences for being put on a later flight to Chicago. Non-revenue passengers sometimes get slightly less consideration. (Happened to us in the Carribean on United's predecessor, eight hours to replacement flight.)

Are these flights going to be on a single ticket?

Thank you for posting so quickly! Yes, all flights are on the same ticket - using United flyer miles, so our checked luggage will go all the way through from Dresden to our final destination. Please let me know it that affects the advice that you offered. Thanks so much!

Another alternative would be to fly into Munich and transfer to a United flight into Chicago.

The good news is by using FF miles, the flights will be on partner airlines and its all one booking.

Have not been to any of the airports you mention, but as noted earlier, the airline should 'know' how long the transfers take and would schedule the connections accordingly.

I would probably choose the longer connection time in Frankfurt, to minimize the chances of a missed flight and the hassle of having to get re-booked to some other flight, even if the burden is on the airline to take care of it.

Frankfurt is big, busy, famously efficient -- but 65 minutes is very tight. The security scan of your cabin bag alone could take 15-30 minutes. And some trans-Atlantic operators want you in your seat for the second flight a half hour early, not just in the departure lounge. You have cause for concern, and the second option is only somewhat less stressful.

They are both problematic. Frankfurt is huge and even if you are in the same terminal (probably not) the gates can be far apart. Having extra time will relieve that stress, although an extra 15 minutes? May help. Either way you are probably going to have to move fast. On the other hand, 1 hour 45 minutes minutes in Dulles? Doable. You have to clear passport control, which can be quick or an hour or more, depending on how many wide body planes come in at once. Then you have to get to your flight. But, you're in the US so worst case United needs to rebook you. If these are the only options, I'd pick door number 2.

I ran the flights on MatrixITASoftware.com and the best flight for United leaves at 9:45 a.m. for Munich. There's a 1 hour layover until the United flight leaves non-stop for ORD.

The flights going through Frankfort leave earlier and ultimately take longer.

I would pick the first one. I'd rather be stuck in Frankfurt than at Dulles :)

Where are you ultimately traveling to after Chicago?

I have to disagree with the prior post. Getting "stuck" in any airport is not fun, but better to be stuck stateside. A flight to Chicago would be very doable. But, if you miss an international flight getting rebooked could be a real headache.

A HUGE THANK YOU to all my concerned fellow travelers who offered their helpful advice on flights from Dresden to the USA. I scoured the list of flights again and I was able to find ones that I'm much more comfortable with. We'll fly Dresden to Munich at 9:15am. (We've flown through Munich before and we thought it would be a smaller and easier airport.) We have a 1 hr. 30 min. layover. Then fly to Chicago where we have 3 hr. 45 min. layover before short flight to Indianapolis. (We also found better flights for our flight TO Germany.) Thank you for all the cautions you offered. They confirmed to me that we made the right decision to look at more options!

ADDITIONAL: We also purchased the priority boarding option to help with the layover time in Munich.

I have to disagree with the prior post. Getting "stuck" in any airport is not fun, but better to be stuck stateside. A flight to Chicago would be very doable. But, if you miss an international flight getting rebooked could be a real headache.

This is really a personal preference and how anxious you are to get home. I personally would rather be stuck in Frankfurt than at Dulles (but then, I've spent a lot of hours in Dulles over the years so I may be biased). It is true that you may have more domestic flight options. Missing a transatlantic leg often means a day delay. Rebooking is always a headache.

I've been delayed many times in the U.S., and I've never received a dime from a U.S. airline for a delay. On my last trip, I was stuck in the Bilbao airport for about 8 hours due to BA's systemwide failure. I agree that it was not fun. However, I did get myself rebooked and I got a check from BA for about $280 for compensation under EU 261. I was just on a flight to London. Europe definitely has more passenger protections in place than the U.S.