Flight From US to Basel Connecting in FRA with 50 min to board
Jun 2nd, 2013, 05:10 AM
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Flight From US to Basel Connecting in FRA with 50 min to board
I will be flying to Basel Switzerland from the US and I have a connection in FRA from Washing Dulles. It looks like I have around 50 min to board my flight at FRA to Basel. I'm a little worried about making this flight as I will have to go through passport and customs correct? I will have checked baggage as well and hope this just goes on through to Basel? I have flow to Frankfurt many times as my ending destination but this will be my first just connecting and I know how crazy the airport can get and I'm a little worried about making my flight to Basel. Any recommendations?
Jun 2nd, 2013, 07:24 PM
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It is not enough time. There are conflicting info whether the minimum connection time is actually 45 minutes or 60 for international->schengen, but either way, FRA is a huge airport and long walks may be required. 50 minutes is not enough time.
Jun 4th, 2013, 12:11 AM
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Is this 50 minutes between landing time of your IAD-FRA flight and the take-off of your connecting flight? 50 minutes EXTRENELY tight. The Basel flight probably closes for boarding 15-20 min before takeoff.
If you don't make it, it's not the end of the world. They'll either put you on the next flight to Basel or you'll have to get to Basel on your own.
The fine folks at FRA can be quite accommodating. I had a PHL-FRA flight with a 50-70 min layover before my FRA-NUE connecting flight. For whatever reasons we were late getting to the gate and as we were deplaning, they had a representative holding a sign with NUE and the folks connecting to NUe got fast-tracked thru so we were able to get to our connecting flight for an on-time take-off.
Worst case scenario is that you have to take the 82 Euro ICE from Frankfurt Flughafen to Basel Hauptbahnhof. It will take just under three hours.
So....don't sweat it. Keep calm and carry on.
If you don't make it, it's not the end of the world. They'll either put you on the next flight to Basel or you'll have to get to Basel on your own.
The fine folks at FRA can be quite accommodating. I had a PHL-FRA flight with a 50-70 min layover before my FRA-NUE connecting flight. For whatever reasons we were late getting to the gate and as we were deplaning, they had a representative holding a sign with NUE and the folks connecting to NUe got fast-tracked thru so we were able to get to our connecting flight for an on-time take-off.
Worst case scenario is that you have to take the 82 Euro ICE from Frankfurt Flughafen to Basel Hauptbahnhof. It will take just under three hours.
So....don't sweat it. Keep calm and carry on.
Jun 4th, 2013, 02:12 PM
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When you say you have 50mins to boarding does that mean you will have 80 mins till departure?
I fly once to twice a week domestic/ European in Germany, and I still hardly ever encounter a flight which starts boarding at 30mins prior to departure.
Usually, domestic/EU flights in Germany won't board until very close to actual "departure time".. that's why most flight times are extremely long (compared to the actual time needed to taxi, fly, taxi). In reality, you can be almost safe to assume that the aircraft scheduled to take you to Basel will not arrive from wherever until your fictitious boarding time. Add 15-20mins for turn around, cleaning, fueling, and you have the realistic boarding time.
While you should be able to make the connection, your baggage may not be so lucky. If you want to prepare for the worst, pack some stuff to change for next day in your cabin luggage.
If your luggage should not make the connection, it will be delivered same or next day to your hotel in Basel.
I fly once to twice a week domestic/ European in Germany, and I still hardly ever encounter a flight which starts boarding at 30mins prior to departure.
Usually, domestic/EU flights in Germany won't board until very close to actual "departure time".. that's why most flight times are extremely long (compared to the actual time needed to taxi, fly, taxi). In reality, you can be almost safe to assume that the aircraft scheduled to take you to Basel will not arrive from wherever until your fictitious boarding time. Add 15-20mins for turn around, cleaning, fueling, and you have the realistic boarding time.
While you should be able to make the connection, your baggage may not be so lucky. If you want to prepare for the worst, pack some stuff to change for next day in your cabin luggage.
If your luggage should not make the connection, it will be delivered same or next day to your hotel in Basel.
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