elizabethgrace

Hello! I am flying with Delta from Detroit MI to Frankfurt Germany in late August and then flying from Frankfurt to Hannover Germany with Lufthansa. The issue is I arrive in Frankfurt at 8:30 am in Terminal 2 (as of now) and my flight with Lufthansa to Hannover is in Terminal 1 at 9:50. Can anyone tell me any tips on how to quickly navigate the airport quickly? By the way I do have to re-check my luggage(one checked suitcase) with Lufthansa. Thanks so much for your help!

adrienne

Two options:

1. Do not check luggage - carry on only.
2. Since these tickets were booked with a travel agent (and improperly booked), have the TA put you on the next flight to Hannover and not charge you a change fee.

I did tell you on your other thread that if you have to collect your bag and re-check it you would not make the connection.

jane1144

had a short connection in Frankfurt a couple of years ago. I printed the airport maps before I left and chose seats on my first flight as far forward as I could get them which enabled us to get off earlier. We had carry on luggage only. ( only way to travel!!!). You have to clear into immigration and then go back through security. Our experience was that this was faster than in North America. We had to change terminals. When clearing back through security, there was an expedited lane if you had less than 30 minutes to your flight. The airport is well signed in English. Good luck!

lavandula

I think your connection is too tight. Having said that, there are a lot of passages behind the scenes that airport staff have access to. If you identify yourself to the staff as someone with a tight connection who is flying Lufthansa, there is a good chance that you will be whisked down one of those passages to get there a bit faster. However, I would not like to depend on that and would still follow Adrienne's advice and try to get the flight rebooked. There would be more than one Lufthansa flight to Hannover daily and it should not be a problem to rebook. Frankfurt is an awesome airport but who wants to miss a flight and go through the trauma of that?

For when you do rebook:
http://www.frankfurt-airport.com/con...minal_1_2.html

There is a Sky Line between terminals (I forget if it's a monorail or train, but this is pretty fast and frequent). It's marked on the map (from Zone D/E to Zone B).

Lavandula

greg

This does not look good.

If you have to retrieve luggage as you indicated, you have to WAIT for luggage to come out. If your plane fails to obtain a gate, that is you get dumped in middle of nowhere in tarmac and need to get bused over. This adds more time to your already tight schedule. After you get reunited with your luggage, you have recheck-in. Your only hope here is if you can get expedited or your flight from Detroit arrives super earlier than schduled. The many stories of Lufthansa whisking them through the terminal from gate to gate are probably not relevant since those stories dealt with people not needing to recheck luggage.

Looking at your other thread on the same(?) topic, http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...r-532135-2.cfm, although you have not answered whether you have one PNR or multiple PNRs, your posting that you have to recheck your luggage seems to imply you have multiple PNRs in play. All the flights booked at the same time does not mean anything. You can still end up with multiple PNRs, which seems to be the case?

How did the TA end up booking this kind of tickets with trouble written all over? They could have booked fine itineraries from Detroit via Amsterdam all on Delta/KLM which you could have checked your luggage all the way to Hanover AND let Delta be responsible for making up missed connections at their expense. You could have done the same using United/Lufthansa combination via Frankfurt.

cruiseluv

Now that you have confirmed that you have to claim and recheck baggage I can tell you that in all likelihood you will not make that connection. Frankfurt is an exasperating airport, vast, poorly marked, confusing. As I said in my other thread, the Lufthansa agent that was helping me told me not to pay attention to info on monitors as it was not to be trusted. I've never seen anything like that. You're not even in the same terminal. The best advice was given above, if you need to remain with these flights travel with a carry-on.

nytraveler

You need to go back to your travel agent and have them rebook this - at their own cost. Any agent that would book this combo as separate tickets has not clue what they are doing IMHO (this is why it's much better to do yourself).

I would present this to the agent as fix it or else - since if you miss the second flight you will be considered a no show - and will have to get a new ticket at the walk up price - which could be MUCH higher.

And I wuoldn't use this agent again.

elizabethgrace

Thanks everyone! I talked with both Delta and Lufthansa and they told me just to have my luggage checked to my final destination Hannover, because they have a baggage agreement, so I will make my flight! Thanks again!

adrienne

So who told you that you could not check your bag through to Hannover? The Travel Agent?

nytraveler

OK -

If they will check through then for you to have the best chance of making the next flight you need to:

Make sure you print our boarding passes for both flights before you leave home

Get a seat at the front of the incoming flight - will save 10 to 15 minutes deplaning

Walk as briskly as possible to Immigration - some people will be jogging and you can;t afford to be at the end of the line esp since there will likely be several planes coming in from the US then

As soon as through Immigration find a Lufthansa employee, explain the problem and ask if there is a quicker way to get to the right gate for the ongoing flight

elizabethgrace

I called both Delta and Lufthansa (I have gotten mixed answers multiple times--trying to reach my travel agency IYWT) and they just said they have a baggage agreement and to bring my itinerary, ticket #s, and confirmation codes to my first flight with Delta out of CLE and make sure they ticket my baggage to Hannover (HAJ) and not Frankfurt.
Has anyone been through the Frankfurt airport and could give me a brief walk through to what I should expect after getting of the plane.

adrienne

<< Has anyone been through the Frankfurt airport and could give me a brief walk through to what I should expect after getting of the plane. >>

Yep. It's the same as every other airport I've been to. You need to follow the signs (and everyone else coming off your flight) to passport control and have your passport stamped. There are 2 lines - you go through the one that is not for EU citizens. There are facilitators in case you become confused and they will direct you to the correct line.

Then follow the signs to Terminal 1 and your gate. You'll go through security en route.

It's really easy. Just keep following the signs. I barely pay attention to what I'm doing at the airport - just keep walking.

BTW - do you know that when you return (for your flight to the US, not within Europe) you'll need to turn on your phone and laptop/tablet at security? I've just learned about this. I'm sure this will require extra time at security.

cruiseluv

Hopefully your plane from the US will connect with the terminal and you will not be waiting on the tarmac for buses for over 30 mins like it happened to me last week. Oh, and the flight attendants had no information about connecting gates. Then you get to the airport and the monitors dont give the gate. Your best bet is ask anybody wearing a Lufthansa uniform to see if they have info about your gate. Sorry, nothing is easy at Frankfurt airport.

elizabethgrace

Thanks! I am actually spending a year abroad and this is my first flight alone! But I did here that about the flight back (to make sure they aren't hollow)! I just talked to the Delta guy again and he said just to bring my itinerary, ticket and confirmation code numbers with me to CLE and they will check the bag to Hannover. This may sound stupid but, will I not see my checked bag until I get to Hannover? (not in Detroit or Frankfurt??) THANKS AGAIN!

adrienne

That's correct. If your bag is checked through to Hannover then that is where you will pick it up.

I always make sure the agent puts the appropriate tag on the bag as one time the wrong airport code was affixed to the bag and it ended up some place other than where I was. I think things are more automated now as I've noticed that my name is on the baggage tag along with other identifiers.

Are you returning the same way - Frankfurt, Detroit, Cleveland? That means that you pick up your bag at the first point of entry in the US, clear immigration and customs there, put your bag back on the conveyer for the last leg of your journey (Detroit to Cleveland).

For some flights connecting in Canada that is the point of entry to the US (Montreal and Toronto (I think) and that is where you collect your bag and then redeposit it.

Enjoy your time abroad!

adrienne

You should review this document before you pack.

http://www.tsa.gov/traveler-informat...at-know-you-go

elizabethgrace

Actually I do not know when I will return I am going with Rotary for the year and have a flexible return ticket (I will come back next summer some time). Another quick question, do I receive all of my boarding passes in CLE if that is the airport I will check in with? Danke!

adrienne

Print them at home 24 hours before your flights. That way you only need to drop off your bag in Cleveland, not stand in line to get your boarding pass.

You need your confirmation numbers to do this; go the Delta & Lufthansa sites. Note the time differences when printing as Germany is 6 hours ahead of EDT so it's 24 hours before flight on Germany time, not Cleveland time.

elizabethgrace

Okay thanks a lot for your help!

adrienne

I just checked your flight times - you won't be able to print the Lufthansa boarding pass but you can print the Delta passes. You'll get the Lufthansa boarding pass in Frankfurt. This could pose a problem. The only place I've seen the boarding pass kiosks has been at the check in desks but you don't have time to stop there. Call Lufthansa and ask if you can get a boarding pass at the gate in Frankfurt.

I get my intra Germany Lufthansa boarding passes when I check in (in the US) but I fly either Lufthansa or United and they're part of the same group. Delta is not part of this group so I don't think they can issue a boarding pass for Lufthansa.