maile

I am flying United from the States and evidently must change carriers to Lufthansa when landing in Frankfurt (on to Toulouse). My luggage will be checked through to Toulouse but will I need to go through security and/or customs? Are the two airlines in the same terminal?

JoanneH

Yes you will need to go through passport control, security etc. allow at least an hour as the airport is a zoo and most in Europe flights leave from another terminal.

Jimingso

ditto. The last time we had to connect to Lufthansa in Frankfort I thought we had plenty of time. However, after making our way through the mess in the terminal, and after we finally found a Lufthansa agent to check us in, and after a very slow trip through security (this was a year ago), we barely made our flight. I would allow two hours minimum.

ms_go

Lufthansa and United are in the same terminal in Frankfurt--Terminal 1. There are several "piers" to that terminal (A, B, C), so you may arrive at one and leave from another. My experience with arrivals there is that there's often an agent(s) in the concourse as you're de-boarding to provide connecting gate information. Find out your connecting gate at that point, if possible, and then follow the signs; the terminal is big, but the signage is good. As this is a non-Schengen to Schengen connection, you'll go through immigration/passport check and security. I've made quite a few United to Lufthansa connections there (and at Munich), and in almost all cases United has issued boarding passes for the Lufthansa flight at check-in in the US. If for some reason you don't get one, then look for a Lufthansa transfer desk in the terminal.

Cowboy1968

Connecting at an unknown airport after a long red-eye flight is probably not on top of anybody's wish list.
Nevertheless, what most US travellers seem not to be aware of is that with carriers like Lufthansa very short check-in deadlines apply. Hardly anyone who will start his journey in Frankfurt going to Toulouse will be at FRA landside more than 60min before departure or 30min before scheduled boarding time, even with luggage to check. The boarding time is usually a joke anyway, since few flights actually board at that time but rather 10min or less (when you are lucky) before scheduled departure time. So if you think that getting to the gate just 30min before departure is "tight", it is in fact standard procedure.

You will most probably get your boarding pass for the connecting flight when you check-in in the USA. But double check the gate once you get to Frankfurt on the displays/ monitors!

The major downside in FRA is the extremely long pier A of terminal 1, where your flight to Toulouse will most probably depart from. So you should postpone any desire for a coffee or else until you made it through immigration and security (no customs, by the way) and finally are in the vicinity of your departure gate for Toulouse.

maile

Many thanks. Having some idea of what to expect is good.