morgannalefey

My husband and I will be flying from the US to Naples, Italy in mid September. I can choose to fly into either Frankfurt or Munich for the connection to Italy. In either case I'm going to have less than two full hours to get through the lines and onto my flight to Italy, is this going to be a problem? Should I look for longer lay overs? Is one better for a short layover than the other?

Mixter603

I've never been to Munich but the Frankfurt airport is HUGE!

TorontoSteven

Go through Munich. It is much better organized, smaller, newer and less crowded.

Frankfurt airport is a sewer to be avoided at all costs.

morgannalefey

Ok, will I have a problem getting through customs/immigration (or whatever it is I need to get through) in 1 hour 40 minutes if I go through Munich?

zoecat

Munich is a breeze and you will have no problem with 1 hr 40 minutes. You probably would not have a problem at Frankfurt either but Munich is sooooooo much nicer and easier.

Jean

The 'legal' connecting time in Munich for international-to-domestic is 30-35 minutes (depending on the terminal). In Frankfurt, it's 45 minutes. Obviously, Munich is easier, and IMO it's a much more pleasant airport.

But it all depends on whether your first flight is on time. Quoting Dirty Harry, "Do you feel lucky?"

Rastaguytoday

I've been through both many times. I agree Munich is smaller and nicer, having been open for about 20 years or so. Much much better than its old airport.

I think Frankfurt has been open, seemingly, forever.

Southam

Evaluating connections, I always pay attention to whether the second flight is with the same airline. It increases the chances that the mechanics of the switch will go smoothly, and if something does go wrong there is no question who has to take responsibility.

kansas

We connected through Munich on our September trip to Toulouse. Our friends used Frankfurt. All four of us felt like we had walked MILES to our connecting gate. However, we made our flight and our friends missed theirs! There were signs advising how many more minutes our walk was going to take. I had never seen signs like these! I would not hesitate to use this routing again.

Baudolino

Munich, for the reasons already given. If your Munich-Naples is on the same ticket, they'll put you on the next available flight, in the unlikely event that you miss the connection.

Rastaguytoday

kansas - One fun gimmick I did in ORD, with an AA terminal change with a late plane in, I found a service person wheeling an empty wheel chair. I have lung problems, so running was not an option. I told him I would pay him $20 to get me to my gate as fast as he could.

He did. Imagine flying down the concourse at about 3' off the ground, with this guy using the carpeted areas because it wasn't so crowded.

Worth the price just for a thrill ride.

lmont

Now, I'm a little worried. Frankfurt is our connecting location for flights in May. The departure connection only has a 1hr 10 minute connection. Is there a way to map out our transfer at the airport so we can at least have a mental idea of which way to go quickly?

TorontoSteven

You can probably make it as long as your in-bound flight isn't late, you don't need to clear customs or you need to pick up luggage. Also, it would depend on how far apart your gates will be.

I wouldn't expect your luggage to make the change though, I have had longer connections and my luggage did not make it.

Trying to get assistance from Lufthansa in Frankfurt is impossible.

J62

No,you cannot really map out your route at FRA, as incoming flights may park at a gate with jetbridge, or they may park on the tarmac and you take a bus to the terminal.

You just need to follow the signs to departure terminal and gate.

I've made 45min connections at FRA when my incoming flight is on time, and missed 90min connections when it's late.

If your flights are both on Lufthansa then be sure to talk to an agent greeting your flight in the terminal. They are usually very good about whisking late connecting passengers to the departure gate, and they can radio ahead that you're enroute. It doesn't guarantee they'll hold the flight, but they can help you take some shortcuts through the airport not normally open to the public.

yayoye

Munich is much better than Frankfurt for transfers.

At both you will have to go through immigration. After that, Frankfurt is a crapshoot as to timing to get to your connecting flight.

I once got into line at three different security points in Frankfurt because the officials kept closing them down and sending people to a different location.

I also got pulled out of line at security in Frankfurt presumably because I had a lot of electronics in my carry on - lots of plugs etc. Fortunately I had everything organized in clear plastic bags and the secondary check went very quickly. (The guards actually expressed pleasure upon finding such organization in the carry on bag).

And, I've been forced to gate check a carry on bag in Frankfurt, because the plane was supposedly too full for everyone to have a carry on suitcase (within the size limits I might add). Despite the supposed efficiency of Lufthansa, as we pulled out of the gate, we could see our gate checked bags sitting on the tarmac. They were on the next flight.

If you are transferring through Frankfurt, be prepared to be as efficient as you can about transferring. Don't even think about going to the bathroom until you have passed immigration and security, re-entered the secure area and found your gate.

Ackislander

When I had a tight connection in Frankfurt, Lufthansa had a representative to meet those of us who were transfering from a Barcelona flight to a US flight, and she shepherded us through the processes down some "alternative"hallways.

But it is a busy airport, and yayoe is right not to dawdle. I understand there are shops there, but I certainly never got to go into any of them!

Security is also very strict and perhaps humorless, and they confiscate lots of stuff that people have in their carryons without thinking (olive oil, wine, etc).

Jerrymac

PLEASE do not go through Frankfurt. Having just gone through there Feb 23, I can vouch for it as a dreadful experience almost guaranteed to have you miss your connection. We missed ours from FRA back to IAD because in part our incoming flight was late, but even if it had been on time there is no way we could have made a 45-minute connection time. The interEuropean flights are now handled by parking them Wayyyyyyyyy out in left field, then getting all passengers off and loaded on to a bus, then taken to a central location for more processing, immigration, passport control, and then finally you have to figure out where your connection back to the states might be. We weren't even close. We were lucky to get on another nonstop back to IAD five hours later. Avoid FRA!

greg

FRA is a strategic airport for US travelers to be ruled out based on limited factors alone. FRA is a hub to so many destinations to Europe as well having direct connections to US.

Suppose one has a choice of a 45 minutes layover at FRA at $1150 and a 140 minutes layover at $1200. Which one would one choose? Those working on a limited factor alone might choose the $1150 strictly alone the cost angle. Those working on layover time alone would choose the $1200 flight. However, each traveler has different considerations. One might have a layover in the Southeast US during the hurricane season or in ORD in winter while other does not. One might allow your friend to pick you up at the airport while other requires a taxi ride, etc. Sometimes a 45 minutes layover is the only one with a possibility of upside, hence strategic, and therefore worth risking. Other times it is not worth the layover risk.

The gate assignment at FRA is fluid. I am never be sure of the arrival gate until after the plane has landed. Even that, I had arrival gate assignment change while taxing to the terminal. The departure gate assignment is also fluid. This includes whether my flight even gets a departure gate slot on the concourse or need to be bused to the plane.