Connecting flights in Frankfurt Airport
 

We are flying from Toronto to Dresden via Frankfurt. We will be flying Air Transat, flying into Terminal 2 in Frankfurt. We would then need to make our way to Terminal 1 to catch a Lufthansa flight to Dresden. Our Air Transat Flight will arrive at 1:15 p.m., and our Lufthansa flight will depart at 16:25 p.m. Will we have enough time to deplane, go through customs, collect our luggage, travel to Terminal 1 and check in for our Lufthansa flight? Thank you so much for any help you could provide.

Three hours should be enough time.

PLENTY of time, assuming your arrival is not WAY late!

I recommend you check-in with Lufthansa before you leave home. Then all you need to do is drop off your bags after you get them from baggage claim in FRA.

Three hours should be enough time.

See if the departing airline has a luggage agreement with Lufthansa. If they do, ask the departing airline to check the bags all the way through which will make things easier in FRA.

All good suggestions.

Three hours are more than plenty. You should spend some time in a café. The only risk is that your transat flight is delayed heavily.

Are the flights on the same or on different tickets?

I am asking for the unlikely case that your flight from Canada is delayed by several hours.

If both flights are on the same ticket do not worry. Lufthansa will rebook you on a later flight.

If the Lufthansa flight is booked separately they are not responsible for a delay of the Transat flight. Then you have to rebook your LH flight (best before you depart from Canada, you can do it by phone) and eventually pay a nominal rebooking fee.

There are two more LH flights to Dresden after 16:25, totally 7 flights per day. So, whatever happens, you will arrive.

I forgot to add that if the flights are on the same ticket your baggage will be checked through to your final destination. So, no hassle with baggage in Frankfurt.

Thank you so much for your very helpful suggestions. We are flying Air Transat for their very affordable Club Class and they are not affiliated with Lufthansa. I am being my own travel agent and booking both flights separately. Now, fingers crossed the Air Transat flight is on time! Again, thanks so much, I feel much better :)

Since you are booking the flights separately you are taking a calculated risk. Be prepared to buy a full fare last minute ticket on Lufthansa if you don't make it to the FRA-DRS flight on time. They won't particularly care why you are late.

Last (and so far only time) I flew Transat it took appr. 30 minutes from arrival at gate and leaving baggage claims (passport control/ waiting for baggage included).
To transfer to Terminal 1, use the people mover inside the terminal building. There is also a transfer bus from the curb, but that will drop you off a bit further away from the check in areas.
When you are in the Lufthansa check-in area, look for the self check-in kiosks where you can also self check-in luggage. I'm not 100pct sure that Lufthansa got them in FRA, but they should.
The way to the actual gate can be quite a trek if you got one at the end of pier A, so you should proceed thru security without much idling around landside after you checked your luggage.

J62, I understand and thank you for that.

Cowboy1968, that is very helpful information about transferring to Terminal 1, I will definitely take your advice. Many thanks.

>>>Be prepared to buy a full fare last minute ticket on Lufthansa<<<

You will not have to buy a full fare ticket. I do not know the conditions of your LH ticket. Some tickets are fully flexible, so you can rebook any time. Other tickets allow change of flights with an additional fee. Only the super-saver tickets do not allow any rebooking.

If you have a restricted saver ticket and you have to change flights you will have to pay a fee. Furthermore, it may happen that your booking class is not available any more, so you have to pay an additional fee for a more expensive class. This is the reason why I told you to change your booking as soon as you learn that there will be a delay.

Take your mobile phone on the plane and have the Lufthansa number ready. If you learn that your flight will be substantially late and how much much your flight will be delayed call Lufthansa and change your booking.

Since I am a business traveller I do that regularly. It is just routine.

Thank you traveller1959, we will definitely take that into consideration. We are at the mercy of the weather and airline gods when we travel, anything can happen and often does. I realize the risk is there, but as you say, if we book appropriately and prepare to pay somewhat more if we need to rebook, things should go smoothly. Thanks again.