Hi,
I'll be flying Boston to Athens in April, 2010.
Last time I did this I had a layover in the US and gave myself plenty of time for a connecting flight.
If the layover is in Europe, do you still need as much time to connect?
Some flights show connection times of only an hour.
Thanks.

Don't risk it!

It all depends on the airline and the connecting terminal. Transit in Europe can mean going through Passport Control and Customs which can take a lot of time. For example, one hour at CDG for an Air France flight isn't enough. It's one of the worst airports in Europe for this and often means taking the added time to find the shuttle bus to another terminal for the ongoing flight, which can be a nightmare of stress. I've literally had to run to make my connecting flight because of the time it takes to process through Passport Control. You'll see a dozen inspection stations and only 3 agents working, even when there are a couple of flights worth of passengers lining up to get their passport stamped.

I will say that if both legs of your journey are on the same airline (or a partner) and you miss your ongoing flight because of delays the airline is supposed to put you on the next available flight at no extra charge, and put you in a hotel for the night if it's necessary.

I would just fly out of JFk nonstop to Athens for convenience.

Hi,

We just returned from Greece and we flew Swiss Air out of Boston to Athens. You change planes in Zurich, which is a small and easy airport to navigate. I think an hour is fine for Zurich, but not for larger airports. Have a wonderful trip.

Yipper

Thank you all for your advice!
My gut tells me to play it safe with a longer layover

Or CO nonstop from EWR to ATH.

We've also flown on LH to ATH via FRA and had no problems with a 1.5 hr connection.