Need help on airline connection
 

I'm getting ready to book my airfare to Italy but I need your expertise since I've never traveled internationally before.

We're flying Lufthansa from LAX-Munich, then Munich to Naples. When we get to Munich, we have 30 minutes to make our next connection in Naples.

Is this enough time? Is there a good chance our luggage might get lost? Any past experience would be very much appreciated. Thank you!

30 minutes is not enough for a transfer in my opinion. There are just too many variables, the first being what if your original flight lands 1/2 hour late? Your luggage probably wouldn't be "lost" but would very likely end up on a later flight than you do.

My personal comfort level for international airport connections is 2.5 to 3 hours.

Munich airport has been trying to get its "minimum connection times" down to 30min, but frankly I can't see it, given the 50-50 chance that your LAX flight will be a little late, or that you'll be in the back of the bus and have to wait to get out, or any passport or other controls, etc. However, if both flights are on Lufthansa, it's on their neck if they sell you the ticket and things go wrong. They have to get you where you're going somehow.

Unless all of the planets, stars, coments, and an asteroid or two all align, 30 minutes will NOT be sufficient to make the connection. Assuming that Murphy's Law does not render your inbound flight late:

First, you'll have to go through customs in Munich. If you're the only flight there, not much problem, but what if 5 other international flights have landed all generally at the same time? What if you're on an A-340 or B-777 and are in the last row of economy? How long will it take you even to get off the plane?

Next comes the airport transfer. While I know nothing about Munich's airport, what happens if you're flight lands at gate 50 and your Naples flight takes off at gate 1? What if you have to go to the bathroom en route?

For comparison, I originally had 2-2.5 hours to clear customs in Atlanta between my inbound flight from Rome and my departure flight home to Charlotte two weeks ago. A couple of months before I left to go Italy, Delta rescheduled one or both flights so that that time window was decreased to only ~50 minutes. I called Delta, knowing that I've NEVER cleared customs at Hartsfield in less than 45 minutes, much less also going from Concourse E to Concourse B. Delta didn't give me any static when I explained the situation, and they rebooked me on the next subsequent flight ATL-CLT.

The point is to call Lufthansa's 800-number, <i>speak to a human</i>, and explain the situation. If they give you static, apply Magnasco's Law: hang up, call back, speak to a different person, and repeat until they give you the answer you want.

The caveats above are probably right on, but I flew Lufthansa to Florence through Munich in April and could have easily made a 30 minute connection. The Munich to Florence flight was late arriving in Munich, so I got to cool my heels for awhile at the gate. Going through customs at Munich took mere seconds, and my luggage was checked all the way through to Florence. The Munich airport is very easy to navigate.

We had an amazing experience with airport efficiency travelling with Lufthansa through Frankfurt. Our incoming flight was delayed so that we landed about the time our next flight was due to depart. There were only the two of us with that connection on the whole plane, and they took us off before everybody else, grabbed our luggage tags and extracted our luggage while we were ferried across the tarmac by car to our waiting flight.

Wouldn't recommend putting the system to the test in future though. Half an hour is a pretty short time, and you might find yourselves running through the airport.

If you do end up with the 30-minute connection, before you leave for your trip check the Lufthansa website for the next flight out from Munich to Naples. In the event you miss your connection, you can approach the counter with a little knowledge about how you want to be rescheduled.

I was curious enough to check the LH site. There're four departures/day Munich to Naples (I put in random late July dates): 9:20, 13:10, 15:15. 19:35. Hope this helps in your planning.