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Question
Hi all,
Trying to figure out how to streamline my trip a bit more since my itinerary has changed. My current trip has me flying out of Barcelona, however I will be ending my trip in Seville. United offers a few options, but one that doesn't have a 16 h plus layover is SVQ → FRA, a 1h20min layover, then FRA → ORD. Is this reasonable or should I bite the bullet and do the longer layover? Not sure if I have to go through passport control (US citizen) since it's still in the EU. TIA!
ETA: thank you all so much for the advice - decided I’m going to get back to BCN somehow and fly out of there because prices got jacked up lol. Either way sounds like the layover is a bit tight to do in a busy and unfamiliar airport!!
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I found Frankfurt tough. I had to go through two security points just moving around the airport. The second one was just in the middle of one of the terminals which seemed really bizarre and has reinforced my always “checking my gate exists.” That one took 30 minutes to get through by itself, and I don’t think most other people were expecting it either (lots of sobbing in line about missing flights). You could get lucky with two gates next to each other though so who knows.
I’ve had this same experience going through Frankfurt airport. What I’ve found is that if you’ve booked your connection through the same airline, they are already expecting your delay and will not leave without you (Provided you aren’t dawdling through the duty free store). I saw a good handful of stragglers board the plane, one at a time, as they made it through the checkpoints.
However, the whole experience is definitely stressful. The checkpoint between terminals is incredibly long and there were a lot of people anxious about missed flights in my experience as well. YMMV
Yeah the security lines at Frankfurt are ridiculous. I had fast track/business class line and it took an hour and the line wasn’t that long at all. I don’t understand there logistics there.
I saw so many people that were angry. Everyone in line was complaining and it was moving insanely slow because it was only one machine. They didn’t even try to open another lane.
Good to know, holy crap
If it's 1h20 VS 16h I'd try the shorter one and roll the dice. Worst thing is that you end up waiting longer like you would have anyhow. Is there any option other than United? They're one of the worst of the worst.
There's usually a Lufthansa via United or a Lufthansa - Lufthansa I've noticed.
Only two I've ever booked to or from Chicago there that are direct.
I have had a more worst case scenario where I flew direct Lufthansa to DTW instead and then just drove the rest of the way due to the ORD flight being cancelled.
I had an hour layover in Frankfurt from Amsterdam last year and only reason I missed the flight was due to a delay in my Amsterdam flight had before takeoff. The Frankfurt airport isn’t small and the gates I had were on either side of the airport. Also, there is security before the terminals. So an hour and a half is probably doable if there is no delay in my opinion.
I've missed a flight there on two occasions trying to catch your exact flight. sameish layover. the EU has laws that require them to pay you for this sort of thing though. So it was all good. Got rebooked and got money later. I've also caught the plane on 5 other occasions with a similar layover. With the way Frankfurt is layed out and how messed up their processes are I consider 5:7 a win.
edit: loving how literally everyone else has had my same experiences in Frankfurt. It's a nice airport but a PITA.
Frankfurt is huge, spread out and there will be a lot of running. It’s doable but not great.
I would try to find a longer layover if coming from the US. Like others mentioned FRA is a big airport and often long lines for passport verification/checkpoint (after customs) to get to the US gates. Even with a 2~3hr layover, almost missed a flight due to United/Lufthansa departure delays and had to run (with luggage) to the gate (which was at the very end of the terminal).
It really is a hit or miss. One time I had to wait a 1 hour just for the security line and I was fast track line and that line took longer than the regular line. Another time it went by fast.
I think you would need to pass through passport control in Frankfurt as your layover and your final destination is EU so it would consider domestic as traveling from Frankfort to Paris doesn’t need immigration. Do you know if you need to change terminals? If you do then you definitely need to go through immigration as you need to exit and take the bus to go to another terminal.
If it's booked as a connecting flight through (and booked directly with the airline not a third party) then this is likely to be tight but doable.
If you're booking independent flights either with separate airlines or using a third party (eg Expedia) then nope, you're inviting trouble.
If you go ahead and book then check everything and streamline everything. Will you have to reclaim your bags? Will there be additional security checks/lines?
It's worth paying extra to get a seat right by the doors on your first flight. And streamline your luggage. If you're one bagging it then bear in mind that for many European airlines that means something different to US airlines (one carry on can mean an underseat bag only and a personal item is pretty unheard of). So if you're transferring onto a flight provided for your airline by a different company then the baggage rules may differ. It's also worth getting priority boarding on your first flight to ensure any cabin bags are stowed right next to you and not gate checked.
Hi.
I'm trying to understand what's going on here..
You're flying from Barcelona, to Sevilla, to Frankfurt, to Chicago??
Or is it BCN to Frankfurt to Sevilla?
1:20 isn't a long layover no matter how you swing it, but it sounds like whatever you're trying to do either involves a very long or too short layover.
Since Sevilla is involved somehow - there are direct flights from jerez to Frankfurt. And somehow since Barcelona and Sevilla are involved - the train between the two is high speed, and there are cheap flights directly between jerez and BCN.
Again I'm not quite understanding what your route is since you say Sevilla is your final stop, and then list a route indicating Chicago is your final stop, but it sounds like you don't know about the above details, so I hope that helps you.
Fwiw I'm an American living outside of Sevilla for the past month and flew in from jfk to BCN to jerez and then train.
Years ago i got a 1h & 20 min connection on my way to Beijing at Frankfurt airport, i made it in the nick of time. It is doable but it is definitely not a good experience to be running around with your luggage all stressed out. Frankfurt airport is huge, do some pre-planning if you can't avoid it/get a longer layover.
I got lost at FRA once (luckily on a long layover so no missed flight) It was confusing when I ended up going through security again - airside and landside were not clearly marked.
Not enough time at all. I had a 2hr20min layover in Frankfurt after landing there from the US before a connecting flight into Greece and I thought it would be plenty of time to stroll around, eat lunch, etc.
Their airport is so chaotic that I almost missed my flight despite doing everything as fast as I could. I had to wait for the terminal shuttles that were super delayed, then exit the entire airport to re-enter through a different terminal (you are forced to do this), wait at the counters to check-in to get your physical boarding pass (no digital ones for my connecting flight), go through the security line and passport control again, and then go to your gate. It took 2hrs30mins in total and I was the last one to make it onto my flight. Absolutely insane. I round avoid connecting at large airports like Frankfurt or Amsterdam for this reason.
No. Frankfurt is one of the worst designed airports I have ever been to. If this is your first time I am 100% sure you won't make it in that time. On top of that, there is no one to help you in the entire airport. Also expect some group to be protesting their working conditions that week because that is the normal in Europe. So an airport which was already working with only 50% of the required employees is probably going to be working with only 10%. I would suggest at least 3 hours.
It’s a horrible airport lol. The only time I’ve come close to missing my flight was due to lines at Frankfurt, and the layout was just kinda confusing to me as well. I personally would want at LEAST 2 hours there to feel comfortable but obviously YMMV.
If it’s that or an overnight layover I would chance it with the knowledge that it might be a stressful connection personally, but another option could be taking the train to Madrid, where you’d have way more itinerary options back to ORD. There’s 2h30 to 3hr long trains from Seville to Madrid all day. I have no idea if it would end up being quicker or cheaper or less stressful but it might be worth looking into as an option if you decide you want to avoid the 1h20 layover in Frankfurt.