I’ve learned so much from the General Airline Thread, I thought I could get some advice on this (mods - feel free to move this there if needed).
My college junior is doing a study abroad in central Europe this spring. I am getting ready to make the flight arrangements and was wondering if any seasoned Europe travelers could give me insight on the minimum layover time I should look for in order to make a connecting flight. None of us have traveled to Europe before.
Will she have to retrieve her luggage and go through customs and then re-check it before getting on her connecting flight? I want to make sure she has time to do that and won’t miss her connection.
She will leave from the U.S. and I am looking at connecting in either London (Heathrow), Frankfurt or Munich. Looking at layover times of an hour and forty minutes to 3 hours+
I like to have at least 2 hrs, preferably 3hrs for connections in Europe from the US.
If you buy the ticket as one ‘whole’ ticket, your daughter shouldn’t need to pick up luggage during the layover - her luggage will be checked to the final destination.
Also, I would recommend Frankfurt or Munich for connections over Heathrow. I just think both of them are easier airports to navigate.
I really like the Frankfurt airport in general, but would recommend a MINIMUM of two hours, preferably three or four for the layover. I have missed my connection more than once at that airport due to long lines…
Totally agree, that’s why I said at least 2 hrs, preferably 3hrs+.
Also depends on what class you are flying - the lower the class, the more time I’d allow for connecting flights. If you are flying economy I’d say 3hr+ connections. Deplaning can take time and lines are long for those not able to use priority boarding lines.
I’m not familiar with how boarding works at Munich or Frankfurt airports but at Heathrow, unlike the US, gate assignments are not announced until about 15 minutes or so before boarding begins. Just something to keep in mind when traveling abroad.
This will depend upon which airport the traveler goes through. For Heathrow, it will also depend upon whether the incoming flight and the outgoing flight are from the same terminal. It might even depend which terminals.
I have had situations when changing terminals at Heathrow when I was amazed at how long and how slow the process is. 3 hours might be reasonable. On other occasions it has been way less bad. However, for a flight from the US to Heathrow, followed by a flight from Heathrow to Europe, changing terminals seemed to be common. One thing that got me in Heathrow on one trip was that in the US they let me board with two carry-on’s (or a carry-on plus a personal item). In Heathrow I had to combine these into one item. I am not a fan (although the duty free shopping in Heathrow can be good).
I have never had a problem in Frankfurt. While I have flow to Munich, I have never changed flights there. I have changed flights in Amsterdam and it was also relatively efficient.
Once (actually twice, once in each direction) I changed airplanes in Reykjavík. This was probably the most efficient place that I have found to change planes. In one direction my flight was delayed and I only had 30 minutes on the ground. I was concerned, but this turned out to be 15 minutes more than I needed.
I would avoid Heathrow - it’s not only huge, but no longer part of the EU. I would also want a minimum of 3 hours. Immigration/passport control lines are too unpredictable.
Yes, I plan to buy the whole ticket - but even without the luggage pick up, she’ll still have to go through immigration at the connecting airport as opposed to the final destination airport?
It seriously depends on where she is flying to/from.
She will have to clear security again if she changes gate area, but may or may not have to go through immigration. If she isn’t changing terminals within the airport, she won’t need to go through immigration (in my experience) at the first airport. She would go through immigration at the final airport.
If she does need to change terminals, she will probably have to clear immigration and security at the connecting airport.
I flew through Heathrow twice last month. To change terminals you take a bus to the connecting terminal, where you go through the equivalent of another TSA screening. Passengers must bag all liquids, so she can save time by not carrying any in her hand luggage. There is no immigrations clearance in the UK before travelling to the EU since you never leave the secure area. The bus system is internal and only carries passengers from one post security area to another.
2.5-3 hours would be plenty of time between flights.
It’s not just time for the airport logistics. You have to expect that there is a fair chance that your first flight lands later than expected.
On our last trip, Viking arranged the flights. The layover in Chicago was 3 hours. When we were waiting to find out how late our Denver departure would be (turned out to be only about an hour - phew) it felt good to have that buffer.
I would buy just like here - right time, right price. It may be Iceland Air, LAN through Portugal, Air Europa through Madrid, or another. Even Air Serbia or Turkish Air.
They won’t sell you a ticket that isn’t planned for.
I wouldn’t limit myself to just those airports. There might be better options and you can adapt from there.
If costs are the same or close I greatly prefer the Munich airport. I rarely have delays through there and navigating the airport is more pleasant than Frankfurt or Heathrow. I’ve done 1 hot connections comfortably but I generally already try to have 2 hours because of potential delays at departure airport.
Not limiting it to just those airports but they’re the ones that come up for shortest flight time and best price. Reading the recommendations for longer layover times though will open up the search to additional airport options.
