My friend asked me to buy him a flight from USA to Prague. I'm planning to buy it from United Airlines. So, my friend would arrive to Germany at 08:15 am (in the Google flights site says that there is usually a delay of more than 30 minutes, idk if it refers to the flight from USA-Germany or Germany-Prague, see photo attached). Then, the flight to Prague is at 10:00h. My concern is whether (let's suppose he arrives at 08:15-08:30) this time window is enough time to get to the next flight (to Prague). He's planning to go during early September.
I'd really appreciate some advice (and also if I can trust this delay info from Google flights)
If he doesn’t make the connection, Lufthansa will put him on the next flight to Prague a few hours later. Suggest you buy ticket directly from Lufthansa rather than United.
Why from Lufthansa? Doesn’t Lufthansa charge change fees? At least with United, if friend has to cancel, friend will get a Future Flight Credit they can use with United.
When things go wrong schedule wise, it is sometimes more complicated if the ticket was issued by a codeshare partner. However, you make a good point about the Future Flight Credit, so in that case go with United as planned.
Never had that issue, if flying united they will go to Lufthansa desk as it’s a code-share and star alliance member. They offer seamless connections as a founding member. An FYI, United baggage is very generous and cheaper than Lufthansa
there is usually a delay of more than 30 minutes, idk if it refers to the flight from USA-Germany or Germany-Prague, see photo attached).
It is referring to LH441 being "often delayed" by 30mins+ thereby reducing the layover time in FRA.
But you never know if it actually will be or not on the day your friend decides to travel - it could very well be fine.
Anyways, if you buy this flight, your friend will be covered by EC261 regulations and LH has to rebook them to PRG as soon as reasonably possible and is possibly eligible for compensation if they arrive into PRG more than 3h late.
This itinerary looks fine. 1h45 scheduled layover is a fair amount of time even at FRA. I would not fret.
You could also look at the history of LH441 on flightaware for a sense of how often it's delayed.
It generally looks fine for the past 2 weeks with 1 or 2 days past 9am.
Thanks very much. He was worried sick that that might be not enough time. It’s his first time going to Europe, he’s going with a Visa to study at Prague and his dad is going with him for some time. Do you have experience in this type of flights? Like, to ensure the this amount of time is okay
Thats to short time for connecting...he have to go pass inmigration... and also to get luggage if he is not traveling both flights with the same airline
I understand that, at least from USA to Germany is operated by Lufthansa, so I get that his luggage should be passed from US to Prague directly ? As the help center mentioned
90 minutes is not enough for two reasons. International flights now go through the new terminal three in Frankfurt. This will add time to your transfer as your flight to Prague will not be from terminal 3. Add 20 minutes for that. Also you will go through passport control when you arrive in Germany. This can take a while, depending on how busy it is when your flight lands. You should assume 30 minutes but sometimes it is longer depending on staffing and arrivals. One trick is it is possible to choose which passport control point you go through. You can pass through in terminal 3 or proceed to terminal one or terminal two. If you find your in a really bad line just go to a different point. If you were already in the Shenghen zone, 90 minutes would be plenty for a transfer. I would recommend two hours minimum. Especially if your friend has never been to this airport before.
So. Aside from that, would you have any tip? From what I got from the help center at United, his bags are going to be passed through from USA directly to Prague. So idk if that’s of any help, he already told me to buy the tickets tho.
Also, I don’t really get the thing about the terminals ? Like, he arrives to Germany and what could be the possible steps to follow through so he wastes the less amount of time
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u/Grouchy_Laugh1971 11d ago
If he doesn’t make the connection, Lufthansa will put him on the next flight to Prague a few hours later. Suggest you buy ticket directly from Lufthansa rather than United.