Frankfurt Airport: Worse hub in Europe

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Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 23 total)

  • Swissdiver
    Participant

    I generally avoid FRA like the plague. This time, I could not as, for some reasons, flights were all very busy if not full. So I gave it a new try. Big mistake!

    Gate A68 is at the end of terminal 1. It is a 15 minutes walk from the main hall (I walk fast). But it is a bus gate! How absurd is it to have bus gates so far? FRA is really ill conceived!

    Boarding was a mess as well (although not less than 5 ladies were working there). Previous flight (to Warsaw) was delayed by over 20 minutes. So the supervisor suggested the lady in charge to change our boarding gate (possible since it is a bus boarding). She refused as she stated it was too complicated. This of course delayed our flight, but she couldn’t care less. We actually boarded 30 minutes later.

    Worse, a passenger to Warsaw was in stand-by. He was asked to wait in front of the desk and did so. When occasionally he was asking about his chances to fly, he was just rebuked (because he wasn’t German?). Until the last time when staff told him the flight was closed (not full)! Treating a passenger in this was is just unacceptable. He got no word of apology and was simply handed over a new stand-by boarding card!

    Was boarding better? No. They asked business class passengers and Senators to board first … on the same bus, packed with all passengers while normally LH manages a different bus. Then of course we spend an awful lot of time on that bus before eventually arrive at the place.

    Was the service on board better? Sorry, I wrote service. None was available. At least on LCCs, one can buy a drink. Not on LH apparently!

    Never say never again! But never again!

    1 user thanked author for this post.

    rferguson
    Participant

    A ‘five star’ airline according to Skytrax 😉

    1 user thanked author for this post.

    transtraxman
    Participant

    rferguson:
    you as a BA employee know the value given to the various airlines´s services. You also know that Skytrax has its own peculiar way of assessment which is not generally accepted as a good base line for comparison.
    Skytrax is renowned for its assessments of airlines, services, etc.. However, anybody who really values the results does not include Skytrax.


    AMcWhirter
    Participant

    At least the existing terminals are located fairly close to one another.

    New Terminal 3 will be located on the site of the former US air base.


    MartynSinclair
    Participant

    Although no longer a current destination for me, for 6 years it was. I don’t think I have experienced a more crowded terminal than T1 in the mornings & it is certainly the only airport where lounges were inaccessible due to overcrowding.

    But, the airport does employ of director of flow control & there is a very interesting documentary somewhere about how the managers try to control the passengers pathway through the terminals.

    1 user thanked author for this post.

    Swissdiver
    Participant

    [quote quote=943684]At least the existing terminals are located fairly close to one another.

    New Terminal 3 will be located on the site of the former US air base.[/quote]

    According to this map, it is not that far if there is a tunnel below the runways.

    1 user thanked author for this post.

    rferguson
    Participant

    [quote quote=943683]rferguson:

    you as a BA employee know the value given to the various airlines´s services. You also know that Skytrax has its own peculiar way of assessment which is not generally accepted as a good base line for comparison.

    Skytrax is renowned for its assessments of airlines, services, etc.. However, anybody who really values the results does not include Skytrax.[/quote]

    Absolutely. I was being sarcastic 😉

    I completely agree though. These ‘ratings’ are ridiculous. A few of the airlines absolutely deserve their five stars (SQ/CX/NH/QR) but LH is definitely not one of them.

    However, the airlines themselves seem to value these Skytrax accolades hugely. The five star carriers advertise the fact extensively. For Joe Public they may swallow the pill.

    1 user thanked author for this post.

    capetonianm
    Participant

    I used to travel so much on LH that for about 3 years I had a Senator card. Despite the benefits that offered, I minimised travelling on LH because of the ghastly experience that FRA transits had become.

    Long queues for passports and security, long walks, crowded and not very good lounges, multiple bottlenecks as you transited, particularly Schengen to non-Schengen or vv. which was what I usually did.

    When possible I would use MUC but eventually I just gave up on LH. My last experience there about 18 months ago led to me missing a connection to CPT which I could have made easily if the ground staff has been less unhelpful and the transit system to Z gates more functional.

    It’s ironic how many airlines have become the victims of their own success as their hubs become overcrowded and disfunctional. LH, AF, EK, to name a couple.

    LH is not such a wonderful airline anyway.

    1 user thanked author for this post.

    LuganoPirate
    Participant

    Tend to agree about FRA, though now I’ve learnt a few tricks by studying the maps and learning some shortcuts, I’ve come to like it a bit more. I find the Senator lounge brilliant, though it can get crowded at times, especially early morning and evening.

    As an airline though I love Lufthansa, but where they are let down is by Frankfurt airport. Most of the check-in functions, information etc, are handled by airport contractors, who are simply not up to scratch, have little knowledge, are surly and give that couldn’t care less attitude. I know LH recognise this problem, but despite them being the airport’s largest client, the airport think they are indispensable (which I guess they are) and simply do not co-operate with the airline.

    Whether this will change when the new T3 is finished I don’t know, but I did hear that LH will have their own terminal there. One can hope!


    AlanOrton1
    Participant

    It really is chalk and cheese with LH and their hubs.
    While I don’t use Star Alliance anywhere near as much as I did, I always found MUC an absolute pleasure to route through. FRA, as others have said, was always a more strained experience.
    At least with LH a good many connections can be made via MUC…


    Johnnyg
    Participant

    I was transiting FRA not long ago and as I had quite a bit of spare time I took, as I usually try to, an Airside tour. Always worth it, the new T3 that is currently under construction has had a change in the fact that Fraport are completing the LCC terminal area first, recognising that this is / will be a huge growth area for them. The current skytrain will continue around to T3. The baggage tracking alone is costing over a billion euros.

    The first time I was there on a regular basis was from 1989 / 90 when Rhein Mann USAF base was open and cargo aircraft were flying in from the states on a regular 15min interval basis, refuelling then off to Kuwait etc. It was spellbinding watching it all from the old roof terrace.


    AMcWhirter
    Participant

    [quote quote=943774]the new T3 that is currently under construction has had a change in the fact that Fraport are completing the LCC terminal area first, recognising that this is / will be a huge growth area for them.[/quote]

    FRA realised this back in 2016 when it became more accommodating for LCCs.

    Ryanair arrives at Frankfurt (Rhein-Main)

    Besides the congestion that’s another reason why Lufthansa decided to shift more of its operations (including a number of A380s which it had intended to base exclusively at FRA) to MUC.


    biguli76
    Participant

    Yestarday I was in FRA connecting from Linate to Rio de Janeiro. From gate A14 to C14… A mess. Are You jocking Lufthansa? Smoking lounge (cabins!!!) before security checks, not inside horrible C gates to EZE, GRU and GIG.
    Very Pissed off cause I arrived into Linate very very early and Lufthansa didn’t allow me to take first flight available at 12.50 (or 15.10) cause my fare was “blocked” with free seats on both flights. I do not understand why they are a pain in the ass with travellers.. I would like to put their “5 stars” where I know.


    tomwjsimpson
    Participant

    [quote quote=943844]Lufthansa didn’t allow me to take first flight available at 12.50 (or 15.10) cause my fare was “blocked” with free seats on both flights. I do not understand why they are a pain in the ass with travellers.. I would like to put their “5 stars” where I know.[/quote]

    My previous experience of Lufthansa was that they were always very good in the air albeit, at times, a bit cold. However, they were very rigid on the ground. I was on an ABZ bound flight from FRA which suffered engine failure. The evening flight was already quite full and transfers were decided by the computer – offers from passengers to help out a young French (highly stressed, emotional) girl who was crying as she would miss her university exam were simply met with – computer says no, you are travelling tomorrow…

    1 user thanked author for this post.

    AFlyingDutchman
    Participant

    I often wonder why Lufthansa actually sells connecting flights for say Schengen to non-Schengen cities with 55 minutes to connect. Even if the first flight is on time, the lines at passport control can take forever, and the distances to walk make this connection time unrealistic. I try to avoid FRA at all costs and much prefer ZRH, MUC, and VIE when flying with a Star Alliance carrier within European Continent.

    2 users thanked author for this post.
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