Frankfort Nightmare

[montu6]

My DH and I just returned from a TA that ended in Venice. Cruise was wonderful, but our return flight was a nightmare. We booked using FF points with United, code share with Swiss Air and using Helvenic for the leg from Venice to Zurich.

 

When we got to airport we were told that our flight had been cancelled but no fear. We were booked on Lufthansa through Frankfort, change of planes and onto IAD. We should have been suspicious when we couldn't get boarding passes the night before. We had to wait a while but we were soon on our way. I reconfirmed my need for wheelchair assist.

 

Problem was there was only an hour and fifteen minute time for connection. In Frankfort you land on the tarmac and take a bus to the terminal. I use a wheelchair assist since I can not walk long distances. No wheel chair! Lufthansa said they would order a cart since there wasn't a wheel chair available. 15 - 20 minutes later still no cart. Our plane was boarding!

 

Finally a cart came and off we went, to 61z gate. We zipped through the terminal. Suddenly our driver stopped dead in her tracks, told us she forgot something, turned the cart around and went in the opposite direction.

 

Half way down the terminal she stopped and went into the disability office. For 5 minutes more we sat on the cart, no driver to be seen.

 

Then we were told to come into the office as there was a little problem. Seems our driver forgot that our gate was on the second floor and that we needed to go through passport control. We sat there for another 5 minutes while someone else made a series of phone calls.

 

Finally a wheelchair was produced and we took off in a run for the proper gate. Part of the way we were met by a cart who took us as far as she could before going in a wheelchair again. My poor husband was gasping for air.

 

Passport control... Seems that our passports weren't stamped when we entered Madera. When were we there? We were so flustered that we weren't sure of the date. We must have looked totally paniced because he let us through.

 

Somehow my "pusher" got us to the plane. They were waiting for us and closed the door as soon as we stepped into the plane.

 

Moral of the story... You need more than 1 hour 15 minutes to change planes in Frankfort for an international flight home. Double check with Flight attendant that a wheelchair will be waiting for you. Say your prayers in Frankfort. We will do everything we can to avoid Frankfort in the future. Very few people cared about our plight.(with the exception of the girl who literally ran through the airport pushing me.)

 

We had paid for economy plus but assigned regular cattle car seats. Horrid flight home.

 

But the cruise was great. We are planning our next trip to Budapest.And bottom line, we did make our flight and got home in one piece.

[fbgd]

I'm not a fan of Kentucky either.

[frugaltravel]

I'm not a fan of Kentucky either.

 

lol. I thought the same thing when I first saw the title.

[CruiserBruce]

Sorry to hear this happened to you at Frankfurt. It is common knowledge Frankfurt can be difficult connection airport, having mobility issues doesn't make it easier. We have had connections where it has taken over an hour there, and some we have done in 30 minutes.

 

If you refuse to go to an airport because you had connection issue, you will be eliminating a lot of major airports in the world.

Edited April 18, 2015 by CruiserBruce

[montu6]

Looks like we were so befuddled we didn't know where we were LOL! Sorry to my German friends as well as those in Kentucky.

[6rugrats]

Madera? Do you mean Madeira? How would anyone even know you were there, and why did they care if your passport had been stamped or not?

 

Assume the wheelchair problem was due to the flight change. Most people are fine with a 65 minute connection.

 

I am not sure what airline you were on for the FRA-US leg, but if it was UA, and you paid for E+ seats and didn't get them, you should ask for a refund.

 

Agree Budapest is a wonderful city, and it am glad you made your flight home.

Edited April 18, 2015 by 6rugrats

[Globaliser]

When we got to airport we were told that our flight had been cancelled but no fear. We were booked on Lufthansa through Frankfort, change of planes and onto IAD. We should have been suspicious when we couldn't get boarding passes the night before. We had to wait a while but we were soon on our way. I reconfirmed my need for wheelchair assist.

 

Problem was there was only an hour and fifteen minute time for connection. In Frankfort you land on the tarmac and take a bus to the terminal. I use a wheelchair assist since I can not walk long distances. No wheel chair! Lufthansa said they would order a cart since there wasn't a wheel chair available. 15 - 20 minutes later still no cart. Our plane was boarding!

I know that on this occasion it wasn't your choice, but the story does underline that if you need wheelchair assistance, it's always a good idea to build in a rather larger connection buffer than if you didn't need assistance.

[UKBayern]

It seems rather unfair to blame Frankfurt Airport or the airline(s). The assistance in Frankfurt bent over backwards to get you on that plane. It seems the aircraft waited for you especially.

This was all an unexpected rush job due to a flight cancellation. That important information relating to the passenger sometimes does not gets transferred to the new booking, well, that unfortunately sometimes happens.

[waterbug123]

Moral of the story... You need more than 1 hour 15 minutes to change planes in Frankfort for an international flight home.

 

Your problems appear to be a result of needing wheelchair assistance, so it might be a little unfair to issue the blanket statement that more than an hour and 15 is needed.

[spunks]

We just returned from barcelona yesterday. We were booked on Lufthansa to Frankfort and then on to Houston. We booked all through United using miles and they used their partner Lufthansa from Barcelona to Frankfort. We had a 1 hour 10 min connection time. We were worried about making it, but I had used this wonderful resource(Cruise Critic) and found the advice wonderful. We were also told to look at the flyer talker site about Frankfort. Armed with this info, we knew we would arrive in Terminal B and depart in Terminal Z....Because we were advised to follow the signs no matter what, that is what we did. We came into gate B10 I think, and had to go to gate Z 63. It took us exactly 9 minutes to get there, customs check and all. I realize we were lucky to not have to be bussed to B terminal, but even so...yall made it easy for us....:D

 

Thank you so much for all that helped....9 Minutes!!! WOW!

 

Doug

[fbgd]

Why do so many people struggle with the fact this is Frankfurt and not Frankfort?? :confused:

[spunks]

I dont know if "so many do"....but I sure do

Edited April 28, 2015 by spunks

[Zach1213]

Why do so many people struggle with the fact this is Frankfurt and not Frankfort?? :confused:

 

 

Colombia vs Columbia seems even more common

[fbgd]

Colombia vs Columbia seems even more common

 

I managed to fly there last weekend with going via Bogota by mistake!

[scottbee]

It's a good thing that you were in Frankfurt and intra-Schengen, and not transiting via the United States to a 3rd country. A 1h10m connection from International to International in the USA would be impossible.

 

Sounds to me that while rushed you still made it; at one of the world's busiest airports.

 

As for the downgrade E+ to E, you should be able to get compensation from the airline for that, Europe air travel has some very very pro-consumer laws, and there are specific provisions for an involuntary downgrade

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_Delay_Compensation_Regulation#Upgrades_and_downgrades

 

If you get any pushback from Lufthansa, just open a case with the German and/or US transportation board.

[6rugrats]

 

As for the downgrade E+ to E, you should be able to get compensation from the airline for that, Europe air travel has some very very pro-consumer laws, and there are specific provisions for an involuntary downgrade

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_Delay_Compensation_Regulation#Upgrades_and_downgrades

 

If you get any pushback from Lufthansa, just open a case with the German and/or US transportation board.

No, OP is only entitled to a refund for payment for E+ seats. Regular economy to E+ is not considered an "upgrade", so being placed in regular economy is not a "downgrade". Also, if they wanted to hold out for E+ seats on another flight, they could have, but they accepted the economy seats.

 

I don't believe they will get anything other than the money spent for E+ back, and that should come from UA, LH has nothing to do with it. This flight was booked using UA points, the flight in question must have been on UA (LH has no E+) and you can't book E+ through LH.

Edited April 29, 2015 by 6rugrats

[scottbee]

No, OP is only entitled to a refund for payment for E+ seats. Regular economy to E+ is not considered an "upgrade", so being placed in regular economy is not a "downgrade". Also, if they wanted to hold out for E+ seats on another flight, they could have, but they accepted the economy seats.

 

I don't believe they will get anything other than the money spent for E+ back, and that should come from UA, LH has nothing to do with it. This flight was booked using UA points, the flight in question must have been on UA (LH has no E+) and you can't book E+ through LH.

 

Actually LH have E+ on a few of their new aircraft:

for example: http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Lufthansa/Lufthansa_Airbus_A330-300_B.php

[6rugrats]

Actually LH have E+ on a few of their new aircraft:

for example: http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Lufthansa/Lufthansa_Airbus_A330-300_B.php

 

Only UA has E+. LH has premium economy now on a few aircraft. It's not the same thing.

Edited April 30, 2015 by 6rugrats

[grandma*knows*best]

Sounds like an unpleasant flight, but you made it home. I wouldn't call this a nightmare. You did make it home safely.

 

It's pretty unusual to show up at the airport to find your flight has been cancelled. Just wondering if you checked your flight the day before?

 

I, too, don't understand the passport "issue."

[grandma*knows*best]

No, OP is only entitled to a refund for payment for E+ seats. Regular economy to E+ is not considered an "upgrade", so being placed in regular economy is not a "downgrade". Also, if they wanted to hold out for E+ seats on another flight, they could have, but they accepted the economy seats.

 

I don't believe they will get anything other than the money spent for E+ back, and that should come from UA, LH has nothing to do with it. This flight was booked using UA points, the flight in question must have been on UA (LH has no E+) and you can't book E+ through LH.

 

This poster is correct; correct as well that it's UA's responsibility to refund the E+ cost.

[6rugrats]

I, too, don't understand the passport "issue."

 

Agree; I still don't know what "Madera" OP is talking about, or what it has to do with this flight, or how anyone would even know they were there.

[Twickenham]

Agree; I still don't know what "Madera" OP is talking about, or what it has to do with this flight, or how anyone would even know they were there.

 

I think they meant that Madeira was their first port of call in Europe on the TA, thus their point of entry. Not having a stamp at the point of entry would mean they didn't have proof of when they entered Europe for the first time.

[montu6]

As the OP it might be helpful if I clarify some of the issues posted.

 

1. We booked totally on United and paid for economy plus on the Zurich to IAD leg. A refund of that amount would be nice.

 

2. Wheelchair assist is needed and was requested when we booked, reconfirmed on "manage your flight", reconfirmed at Venice airport check in, asked about to flight attendant on board flight. I realize that had this feature not been required our experience would have been very different and the hour and 15 min. would have been fine. We always book flights with plenty of time for connections. I realize that we should have refused this flight but we were so shocked that we didn't ask any questions.

 

3. My husband attempted to get boarding passes on line through United's site the night before but United site told him he had to see the checkin desk in the morning. Had we been more experienced flyers we would have realized something was wrong.

 

4. I always research the airports we fly into so we know what to expect. I knew a lot about Zurich but nothing about Frankfurt ( not even how to spell the name LOL)

 

5. My husband and I are "elderly" flyers. It was very difficult for him to run after the person pushing the wheelchair. He was majorly out of breath and managed to lose his perscription sun glasses. Not the airports fault but indicative of how flustered he was.

 

5. It was very frustrating when the cart driver abandoned us and never did return. After 5 minutes of sitting in the cart outside the disability office I flagged down another employee who told us "they were working on it."

 

6. I have no idea why the passport control offical questioned why there was no stamp indicating our arrival in Europe. On another thread I read someone else had difficulty in Frankfurt about this. But then we were not connecting through Germany. Zurich was our airport of choice. We have connected there before. Their wheelchair assist services are excellent and it is a beautiful airport to spend a few hours.

 

7. To us this flight was a "nightmare" Not a disaster but a nightmare. Getting to an airport and finding out your flight is cancelled is stuff nightmares are made of. Many of you who post on this board are very experienced able bodied flyers. For several weeks after arriving home my husband wanted to cancel our future river cruise and stay home. Fortunately he is over that. As we age some of us are not as "bullet proff"as we once were. I would prefer not to fly through Frankfurt again if I can avoid it. The smaller airports are more user friendly from our experience.

 

Thank you for all of your comments. If at least one person gains something from this it was worth it.

[waterbug123]

It's pretty unusual to show up at the airport to find your flight has been cancelled. Just wondering if you checked your flight the day before?

 

 

Unusual, yes. But it does happen. I know because it's happened to me. And yes, checked in the day before at the 24 hour mark.

[skf]

How would anyone even know you were there, and why did they care if your passport had been stamped or not?

That's what we thought, but WRONG!

We flew into Paris where our passports were looked at but not stamped. Flying out of Madrid we met a less-than-friendly border guard who accused us of being in Spain illegally & threatened to arrest us. If he was joking I didn't find it funny.