End of the weekend in London and return to Paris via Frankfurt. A flight that seems anecdotal and without much interest except that I have a very short connection that can become very complicated if the slightest grain of sand gets in the way.

Will I be able to catch my flight to Paris? Is Frankfurt such an efficient airport? This is the main point of interest of this flight.

For the record, all the articles on this trip to London.

For the record, all the articles on this trip to London.

Some background before we go any further.

Originally Lufthansa sold me flights with a 55 minutes connection which is short but feasible in Frankfurt, this happened to me frequently. 55 minutes means 25 minutes before my flight to Paris starts boarding.

But three elements must be taken into account.

1°) I arrive at the B-gates and leave from the A-gates. Anyone who knows Frankfurt knows that this means a very, very long walk with, what’s more, floor changes.

2°) I arrive on a non-Schengen flight to leave on a Schengen flight: I must therefore at least go through the police controls again.

3°) My flight from London arrived late.

So technically I have 13 minutes to get from one end of the airport to the other loaded with my cabin baggage and through the controls before boarding my flight to Paris.

Ground experience

As soon as I get out of the plane I look at my watch. I can visualise the route perfectly: cross Pier B, go through immigration, take the lift, take the long tunnel with the travelator that avoids going through the main terminal, lift back up, then run to my gate which is at the end of concourse A.

Not easy but quite possible.

So I start my run and at one point I consider an option I hadn’t thought of: a sign shows me a bus connection to concourse A.

The advantage is obvious: it saves time.

However, there is a risk. I don’t know the frequency of the shuttles and I have 10 minutes before boarding.

If I go on foot I will master all the elements of the problem, it will be borderline but it should be ok.

If I take the bus I will save a lot of time on the journey but there is an element of uncertainty: if the shuttle bus does not go very fast I will miss my connection.

Missing my connection is not a real problem: it’s the airline that sold me a ticket with a short connection time, so it’s their problem if I miss my flight. But I don’t want to return too late or even the next morning.

At this stage I have to decide quickly. I’ll try the bus.

So I follow the signs and arrive in a waiting room on the ground floor.

I ask the agent about it. The shuttle would pass every 10/15 minutes or so. He asks me the time of my flight and tells me that “it should be fine but you have to walk fast”. So I don’t learn anything from him.

Anyway I can’t go back, I just have to wait and trust.

The bus arrives at 4.20pm. My flight leaves at 4.50pm and boarding must have started. The bus leaves at 4.22pm.

We are at concourse A a few minutes later. I pass the police checkpoint in a few seconds and, fortunately, I don’t have to go through the security checks again.

I emerge on the departures floor at 4.30pm, at gate A15. I leave from the A30. Let’s run !

I arrive at my gate at 40, 10 minutes before the flight leaves and 20 minutes after boarding begins.

And then….surprise.

Boarding has not yet begun. It will start a few minutes later and the flight will leave 10 minutes late.

In any case, even with a late flight from London, a delayed shuttle bus and the controls to go through, it was OK, even if my flight to Paris had left on time. This confirms to me that Frankfurt is a very efficient airport because I can’t see myself making such a connection at Roissy between the 2E and the 2F…

Boarding

So it starts a little late. Families with children are called first. Then groups 1 and 2. Of course, people from other groups free-ride and this creates a traffic jam.

Finally I get to the cabin quite quickly.

The cabin

Still the same Lufthansa medium-haul cabin with its NEK seats. As always in business class the middle seat will be neutralised.

On the other hand, the cabin seems to me rather old, aged and worn.

The pitch also seems to me less good than in general on Lufthansa. An old aircraft?

For a one-hour flight it’s not a big deal!

The boarding will be finished in 10 minutes and finally we will only be 10 minutes late for departure.

There will be 5 business rows on this flight for 10 passengers so a 50% load factor

The flight and the service

We take off quickly and the service starts just as quickly. The meals will be brought in individually. Here is the meal of the day:

Exactly the same set as two days earlier between Frankfurt and London.

The salmon has a little taste, the cold omelette is totally tasteless. The chocolate mousse will save the day a little. A meal to be quickly forgotten.

However, I will have several refills of water and wine.

I settle down comfortably, taking advantage of the absence of a seatmate and the neutralized central seat.

Beautiful sunset as we approach Paris.

The staff

Fast service, friendly and smiling staff.

Landing and disembarkation

The end of the flight was uneventful and we arrived at T1 in Roissy just ten minutes late.

Bottom line

The main subject of this flight was to know if a 55min connection with passage of the controls and change of terminal in Frankfurt was possible: the answer is yes if you walk fast!

For the rest a rather average flight: good crew but worn out cabin and insipid catering.

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