Like a lot of frequent travelers to Europe, I’ve learned that the amount of time airlines deem “safe” for connections often doesn’t match reality.
And unfortunately, some of the most popular airports on the Continent are among the worst offenders when it comes to getting passengers to their connection gates.
According to a recent AI search, Paris de Gaulle, London Heathrow and Frankfurt airports are among the best for connections, and I have to say — I beg to differ.
Case in point: A few months ago, I was returning to New York from Paris, and my itinerary included a two-and-a-half-hour layover in Heathrow. That made me nervous, so I was relieved when, on arrival in London, I spotted a woman on the Heathrow jetway holding a sign that read “New York.”
“That’s me,” I said, thinking she was proof that airlines are tracking travelers and their connections and was there to facilitate the situation in some way.
Instead, she had one word of advice: “Run.”
I ran, I took not one but two buses, and I ran some more, and made the flight by the skin of my teeth — the last one to board.
As for Paris de Gaulle, more than once, I’ve used my French language skills to finagle my way to the head of the passport control line, ignoring the glares of other frustrated passengers who were likely in just as much of a rush as I was.
And just a few weeks ago, my flight home to New York from Florence through Frankfurt, a well-designed but massive structure, involved such a tight layover (just over an hour) that we used a Meet & Greet service to backdoor us through security and passport control. That said, the transfer still involved us tearing on foot through the airport behind our “greeter,” and he had to call the gate to let us know we were on our way.
There are other considerations, as well, including the possibility that you’ll be boarding or deplaning from the tarmac on a metal staircase hoisting your own carry-ons, and that your seat toward the front of the plane on your first leg may not help expedite your transfer if you’re all just going to get on the same bus to the terminal.
Of course, these are just anecdotes, but they reinforce something we already know, which is that a seasoned travel advisor, and not the airline, is the best resource for creating a seamless travel experience for his or her clients.
