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Flying home from Budapest-Which airport is easier to connect at?


stipmom

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Looked at flights into JFK, Newark and Washington and there are no non stops. Can connect in a lot of different airports bui some connections are a little over an hour which does not leave much room for delay . So I am wondering which airport is best for a connection?

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Looked at flights into JFK, Newark and Washington and there are no non stops. Can connect in a lot of different airports bui some connections are a little over an hour which does not leave much room for delay . So I am wondering which airport is best for a connection?

 

Which airport options do you have?

 

We are flying out of Prague and will be connecting in Amsterdam, using KLM airlines.

 

I try to avoid CDG (Paris) whenever possible, I just don't like that airport!

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We connected through Amsterdam on KLM when we flew home from Budapest to Toronto. Did find the gates quite far apart and it was bedlam boarding since they did not board by row number, just free for all after first class and business boarded. I would also avoid Paris. We did like dusseldorf in 2011 when we flew to Prague.

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I suggest Heathrow ---- While Heathrow often has a back-up as you change airplanes and occasionally one must wait to get onto the escalator to get to security, Heathrow is always the safest bet.

 

In my serious travel days, I tried them all ---- when there was a problem, there were always enough airplanes and airlines at Heathrow going where I was going to reduce what can be days delays at the other European airports.

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In my serious travel days, I tried them all ---- when there was a problem, there were always enough airplanes and airlines at Heathrow going where I was going to reduce what can be days delays at the other European airports.

 

This is the reason that I try to route through Frankfurt if possible (although you do need to make sure that it isn't a tight connection....)

 

Many people don't like Frankfurt (it is very large, and there is lots of walking.....) but, if you miss a connection, there are usually lots of options for later flights. I always book with a "Plan B" (ie: if I miss my connection, is there a later flight that day....)

 

Also - the airport is run very efficiently. If you have a close connection, they will fast-track you through security.

 

Fran

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Here's another thumbs down for CDG. We came through last Friday transferring Air France from Budapest to Air France to Atlanta, and it was a nightmare. It appeared that all out-of-EU international flights were in the far terminals which were only accessible by shuttle bus. The buses ran about every 15 minutes rather than the 9 minutes they stated, but they needed at least twice as many. It was a shoving, crowded mess. Never again!!

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Actually Munich is the major hub for all flights out of Eastern Europe.

 

Munich has direct flights to Newark, JFK, Chicago, Washington/Dulles, Boston, Charlotte, Philadelphia, Atlanta and more.

 

steamboats

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Looked at flights into JFK, Newark and Washington and there are no non stops. Can connect in a lot of different airports bui some connections are a little over an hour which does not leave much room for delay . So I am wondering which airport is best for a connection?

There are two airports in the Washington, DC area, but I assume you refer to Dulles. I have been through all three airports and would avoid JFK. My pick would be Dulles.

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As you know, "Stuff" happens so it probably doesn't make all that much difference which European airport you connect through. We came home from a Vantage River cruise from Budapest. Malov (the Hungarian Airline) to Paris, Paris to JFK on Air France. The flight from Budapest to Paris was delayed a bit. As there were 8 of us on that flight all connecting to JFK, a van met us on arrival, we were driven on the tarmac to the AirFrance flight, got on and took off. We never went into the airport building. In this instance, changing in Paris was the BEST connection we could have had!

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I refuse to connect through CDG. Out of the 5 times I have done so, I have missed 4 of those flights due to insufficient connection time (you need two hours), poor signage, unhelpful personnel, extra security. Hate that airport.

 

Connected in Frankfurt a few months ago. Huge and I would allow plenty of time for connecting.

 

Connected several times in Amsterdam. I find this airport much more user friendly.

 

Munich is an excellent airport and I will choose this over the rest.

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I'd avoid Frankfurt and CDG. I have found it easiest to connect through Copenhagen or Zurich, but Amsterdam is pretty smooth as well.

 

Agreed..avoid Frankfurt at all costs.

 

As US or Canadians, you have to go thru the Z line. We went thru at the end of xmas school break so the line ups ( a sort of custom check point) was backed up way into the terminal while the 4 agents for EU residents sat idle. Finally they opened them up to everyone. We had a 2 hr " wait" and needed most of it.

 

The other problem is OFTEN the planes land then park on the tarmac rather than go to a gate in the terminal. You have to wait until buses come out to the plane, you , and your luggage hopefully , are transported to the main terminal and THEN you get to go thru the Z line.

 

Don't even think about any connection that is less than 1.5 hrs...2 hrs to be safe cuz they can change from a gate to tarmac gate in an instant.

 

I like AMS altho you have to go thru their " border" as well and CDG is ok if you are able to walk quickly. LHR not bad but may mean a train ride between gates which can be unsettling if time is tight.

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Actually Munich is the major hub for all flights out of Eastern Europe.

 

Munich has direct flights to Newark, JFK, Chicago, Washington/Dulles, Boston, Charlotte, Philadelphia, Atlanta and more.

 

steamboats

 

 

I agree that Munich is the best to connect through. I have connected through this airport to JFK a few times and it is easy and efficient.

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Whether you go through Passport Control at any European airport depends upon where you're coming from, and where you're going.

 

If you're arriving from a Schengen country (a list which is similar to, but not exactly the same as, the EU), and departing to a Non-Schengen country, you will have to leave the Schengen area of the airport to do so, and you'll pass through their Passport Control in the process. Once you leave the Schengen area, you're considered "in-transit" and you've officially exited the Schengen group of countries.

 

We have connected through CDG on our way to and from Egypt. In these instances, we never had to leave the in-transit area, and never had to change terminals, no passport control, etc. Though we were in France, we never technically entered the country. We were "in-transit" which made it really easy!

 

On the other hand, when flying Rome-CDG-JFK, we did have to go through Passport Control in Paris, and change terminals from the terminal handling intra-Schengen flights to the international terminal. Flying from Budapest to the US would be analogous to this arrangement, as Hungary is a Schengen country. This would be similar in any of the other airports mentioned - Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Munich...

 

It comes down to which airport is most efficient at making that change... Agree that CDG is big, and connecting is likely to involve changing terminals, and going through security again. The terminals can be far apart, and CDGs Passport Control can resemble a zoo at times. Frankfurt can be more efficient, but agree with others who say it's huge - it can be a VERY long walk. Amsterdam seems well-arranged and it's a pleasant place to make a connection each time we've been there. Last time we changed in Munich was over 5 years ago and I can't remember much about it...

 

And, don't forget - to add insult to injury, you usually go through another security line to enter your gate for US flights leaving from Europe. :)

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I recently used Vienna as a transit point from Toronto to Istanbul and Prague to Toronto. En route to Istanbul it was very simple as there was no passport control and the gates were perhaps 50 metres apart, but even from Prague the transit was easy and the passport control added very little delay to the process.

 

It's smaller than some of the major European hubs so that might help.

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It's a different gamble either way - small vs. large airport, that is...

 

If you use a small airport to change over, there often will be fewer crowds, but if you are late and miss your connection it may be harder to re-route you same day or next day, just because there are fewer flight to choose from.

 

If you use a large airport, it may well be more of a pain to change planes - longer walking, terminal changes, etc... But, there's more backup if things go wrong - many more planes leave major hubs like Amsterdam or Frankfurt for the US, then from Vienna, for example, and the chances to snag one of them is better, the more there are.

 

So, you can now decide which gamble you're more comfortable taking... ;)

 

We don't mind walking (especially after a long flight) so we have found ourselves changing more frequently in Amsterdam or Paris. And as laverendrye found - when transiting through a European airport from North America to a non-Schengen destination, it's a snap! It's sometimes a longer walk to the lounge and back, than it is from gate to gate.

 

Our ace in the hole is that we usually fly business class, which really helps with making your connections. First off the plane, sometimes a priority lane through passport control, and a priority security lane. It makes a huge difference... And we finally got Global Entry last month, so looking forward to ditching the horrible lines upon returning to the US. JFK was a nightmare last time - almost an hour from landing to luggage - the luggage was already off the carousel by the time we had our passports stamped, and we were at or near the head of the line for our flight!

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  • 3 weeks later...

After looking at all flight options if we go to JFK we can fly non stop to Prague and fly Budapest to JFK on KLM or Air France

 

 

If we go out of Newatk we can fly Lufthansa or Swiss air home and either stop in Munich or Zurich

 

 

 

Out of those four airlines which are the best to fly? Thanks

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Personally, from Manalapan it would have to be a tremendous deal to get me to go to JFK or even Philly.

 

You have lots of options from EWR for flights into Prague and return from Budapest: I used a dummy date in September 2013 (I use http://www.matrix.itasoftware.com to see the full range of flights) and found the fares to be very similar on Brussles Air (connects in Brussles); United & Lufthunsa (code share, connecting in Frankfurt); Swiss Air (connecting in Zurich, but with a long layover); and KLM (connecting in Amsterdam).

 

Both Frankfurt and Amsterdam are large airports with long walks between gates but I never had an issue with either one and I've gone through each several times. When we flew home from Budapest a few years ago we changed in Amsterdam.

 

I did change once in Zurich and it was a bit of a mess, but I suspect that was my fault and not the airport's. :o

 

Using Newark you'd have the most options on United/Lufthunsa.

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I've flown KLM and Lufthansa recently, Air France not for some time (but no complaints at all). Both are very good indeed--I have a slight preference for KLM. I haven't flown Swiss, but as a subsidiary of Lufthansa, I expect it would have the same high standards.

 

If the price is roughly comparable, I would take a non-stop flight over one requiring a transfer. However you might find Newark more convenient than JFK.

 

Lufthansa and Swiss are part of StarAlliance, while Air France and KLM are part of the SkyTeam alliance (along with Delta) if frequent flyer programs are an issue.

 

You should also know that some years ago Air France and KLM merged so that you might find that one or both of your flights are code-shared (ie one airline operates the flight with both AF and KLM flight numbers). They also code-share with Delta so your KLM or AF flight could be operated by Delta and vice versa. The same goes with LH/Swiss (LX). Flights can be code-shared with other Star Alliance members such as United and US Airways. So if the airline you choose is important to you, make sure you check who is operating the flight.

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