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I'll be travelling from New Delhi to Warsaw in the end of September. Since there is no direct flight for this particular route, I'm not sure what would be best.

The cheapest (and my preferred option) is Air India to Frankfurt (FRA) in a 787 (which is why it's preferred), followed by Lufthansa/LOT Polish to Warsaw. Although, the connecting time is a measly 1h10m, which is probably way too low (more so since this my first time flying international).

Another option is going to Paris and then to Warsaw from there, but Air France is the only one who goes direct from Paris to Warsaw. Also, since the tickets will have to be booked separately, it's a hassle, and it's considerably costlier.

Edit: In light of WANTA, I'd like to be more general about the question. How much is safe for connecting time, if I were to go through Frankfurt (with the connecting flight being a separate airline).

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    There are multiple Frankfurt - Warsaw flights on a day. Does your scheme allow to book a later one? 70 minutes on Frankfurt seems a bit tight, because you will not have any room for delay. You may need to cross security and transfer between very distinct parts of the airport. Try to take more time at Frankfurt if possible, so you don't need to worry :)
    – Bernhard
    Commented Aug 5, 2015 at 19:02
  • @Bernhard For some reason, it does not let me choose a later time for the connecting flight.
    – Shreyas
    Commented Aug 5, 2015 at 19:07
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    Related: One hour Lufthansa transit time in Frankfurt. Origin: Bangalore, destination: Dublin
    – Michael Hampton
    Commented Aug 5, 2015 at 19:55
  • @pnuts You're correct. There's one at 10:35 and one at 19:50. If I miss this flight, I'd need to wait through the night.
    – Shreyas
    Commented Aug 6, 2015 at 7:37
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    Do not book these tickets separately. You are asking for something to go wrong. If you cannot do it online or on the carrier's website, phone the airline or a real travel agent.
    – Calchas
    Commented Aug 30, 2015 at 11:39

2 Answers 2

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+50

Frankfurt Airport operates a Fast Lane to allow connections under 30min:

http://www.frankfurt-airport.com/content/frankfurt_airport/en/services/container_services/fast_lanes.html

Fast Lanes

What not everyone knows: when passengers are hurrying to catch a connecting flight at Frankfurt Airport they can take a shortcut to get to their gates faster. The airport has created “fast lanes” for this at the security checkpoints. They may be used on a priority basis by passengers whose flights leave in 30 minutes or less.

The fast lane system is very simple: display boards at the checkpoints list the current flights for which passengers may take advantage of the shortcuts. Friendly airport staff also help them get in the right line.

Both terminals at Frankfurt Airport now feature fast lanes everywhere that passengers cross from a non-Schengen to a Schengen zone or vice versa. For example, if they have arrived from Singapore and are continuing on to a destination within Germany or Europe.

Although not specified anywhere, I suspect this will only apply if you check your baggage through (or if you don't have any checked baggage).

It will definitely be worth contacting the airport directly to confirm.

Disclaimer: I don't have any experience with this.

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As long as both flights are on the same ticket the airline is repsonsible for getting you there and in the case of Europe they may even have to pay compensation for delays. It's not in their interests to sell tickets for unreasonablly short connections.

Furthermore the airlines have options at their disposal for expediting connections if an incoming flight is delayed, they can give you priority at checkpoints and even bus you arround the airport. It's in their interests to get you on your booked flight. This is especialy true in Europe which has strong compensation rules for delayed passengers.

Of course there is still some residual risk. Your plane could be badly delayed or you could be held up in immigration for hours. If you really need to be somewhere at a given date/time you should probablly plan to arrive a day or so beforehand.

On the other hand if you have two flights on seperate tickets you are on your own. So you need to allow much longer times between flights.

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