Question for the FFers among us (ZRH: MXP)

woodstock

woodstock

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'morning.

Am I asking for trouble with a 1.5 hour connection? ZRH would be the first stop from the US, changing to fly on to Milan.

I'm mostly concerned about going through immigration and making the plane to MXP in that short amount of time. Naturally if the plane lands early (and they usually seem to do so on international flights) I'll have more than 1.5 hours.

Are there several flight choices from ZRH to MXP - if I miss this one, they can just put me on the next one?

My other option could well be to fly into ZRH and take the train to Como which apparently is 3 hours if you are on the right train. The above connection gets me into MXP at 1030 which means about 1 PM in Varenna.
 
ZRH is one of the best and easiest connections you can make in Europe. Perssonally, I love Zurich (both the airport and the city) and I rue the demise of the old Swissair (once tied tightly to Delta and Singapore Airlines).

Assuming you're even close to on-time, a 90 minute connection is do-able. Most of the US arrivals come in to the satellite terminal (a short ride on the underground tram). Immigration and customs is a breeze - it's never taken me more than 5 minutes to clear.... but remember that I don't check bags.

As for "what happens if I miss a flight", that really depends on the operating airline and whether it's ticketed as one itinerary. If you're flying Swiss, for example, and connecting to Crossair (or whatever their short haul airline is called these days) then it shouldn't be a problem. It's a little more difficult within an alliance or on code-shares (Delta to Alitalia, for example) but really should be accomodated if the operating airline is late. If you're on separate tickets, though, you will be bound by the rules of the ticket and the airline policies. Some EU airlines sell "no refund, no change" tickets - you miss the flight for any reason and your SOL.... if you're on tickets that are not linked in the same itinerary, then there really is no recourse.

As for the train: ZRH has one of the best rail connections in Europe... every bit as good as AMS. Leave the terminal, cross the bridge to the parking garage, take the elevator or escalator down to the lower level. There's a train ticket office right there, and the escalators to the tracks are in front of you.

When I went to ZRH last year, I was off the plane and in my room at the hotel in Zurich itself within about an hour of landing. I've also taken the train into Zurich to pick up a rental car at one of the local offices, thereby avoiding the huge airport taxes.

If you hang around ZRH for a day, there is a "local" day transit ticket that covers the rail service in from the airport, plus all buses and trams.... it's an inexpensive way to get in from the airport and explore the city.

What airlines are you traveling on?
 
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The tickets are through UA.com's site directly. UA metal to ZRH and Swiss to MXP. I should be good to go?

The loose itin is this:

6 nights on Lake Como (4 nights for my parents who are arriving two days after me due to their attendance at a 50th anniversary party) then 4 nights in Venice, then 4 nights in Wengen (Berner Oberland). Flight home from Zurich. We'd have Saturday afternoon in Zurich and fly home Sunday morning. Any ideas for a nice afternoon/dinner in Zurich?
 
woodstock said:
The tickets are through UA.com's site directly. UA metal to ZRH and Swiss to MXP. I should be good to go?
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You should be fine. Thinking about it, ZRH has a transit area but since CH is part of the Schengen Zone, you'll need to clear entering the Schengen Zone. That'll not take long.

The loose itin is this:

6 nights on Lake Como (4 nights for my parents who are arriving two days after me due to their attendance at a 50th anniversary party) then 4 nights in Venice, then 4 nights in Wengen (Berner Oberland). Flight home from Zurich. We'd have Saturday afternoon in Zurich and fly home Sunday morning. Any ideas for a nice afternoon/dinner in Zurich?
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Nice trip! I'm jealous.

There are plenty of good restaurants in Zurich, and quite a number of tourist places. I don't have the name with me, so I'll have to drop it to you later, but there's a traditional Swiss restaurant in old-town Zurich that I like a lot.

One afternoon will only give you a taste of ZRH - if it's nice weather, you can expect a LOT of folks down by the lake. Buy a 24-hour day card for the transit system - that'll get you around town on Sat and back to the airport Sunday.
 
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I just went through ZRH last month. Arrived from ORD, cleared immigration and security and caught my connecting flight to STR. Scheduled arrival was 11 AM with departure at 12:35 PM. No problem making the gate prior to boarding (which was a bus to the plane in this case). You should be fine.
 
Thanks guys. I did buy the tickets.

This trip is going to be a triple-play. Three of the most beautiful places on earth all in one trip.
 
Gonna have me some cowbell really soon! Got my tix this AM, just bought tix for Mom and Dad a few minutes ago. 4 nights right in the Berner Oberland. yodel-ay-hi-hoo.
 
woodstock said:
4 nights right in the Berner Oberland. yodel-ay-hi-hoo.
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Where there? Lauterbrunnen is nice and the skiing up out of Grindelwald was super in 1983 (oh, that was a long time ago). Have fun. Beautiful country.
 
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