Greek Islands to Frankfurt via Athens

[rurounimaikeru]

Planning a trip to Greece and the Greek Islands (e.g. Santorini, Naxos, Paros).

Looking to fly SQ out of FRA to MEL for return leg as award availability decent.

Last destination in Greece likely to be islands. Worried about connecting from islands to FRA and missing SQ award flight if flights/ferry from Islands delayed.

So what's best of these options:
1. Ferry from Naxos/Paros to Athens, overnight Athens, then fly to FRA?
2. Fly from Naxos/Paros to FRA via Athens, then overnight in FRA?
3. Fly from Naxos/Paros to FRA via Athens, straight onto SQ flight. (allow say 3-4 hrs for transit in FRA?)

Am I worth looking at *alliance from ATH-FRA and joining on a single SQ ticket? (Getting J award on ATH-FRA could be hard?)

Any other suggestions/tips welcome.

 

[Duggo]

Planning a trip to Greece and the Greek Islands (e.g. Santorini, Naxos, Paros).

Looking to fly SQ out of FRA to MEL for return leg as award availability decent.

Last destination in Greece likely to be islands. Worried about connecting from islands to FRA and missing SQ award flight if flights/ferry from Islands delayed.

So what's best of these options:
1. Ferry from Naxos/Paros to Athens, overnight Athens, then fly to FRA?
2. Fly from Naxos/Paros to FRA via Athens, then overnight in FRA?
3. Fly from Naxos/Paros to FRA via Athens, straight onto SQ flight. (allow say 3-4 hrs for transit in FRA?)

Am I worth looking at *alliance from ATH-FRA and joining on a single SQ ticket? (Getting J award on ATH-FRA could be hard?)

Any other suggestions/tips welcome.

We have been to Athens and the Greek Islands the last 3 years running as my wife's family still own an apartment just outside of Athens in Alimos, Kalamaki Beach. Finding award seats for Star Alliance partners on SQ has really dried up and next trip we have just paid for our flights for connections. We were able to find award availability no problem into Istanbul the connect to Athens on award flights.

It has proven harder and harder each year and this year it was impossible to find awards for connections. Next year we are Syd to Paris to celebrate wife's birthday then paid flights Paris to Athens, return is Athens to Munich on paid flights then awards on SQ back to Sydney.

We have always used the ferries to the islands then if early outbound flights we stay at the Sofitel Athens airport the night before. Both Aegean and Lufthansa have been decent on awards but the trip for next year there was nothing available, the other thing is having to change your itinerary to suit award availability is not worth it for us so we just locked in what suited us at the time.

I always book my awards for the main legs and connections if available but if connections not available I book the main legs and keep checking until its time to bight the bullet. Never had a problem with SQ partners checking bags through if on separate tickets.

 

[RooFlyer]

1. Ferry from Naxos/Paros to Athens, overnight Athens, then fly to FRA?
2. Fly from Naxos/Paros to FRA via Athens, then overnight in FRA?
3. Fly from Naxos/Paros to FRA via Athens, straight onto SQ flight. (allow say 3-4 hrs for transit in FRA?)

Either one or two but definitely not three. What time is the SQ flight? If it’s in the morning, personally I would have even more time in Frankfurt than overnight.

 

[rurounimaikeru]

Thanks!

How long to allow for transit in FRA or MUC if travelling on star partners but separate tickets?

 

[RooFlyer]

If I’m connecting on one flight to a second important flight on a separate ticket, I ask myself what happens if the first flight doesn’t run? If it’s a once daily service, I would anticipate taking the day after flight and then having a long connection time of maybe six hours to the second.

If it’s a flight multiple times a day, then I would allow two flights after my scheduled one and then three hours or so to connect. But I’m very conservative!

 

[Duggo]

Thanks!

How long to allow for transit in FRA or MUC if travelling on star partners but separate tickets?

If on a partner airline out of Athens, we have mostly used Aegean and have always checked our bags right through to Syd even if on separate tickets, my wife speaks Greek so booking Aegean has always been easy for us and being the national carrier they generally run multiple flights per day in case there is a mishap, I will generally allow 3 hours or more for transit.

Only issue we have encountered was a delayed departure from Berlin via Frankfurt to Barcelona some years ago on Lufthansa where they sped us to our connecting flight via tarmac bus at Frankfurt to the Barcelona flight, we made but our bags did not, they were on the next flight a hour or so later. This is why I try to book with national carrier out of the country I'm departing they generally run regular more flights.

 

[jase05]

Plenty of good airport hotels at FRA so after a few mishaps through their in the past I always overnight now.

 

[Lux]

Option 2. Get to Frankfurt the day before. Leave safe connection time in Athens also 2 hours min. On seperate tickets you really need to get there the day before to be safe.

 

[rurounimaikeru]

Thanks all!

Option 2 shaping up the winner. And more hotel options too than Athens sofitel.

Or Unless I can find some QR flights direct from Athens home via Doha.....