Best connecting airports to Poland from the UK?

Jihozapad:

Rather bizarrely, it's not possible to fly direct to ANYWHERE in Poland from MAN (why?????) so if necessary, I connect at LHR, but cheaper options exist via Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Copenhagen. Has anyone any experience of connecting at these airports on the way to Poland from the UK? Which is the best option? Especially with regard to time between connections? Amsterdam Schipol sounds enormous, so I really can't see how 1 hour between flights is enough (whereas at LHR T5, it probably would be, if flying both legs with BA).

Jihozapad	Jul 12, 09, 21:13 / #
So I travel to Poland frequently (and why not? :) ) but usually fly direct from Heathrow. But I occasionally have to travel from Manchester via LHR. And that's where I'm going to be starting from next time. Rather bizarrely, it's not possible to fly direct to ANYWHERE in Poland from MAN (why?????) so if necessary, I connect at LHR, but cheaper options exist via Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Copenhagen. Has anyone any experience of connecting at these airports on the way to Poland from the UK? Which is the best option? Especially with regard to time between connections? Amsterdam Schipol sounds enormous, so I really can't see how 1 hour between flights is enough (whereas at LHR T5, it probably would be, if flying both legs with BA). fyi, my next itinerary is likely to be MAN-LHR-PRG-WAW-KRK-LHR over a 7-day period, so you see why this is important, and I am looking for ways to cut time/costs ;) lol

VincentThreads: 15 Posts: 1,706 Joined: Sep 9, 07 [Moderator]	Jul 12, 09, 21:23 / #
One option might be to fly direct to Krakow from Liverpool. Not too far from Manchester and there should be good connections to the airport.

Jihozapad	Jul 12, 09, 21:40 / #
Vincent: One option might be to fly direct to Krakow from Liverpool. Not too far from Manchester and there should be good connections to the airport. Only low-cost airlines from there though ;) and I don't do low-cost airlines any more (not worth the hassle ime). I have to start from Manchester, there's no way round it, but thanks :)

ShelleySThreads: 18 Posts: 3,647 Joined: Jun 26, 07	Jul 12, 09, 22:15 / #
Jihozapad: Only low-cost airlines from there though ;) and I don't do low-cost airlines any more (not worth the hassle ime). We use them regularly for our guys from the Warsaw office, never had a problem.

terriThreads: 1 Posts: 385 Joined: May 3, 09	Jul 12, 09, 23:40 / #
I use Easyjet from Liverpool - never had a problem. There is an excellent connection from Manchester direct to John Lennon.

delphiandomineThreads: 42 Posts: 9,954 Joined: Nov 25, 08 [Suspended]	Jul 13, 09, 01:06 / #
Jihozapad: Rather bizarrely, it's not possible to fly direct to ANYWHERE in Poland from MAN (why?????) so if necessary, I connect at LHR, but cheaper options exist via Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Copenhagen. Has anyone any experience of connecting at these airports on the way to Poland from the UK? Which is the best option? Especially with regard to time between connections? Amsterdam Schipol sounds enormous, so I really can't see how 1 hour between flights is enough (whereas at LHR T5, it probably would be, if flying both legs with BA). Is Copenhagen via SAS? If so, I'd avoid them - SAS are going downhill rapidly and have been prone to sending people on bizzare routings due to cancelled flights from Poland. I'd recommend going via Frankfurt for a reliable connection - and I think Frankfurt offers both Lufthansa and LOT which plays in your favour, especially as LOT and Lufthansa are part of the same alliance, so if one carrier lets you down, the other should see you okay.

BackOfTheNet81Threads: 2 Posts: 21 Joined: Jun 1, 09	Jul 21, 09, 19:34 / #
At the moment, although it changes accordingly with the whims of Mr. Mike O'Leary, the best connecting airport between UK/Ireland and Poland is probably Stockholm Skavsta. With regards to the reliability of the low-cost airlines, I always try to get early flights where possible because they haven't had the chance to fluck everything up by 07.30. :D Admittedly, I do get a little nervous when I have a late late flight...

HarryThreads: 62 Posts: 8,508 Joined: May 2, 07 [Suspended]	Jul 21, 09, 19:47 / #
Jihozapad: Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Copenhagen. Has anyone any experience of connecting at these airports on the way to Poland from the UK? Which is the best option? Especially with regard to time between connections? Amsterdam Schipol sounds enormous, so I really can't see how 1 hour between flights is enough I've done all of them (and a few more too) but not since Poland finally introduced the open skies policy. From what I saw of them, they're all much of a muchness. An hour should be plenty of time at Schipol, just make sure you steer clear of the low-cost outfits, they use pier M and that's a pain.

Jihozapad	Jul 21, 09, 20:43 / #
Thanks for the replies everyone... so it looks like it will be OK whatever I choose, with the exception of flying with SAS (which I was not planning on doing anyway - don't worry, I do read Skytrax, lol) :)