2 Tickets 1 Airline, what transfer times??

BernadetteN · 25 May 2007 at 2:39PM

I have been looking in to return flights from London to Moscow for July / August. My husband is currently working out in Moscow and is due to return home at the end of August. My husband has a restricted business class ticket provided for him for free from the FCO but it is only valid for LUFTHANSA and no other partner airlines. I would like him to travel back from Moscow to London with the rest of the family together but our cheapest airline for the 5 of us is SWISS (around £750). If husband bought a single ticket to join us on SWISS, he would have to pay for it himself and the price is just too high. Therefore, our cheapest option appears to be for the rest of the family to travel with LUFTHANSA too.

However, a through ticket from London to Moscow (most common connection is through Frankfurt) for 5 of us costs around £1300. If I buy separate tickets with LUFTHANSA for the 2 legs, London to Frankfurt and Frankfurt to Moscow, the price is £800-£900 which is at least £400 cheaper than the through ticketing.

The first question I have if I buy 2 separate tickets is, do I have to go completely out of the secure area at Frankfurt and go through check-in or can I go to a transfer desk and do check-in there? Would I be allowed to send the luggage all the way through or do I have to collect the luggage and check it in again at Frankfurt? (I may be able to send all the luggage on the way back on husband's business ticket so it's likely to only be a problem on the way to Moscow). I am a bit worried that I need to allow about 3 hours for the transfer at Frankfurt whereas on the through ticket, there is only an hour between landing and taking off again.

Many thanks for any advice.