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Experience 014 Show Notes. Inter-European flights and what does Schengen mean to travellers. The Seat 1A Podcast.

The Seat 1A Podcast

Release Date: 04/09/2019

Recorded 01 April 2019

Written by: Geoff Dahl & Vinod Viswalingam

Listen to this experience wherever you download your podcasts - including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play and Overcast.

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With summer flights coming up to and from Europe, we look into the world of Schengen and non-Schengen flights. What is Schengen and what does it mean to you as a traveller? How will you have to handle security, customs and immigration? How does the physical layout of your airport affect your connection? Vinny shares a very tight timing experience flying from IBZ-MUC-YVR on Lufthansa (LH). Geoff shares experiences having to re-jig his schedules twice through MUC on LH. What do you want to do on your arrival - do you even need to clear Schengen? Do you have the proper visas to transit to get to your destination? Vinny shares stories of checking passports with British Airways (BA) at YYC. Does the country you're flying to offer short term visas? If you're travelling inter-Europe, you still might have a Schengen to non-Schengen connection.

 Boarding Area/Sam Chui news item about a British Airways flight ending up in the wrong city

 NBC news item about a Michigan mom suing Spirit Airlines, says daughter was removed from flight without her knowledge

 Boarding Area/Sam Chui news item about Air Belgium A340 operating for British Airways to Dubai

 Shoutout to listener Brenda Reeves.

 If you have a story, question or experience that you would like to share - including inter-European flights - please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/


SELECTED LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE EXPERIENCE



NEWS ITEMS

samchui.com | British Airways flight ends up in wrong city (27 March 2019)
https://samchui.com/2019/03/27/british-airways-flight-ends-up-in-wrong-city/
"...On March 25th, a British Airways flight flying from London’s City Airport to Dusseldorf in Germany, landed in Edinburgh by mistake..."


flyertalk.com | We’re Super Sorry We Stranded Your Kid(s) (29 March 2019)
https://www.flyertalk.com/articles/were-super-sorry-we-stranded-your-kids.html
"...Spirit Airlines is being sued by a Michigan mother who says her 15-year-old daughter was removed from a flight due to overbooking...In a similar incident, Air Canada and WestJet left a 15-year-old girl stranded at an airport in Canada after flight delays due to a combination of high volumes of spring break travelers, landing of all Boeing 737 MAX 8s and ticketing problems..."


Review: Air Belgium A340 operating for British Airways (15 March 2019)
https://samchui.com/2019/03/15/review-air-belgium-a340-operating-for-british-airways/
 "British Airways have wet leased some of Air Belgium A340-300s to operate on a selection of their flights. This is due to the grounding of BA's B787 Dreamliners, because of the ongoing Rolls Royce Trent 1000 engine issues."



PODCAST CORRECTIONS, CLARIFICATIONS, CONFIRMATIONS

  • Munich Terminal 1: Module A and D are for Schengen flights, Module B and C are for non-Schengen flights.
    Munich Terminal 2: Schengen flights are on fourth floor. Non-Schengen flights are on fifth floor.
  • China transit visa is minimum of 72 hours for select locations



SHOW NOTES

  • What's in this experience? [00:00:45]
  • What is Schengen? [00:01:55]
  • What does Schengen mean to a flying passenger [00:04:55]
  • Heads up for those booking flights through Europe [00:06:05]
  • Security, Customs, Immigration...what's the difference [00:08:32]
  • How the physical layout of the airport affects your connection [00:11:45]
  • Vinny's connection experience IBZ-MUC-YVR [00:12:32]
  • Geoff mechanical issues at MUC [00:18:45]
  • What do you want to do at your airport when you arrive? Do you need to enter Schengen? [00:19:58]
  • Do you have the proper documents to get to your destination? [00:22:35]
  • Vinny shares story of checking passports at YYC [00:24:47]
  • Some countries offer short-term transit visas [00:28:39]
  • Remember that there is Schengen to non-Schengen connections within Europe and how that affects your timings [00:31:37]
  • Vinny and Geoff remember those that did not have eligible transit visas [00:36:30]
  • Do your due diligence and think about how you want to connect at the airport [00:37:12]
  • Be aware if you require single or multiple entry visas [00:38:46]
  • News Items [00:41:12]
    • British Airways flight ends up in wrong city [00:41:16]
    • We’re Super Sorry We Stranded Your Kid(s) [00:45:15]
      • Children travelling alone on flights [00:47:48]
    • Air Belgium A340 operating for British Airways [00:49:32]
  • Show Wrap-up [00:52:50]