Depends where you're flying to, what luggage you have and whether you've checked in online or not. One hour is plenty in most cases; when flying to London from Basel I check in online and get to the airport 30-40 minutes before the flight; can do 20 with hand luggage only but that makes me nervous.
Coming back is more complex as there's "conformance" at LHR T5 (I think it's 35 minutes) plus I can't judge the timing of my trip to the airport as accurately.
First I take the plane to Frankfort, there I change to another plane to the destination. I do not know whether the passport control to leave Schengen area will be done in Geneva or Frankfort (company is lufthansa)... If it will be done in Frankfort then in Geneva it will be simpler?
I've checked in on line, printed the boarding pass, but I have luggage to check in so anyway I have to pass by the counter.
Yeah I think 1 hour should be enough for everything. But in case if there is a problem of train? (but the probability should be really low)
I would leave yourself at least 1.5 hr at the airport, the security queue can be slow at this time of year and you have to drop your bags off. Also bear in mind you have to change trains at Geneva due to the ongoing construction work, which adds 15 - 20 mins to your journey time.
We are flying from Zurich to the UK at 7.00am. The first train comes through Baden at 5.29, which means we will be at the airport around an hour before the flight.
That's all we can do, we have no other way of getting there any sooner.
In Geneva an hour before the flight is more than comfortable. If you do the online check in and have a boarding pass it's just a matter of dropping luggage and getting through security which is a joke here compared to some other international airports.
I agree with Adrian, I often arrive just 40-50mins before the flight at Basel airport, since it is small with short queues. But if I have a bag to check in I come at least an hour before because the Easyjet bag drop queue is sometimes long. Living in Basel this is easy, it is a short trip where not much can go wrong, and the bus goes every 10 mins, so no worries if I miss it.
If I go to zurich airport, which, although a bit bigger, also has very short queues. I aim to get take a train that has subsequent train arriving less than 50 mins before flight. That way if I miss the 1st then the 2nd will still get me there in time.
Geneva, I find, is a little bit busier with longer queues. If I were you I would get the 6:26 train arriving at 8:07, there is another a half hour later in case you miss it, though could be pushing it if you have a hold bag.
i often get 7am flights. i normally wake up at 4.30am and pack before heading out. 1 hour is enough normally, but watch out during peak holiday times when security and check-in gets rammed and the online check-in service gets overloaded.
I second the 1.5hrs before the flight. Flying back home means a long haul flight to me, and I usually arrive 1.5hrs-2hrs before the flight, provided I have done the online check in. But then I usually fly from ZH and live in ZH, and my flight is usually around noon, so no hassle.
Personally I wouldn't risk it at Geneva especially at this time of year. I've been in some very long queues at security at Geneva airport and it's easily taken 40 minutes or more to get through.
Better to get up a bit early and be safe than risk it in my opinion.
If i have hold luggage, i try to arrive 2 hours before. Usually that means waiting a lot longer at the airport after security. Last time though, i was flying out at 11. Went to the airport at 930, only to find out at check in, that my flight got cancelled and i could get a seat on a flight leaving at 950. Cue running to the gate but thankfully i made it on time. Luggage arrived as well which was impressive. That was from Geneva
I make sure that I am on the train before the last one that would get me there in a reasonable time. Leaving it to the last one is always too risky.
Twice I have been very thankful for doing this: A train cancelled at the last minute due to snow; finding that the plane was going from another airport and I had to transfer.
1.5-2hrs on a Saturday is usually not a good idea. If I were you, I'd buy a Priority Pass for 8 bucks and be smug while looking over the long queue. You can only buy it until the day before your flight. www.gva.ch
GVA only really gets crowded at security on Saturdays (and to a lesser extent Sundays) during the ski season. It also depends if you are checking in luggage or not. Without luggage turning up 1 hour before the flight is plenty and will give you a little reserve.
If you've got bags you need 10-15 minutes more (and even more with Easyjet). There's no difference between short-haul and long-haul flights.