mscg2000

I've been reading horor stories about the time it takes to transfer from one gate to another at CDG. I am flying on Air France MIA-CDG and then on to Rome. I have about 1 1/2 hours between flights. Is this possible or am I setting myself up for a missed connection? On the outbound portion I am flying business class, but on the return I'm in coach, if it makes any difference in lines, etc. Do I need to clear Security again? Get a new boarding pass? Any hints about how to manage it best? Thanks for all your help on this forum.

davidjac

I would never do a change at CDG with that time limit based soely upon more than one experince at CDG. Some will say that it is OK and perhaps you can make it but many will also agree that it will be close.

I would be a nervous wreck in not being assured that the time was satisfactory.

If you are going to a destination within France for which AF has frequent flights, they can just put you on a later one but there customer service at CDG is sketchy at best.

Good luck!

david J

cougfan

We made a 45 minute connection through CDG onto Barcelona. It was by the skin of our teeth and running the whole way. I would have been very happy with 1.5 hours. We were flying through the airport, but I think I remember going through some kind of Passport control, but we didn't see our bags and we had gotten our boarding passes in Seattle. We were also on Alaska Air miles, that is why we had to take what we got.

As to your other post. I have a ticket SEA-SCL (Santiago, Chile), on Alaska miles. Three of the legs, SEA-DFW, DFW-SCL and DFW-SEA are business/firstclass. SCL-DFW is coach. We have been checking to see if I can get upgraded to business on the flight back but no such luck yet. I fly at the end of November so we are going to just keep calling Alaska.

Julie

otto

i worked corporate sales at air france for 4 years.
daily, i would get complaints from clients/travel agents about passengers not making "legal" connection times. the shortest connection time is the first to come up on the gds/reservation system, naturally it is the most frequently booked. however, i strongly advise against it, even 90 minutes is a major rush in cdg if the plane parks remotely have you have to be bussed in, security lines, etc...check if there is another connection, and if it is a little longer like 2.5 hours for example. believe me, you won't be sorry.

travelgourmet

Well, your connection will likely be 2E to 2F, so it really shouldn't be that bad. Unless you have mobility issues, I think 1-1/2 hours is plenty of time. Honestly, anything over an hour is probably enough time for this connection. It may not FEEL like enough time, but it probably is. Don't waste time, and keep moving, but you should be fine.

As for business class vs coach... I don't think it will make a lot of difference, but it will help a bit. Keep an eye out for the Access 1 signs, which is the line for those in business class, as well as elites.

P_M

I've made connections at CDG with less than 1.5 hours and it's doable but it isn't fun. Lines can be long but if it comes down to the wire tell the airport workers how much time you have and they will let you go to the front of the line. You can walk from 2E to 2F so you don't have to take the shuttle bus. It's a long walk but I can run faster than the bus can drive.

I have to brag--last March I made a connection from 2E to 2F in a record 20 minutes!! But don't try this at home kids, I ran like a crazy, mad woman with her hair on fire and I cut to the front of all lines (with permission, of course). The airport wasn't terribly busy that day and people were kind enough to let me go ahead in line or to get out of my way due to fear of my insanity. Subsequently I made my connecting flight to Venice with not a second to spare.

OK sorry to digress, if you have no major delays then 1.5 hours will probably be OK.

rkkwan

You need to go through passport control and security both ways, and yes, the transit is between 2E and 2F.

usernameistaken

I had a little over an hour to transfer from planes going to BCN from Bos via Paris on Sept 12 this year- they were very organized about the transfer. There wasn't any time to spare but it seemed like the airport staff were committed to us all not missing the flight. The transfer was to an adjacent terminal (2E to 2F). I too was nervous but it ended up being no nig deal at all.

travelgourmet

The reality is that the airline is almost as interested in seeing you make your connection as you are. There are costs for the airline when people miss connections and they wouldn't schedule the connections if a sizable number of people routinely missed them. Now, some may prefer a more leisurely connection, but the correct answer to any question of "will I make my connection with airline x at airport y" is usually yes.

rkkwan

"Usually" is perfectly acceptable to many travelers - like those who're retired and just heading home - but absolutely unacceptable to others - the bride attending her own wedding. That's why people ask. A successful rate of say 95% may be most profitable for the airline, but unfortunately, a few of those 5% who don't make the connection can be furious about it.

Therefore, it all depends on the level of risks the traveler is willing to risk. Some would rather risk a misconnection or two rather than "wasting" time at each connection in his/her traveling life. Others are totally happy sitting at the airport every time to lower the chance of misconnection. And some are flexible with the risk depending on the nature of the trip.

travelgourmet

<i>"Usually" is perfectly acceptable to many travelers - like those who're retired and just heading home - but absolutely unacceptable to others - the bride attending her own wedding. That's why people ask. A successful rate of say 95% may be most profitable for the airline, but unfortunately, a few of those 5% who don't make the connection can be furious about it.</i>

Oh, I understand that some people are more sensitive to schedule disruptions than others, but if that is the case, does asking the question here help them in making an assessment? Even the experienced travelers here can offer little more than a very limited number of observations. Beyond that, it is difficult to differentiate between the experienced traveler and the once-a-year traveler where chance can skew their experience significantly.

At the end of the day, nobody can give anything but a probabilistic answer to the question (even a 5-hour layover is no guarantee that you will make your connection, even if it does increase the likelihood you do), and it is doubtful that anyone has enough personal experience to give you an answer any more accurate than assuming that the airline (which has much more information) is right when they say that you will likely make the flight.

reburns55

I would be very concerned over any connections through CDG. We flew from Dulles to CDG with a connection to Venice. Our flight arrived 20 minutes late due to an aborted landing. The plane was an Airbus 380 it landed in a special terminal. We literally ran for 30 minutes. There is construction and we at some point went outside and then back inside. We arrived at our gate with 10 minutes to spare. But guess what? The plane had left early! 20 plus passengers were now without a connection and we had to wait over 5 hours for the next connection. Some had 10 hours. We complained at the Air france desk and they said that they told the captain that the connecting flight was here, but he chose to leave. They said he has that choice. Also they siad this happens quite often.
So beware.

Reme

CDG is a rotten airport. Poor signage, overcrowded terminals, etc. I found a page on their website that directs you from place to place. It would have helped on our last trip. Look up the terminal maps page a scroll down and you will find info abouts from terminal to terminal.