lizany1956

I need some advice please
My daughter is flying Air France next week from USA JFK TO MRS
She will be connecting flights in CDG from terminal 2E to 2F
She lands at 8:50 am and departs at 10:05 am
She has a will have a checked bag does she have to pick up her bag and go through customs and will that be enough time.
Her friend booked the flight and I am not sure if she has enough time I never traveled international before.
I am worried for her because she suffers from panick attacks.
Any information will be greatly appreciated.

nytraveler

She will not go through customs but she will have to go through Immigration - since her ongoing flight is domestic. IMHO this is doable if everything goes well - but it's not a lot of time.

Hopefully her plane will be on time. (She might want to check this now to see how realistic the transit time is. A LOT of international flights land at this time and there can be delays getting a jetway/gate and also long lines at Immigration.

She should plan on sitting at the front of the plane (can save 10 or 15 minutes) and as soon as she deplanes she needs to rush to Immigration as quickly as possible. Some of the passengers on her plane will be running and all will be rushing to avoid being stuck on the end of a long line. After that she has to get to her new terminal and go through security for the ongoing flight.

If possible I would try for an earlier inbound flight or a later onbound flight.

If she sees she will not make the next flight she should head for an airline desk so they can rebook her on another flight immediately.

jane1144

A lot depends on whether the second fight was booked as part of the same ticket as the first one. If so, and she misses her connection, the airline will put her on the next available flight. If there are two separate tickets and you miss the second flight you are out of luck (and likely out of pocket), and will be booking the second leg as a new flight at whatever rate they decide to charge you. I agree with the recommendation above, to sit at the front of the plane. Having carry on luggage only makes a huge difference.

Christina

It sounds like they are an Air France flight on the same ticket so, no, you don't have to pick up your own bag. You could have asked Air France that, to be sure, when booking.

You don't go through "customs".

greg

If she only needs to get to MRS sometime that day, this is practically no "overall" risk provided the ticket was booked as JFK-MRS and CDG happened to be a layover.

Unlike a connection where missing the second leg means no planes for days, there are Air France CDG-MRS flights practically every two hours until the evening. Even if she misses the designated flight, she would be accommodated on one of the many remaining flights of the day.

Look at at the airport map http://www.aeroportsdeparis.fr/en/pa.../terminals-map
Terminal 2E is an sprawling set of three buildings which are practically three different terminals.
2E Hall K to 2F is a walk through a ground level passage with frequent signs showing the way to 2F.
2E halls L and M are further away.

She might have been told by a person who did 2E hall K to 2F transfer that it was just a walk across. However, that is not the case if the plane lands at 2E hall M. From 2E hall M, she would take a people mover to 2E hall K, then walk across.

There are numerous digital display boards showing the location of the gate for her next flight. The digital display at CDG is the final word on gate assignments. She must verify the gate number of the CDG-MRS flight as early as possible to eliminate unnecessary moving around if there had been a gate shuffling.

lizany1956

Thank you everyone for the great advice. I will call the airline and try and change her flight. It will be expeance but she needs to be at her destination by 3 pm to get on the bus for her college. The bus leaves at 3 pm and then you have to find your own way to get to the college.

nytraveler

The next flight to MRS seems to be at 12:50 - arriving at 2:15 - which might well be too late for her to catch a bus - depending on the specific arrangements. I would contact whoever is organizing the bus for details on that - and if people coming in on the 2:15 flight will be met.

lizany1956

Her ticket was booked as one so if she misses the flight she should be good with air France to get the next flight she is in the front of the plane row 13 so I think that she can get off the plane fast.
I could not change the ticket the cost was almost $2000
I just have one more question I now know she goes through immigrations but does she have to go through security one site said she does.
We are trying to gather all the info so everything goes very smoothly for her.
Thank you again for all the advice.

Patty

Yes she'll also have to go through security after passport control/immigration.

lizany1956

Thank you everyone for all your help

powhatangal

I flew JFK to MRS On Air France with a one hour connection through CDG. Me and about 10 others didn't make the connection even though there was an Air France rep trying to get us through immigration and security to make the flight.

So we were rebooked on another flight that left about 3 hours later for MRS.

Hope it all works out for your daughter.

lizany1956

Does anyone have advice if my daughter misses her 3pm bus to her college she will have to take a taxi from Maresille airport to the college in Lacoste France.
How is the taxi service do they have set prices or do they overcharge and are they easy to get at the airport.
Thank you again for everyone's help. We never traveled outside the U.S. A so not sure how things work.

greg

Ah, Savannah College of Art and Design? I drove to Lacoste and walked by that school last year.

The taxi meter price estimate is about €130. It is a long distance.
http://www.taxifarefinder.com/main.p...73196999999982

I have negotiated a fixed price when I used a taxi from Avignon. I am not sure if it was a case by case deal. She can certainly ask if the driver would take her at a fixed priced around or less than the estimated meter price. If on meter, before I get into the cab, I always ask the driver for a price estimate as a sanity check and ready to pay well over the worst case taxi fare in case of traffic tie ups, major detours, etc.

lizany1956

Hi Greg
Yes she goes to SCAD in Savannah Georgia SCAD in Lacoste is supposed be be the most beautiful college campus in the world
My daughter is so excited to have a chance to study in France.
Thank you for the info