I am planning a trip from DC to Florence. The least expensive options are Air France (via CDG) and United (via Munich). Which would you pick?

I have no experience with Munich, but CDG is notorious for missed connections. If you choose Air France, be sure to allow several hours between scheduled landing there and your departure for Florence. Do a search on the Europe forum here on "air france."

I thought I read somewhere that Florence had a very small airport, and most larger flights went to Pisa, about 40 miles away. <BR><BR>There's a commuter train between the two, and I'm sure there are bus connections. I guess it depends if the cost advantage is worth the extra hassle.

How long does it take to get from the Pisa airport to Florence?

I think it's about an hour away.

Mary, no doubt about it - connect in Munich, much smaller, less chaotic and much easier. UA is usually pretty good transatlantic (try sitting in E+ if travelling in economy), and once in Munich it's very easy to connect - no long walks, changes in terminals or anyhting like that.

Hi Mary,<BR><BR>I've flown Air France to Florence from Boston and had no problem at all, they were great. We rec'd our bags no problem and they even held the connecting flight for us on our flight.<BR>CDG is big but Air France has it's own terminal and it's really not a big deal. Florence does have a small airport but there was no problem there either. There are also cabs right outside waiting to take you into town and I don't think the fare was outrageous or anything, I think it was between $12-16 for us and two teenagers.<BR>In fact that was one of my smoother trips. Hope that helps!<BR><BR>Alyssa

By the way, I booked right through Air France and I was nervous coming back because we only had 55 minutes to connect to our flight at CDG, that was the one that they actually held for us. I think if you fly them all the way they are pretty good about making sure you get your connecting flight, they even gave us business class on one flight without even asking.

re: travel from Pisa to Florence<BR><BR>We travelled to Florence in 1999 and flew into Pisa. The hotel we were staying at in Florence provided complementary transportation (minibus and driver) between the hotel and the airport on arrival (presumably on departure also, but we were going to another destination so I cant vouch for that). Depending on where you are staying in Florence you may want to check if this type of service is provided. As I recall the drive was about 90 minutes door to door.

No contest-go with Air France.

This is the first time I have looked at this board as I only go the the European board. The reason I came here was to see if anyone else had trouble with Air France from BOS to FLR. After I saw the post by Alyssa and Joe, I was rather surprised. Allow me to share my experience with AF.<BR><BR>We were to leave BOS on xmas day to FLR, via CDG, at 8:15pm. The weather was bad and the incoming flight never made it in. Here is what AF told us at about 10:15pm. &quot;The incoming flight has been diverted to Washington and therefore Flight 321 is cancelled. Please call AF after 9am tomorrow for further information&quot;. Gee thanks AF.<BR><BR>The trip back was worse and I cannot recommend AF if another choice is available. Their customer service is horrible (I guess they all are) and I am still trying to get my FF miles from them for the BOS-LHR leg. BTW, CDG is a terrible airport if you have a connection.

That was the exact flight we took too JJ, 321 at 8:15pm. I'm sorry you had a bad experience with them. Were any other flights cancelled that night? I remember the storm, I am from the Boston area as well. <BR><BR>I think the service on all airlines has really dwindled and it is not what it once was. We just flew AA to Miami and our TA (I usually don't use one) had it marked on the itinerary that it was a lunch flight. Being short on time due to problem with the tickets we didn't get anything to eat. We were then informed that AA doesn't serve meals on domestic flights anymore. <BR><BR>When we flew AF (granted an international flight) we were fed serveral times and the wine flowed freely.

We flew Alitalia from Chicago to Milan, then to Florence. Have seen complaints about Alitalia, but the only complaint we had was that it's takes awhile to get through to an agent. We had a package deal which included the hotel. We enjoyed Florence and there were side trips you could book through the hotel.

We flew Air France from Newark,NJ to Venice via CDG. My husband who travels domestically was overwhelmed by the professional and courteous service &amp; the neat appearance of the flight attendants (we were in coach!) Now whenever we fly he always tries for an Air France flight. (Sorry, there is not AF flight from newark to tampa).<BR><BR>That being said, we did not make our connection at CDG Airport. We did not notice when we purchased the tickets that we had (ONLY!!!!)22 minutes to make our connection. Completely unrealistic; it took 50 minutes just to get through customs. Then another 10 minutes to find the gate. <BR><BR>I have no idea how they could even sell them to us.