2 hour connection at CDG
 

i am flying direct from Seattle arriving 8:10am at CDG. I have two options for my connecting flights to Sofia: 10:10am and 1:05pm. I would like to take the 10am but I am reading lots of complaints about CDG. Is 2 hours enough? I will have a checked bag that I will need to get and likely need to go through security and check in for my next flight. I am an EU citizen if this makes a difference going through immigration.

Are these two different bookings? Or he same ticket? If two different bookings -- no way, no how, nope . . .

two different bookings

>>two different bookings<<

Then even the 1:05 could be problematic. That would be PLENTY of time IF you land on time, but if you are delayed you could be out of luck.

Bulgaria isn't in the Schengen area, so you wouldn't have to go through immigration at all at CDG if you didn't have that bag to check. I assume you can't check it through if you have two separate tickets - unless the two airlines have an interline agreement? Not sure how feasible that is.

Otherwise, I'd agree: if you have to go and re-check that bag, meaning going through immigration and then back through passport control to leave the Schengen area again, two hours is very likely not enough time.

I would not be worried about taking the 1:05pm flight myself. Five hours should be plenty of time. Even three hours might be enough. What are the chances you are 2+ hours late? Sure it's possible - but what are the chances?

There is also trip delay insurance (some credit cards may offer or you can buy it) that could cover you in case of a delay like this.

I would book the 1:05.

You seem to like risk. If you booked and flew the 10h10 connection 10 times, you might make one or two of them.

2 hours is no where near sufficient time to catch a second, non-connecting flight through CDG.

Last September we flew to Paris. The line to get the passports checked took 1.5 hours. You may guess my answer to your question.

I can't imagine the 1:05 wouldn't be enough time, whyever not. If you were arriving by taxi, you'd probably try to get there maybe 2 hrs in advance at most within Europe. Landing at 8:10 approx (and all the flights I take from the US are about a half hour early actually), that gives you about 3 hours just to get your bag and get through immigration and get to wherever you need to. I think that's tons of time myself.

I would do the 10:10 if it were on the same ticket. I'm sure the bags can't be transferred or why wouldn't the OP have booked it on one ticket to begin with (if the airlines were partners).

With an EU passport, one normally clears immigration in less than 15 minutes. However, there is still the problem of collecting your baggage and rechecking it for the next flight.

I assume you are arriving at terminal 2E, but which terminal does the Sofia flight use?

>>I can't imagine the 1:05 wouldn't be enough time, whyever not<<

In case reading isn't your strong suit? I didn't say the 1:05 wouldn't be enough time. I wrote >>Then even the 1:05 could be problematic. That would be PLENTY of time IF you land on time, but if you are delayed you could be out of luck.<<

What in that post is inaccurate? I wasn't commenting about the length of time being a problem - but that the separate tickets could be a problem. ANY connection on separate bookings can be problematic . . .

There is a good chance that the 1pm Sofia flight will be from terminal 2E and the 10am from 2D. I don't think that this information is available yet because I'm flying in late August but I just checked the same flight today and tomorrow and it looks like it is from terminal 2E. I'm flying from the US with Delta. The 10am flight to Sofia is with BG Air and the 1pm is with AF. Looks like today's 10am flight with BG Air was from terminal 2D.