My flight leaves CDG at 7.15 am. I always take the 15.55 flight back, so I have no experience with flights at this time of day. So on this early of a flight, will 2 hours ahead be enough, putting me at CDG at 5.15 or do I need 3 hours advance? Even at 5.15, the airport hotel shuttles are not running, so I will have to cab it I guess. I am flying United/Lufthansa if that makes a difference. Never flown them before either. Going from CDG to Frankfurt, then DC.

Of course, if I had $400 extra dollars laying around, I could spend the night at the CDG Sheraton and time wouldn't be a factor. Unfortunately, that ain't the case as I will be trying to spend every available centime here in France before I leave.

Thanks for any input.

Priceline for a hotel at the airport?

No, the early flights are quite relaxed at CDG. One hour is plenty for a flight to Frankfurt: no passport control and only security to go through. Check-in for such flights normally closes just 20 minutes before departure.

The only early flight that is consistently swamped is the 8:15 Air France flight to JFK.

you could probably get the hilton or sheraton on priceline for about $80. check out www.betterbidding.com and www.biddingfortravel.com to see what people have won as bids lately.

i would still leave two hours.

Agree there's a huge difference between early morning flights and ones after about 10 am. I took a 6 am flight out of GDC a couple of times and didn't need much more than an hour, if that, to check in, go through security, and board.

If you did want to stay at the airport, Priceline is a good idea.

I'm not sure I've taken one that early, but for the one I had around 8-9, it wasn't as crowded as later in the day. I think a lot of international flights leave late morning or afternoon, rather than really early. I personally don't think 3 hrs is necessary, although I do try to get that when I'm leaving 10 am or later. I'd ask United, actually, but I would think 2 hrs would be enough. That's not really an international flight, as far as I understand it -- aren't you changing planes in Frankfurt?

er....CDG (God knows where GCD is!)

GCD is in South Dyslexia, said by Ryanair to be near London.

GCD is not currently assigned.

But people also often type CGD which is Changde, China.

Actually, the Lufthansa site says that the check-in deadline is 35 minutes before departure at CDG.

We had a very early flight from Barcelona to London....the line was very long and some people (who arrived 2 hours in advance) almost didn't make the flight...SOLEY due to airline understaffing:

1. BA opened the check-in 20 minutes late.

2. When they opened, they had one employee working coach (long line) and one working first/business class (no one in line.)

3. When two more employees arrived 30 minutes later, one was the supervisor, and one more worked coach. So, an hour after they were supposed to open, you finally have two folks working coach, one doing nothing in first class, and another supervising all of this.

That would be my only concern with such an early flight anywhere....understaffing. Whenever I've been invovled in a stressful, not enough time at the airport situation, it has always been because the airline did not have enough agents working.