skatlam

Hello, first-time Fodorite here...
Saw chat about this, but it appeared to be 2011, so if I'm starting afresh when I should have just tagged on, please excuse me.
I am flying Dublin-Pisa-Dublin with KLM, on an Irish passport, via CDG - terminals 2G and 2E are involved both ways. Booked on klm.com as one transaction - carry-on baggage only. Although I have a 4.5hr layover on the return trip, I have only 45 minutes on the way out.
It was only after I booked that I thought to check on transfer times, having assumed (!) that E & G were obviously adjacent, in one terminal... (
So, am I now in trouble...?

kerouac

If you are booked through on KLM, AF-KLM will take care of you and make sure you are shuttled to your flight promptly. They are well aware that the isolation of terminal 2G requires fast shuttle service.

skatlam

Many thanks for that, kerouac. You don't think I need to book a later flight, then?

Patty

45 minutes doesn't seem like it would meet the minimum connect time for a non-Schengen to Schengen 2E to 2G connection at CDG. Are you sure it was that way when you originally booked? Could there have been a schedule change? If so, you can ask them to change it now.

I've made plenty of short connections (less than an hour) at CDG but never involving 2G. Since you're booked as one ticket, they'll take care of you in case of a misconnect assuming there's space on later flights.

skatlam

Thank you, Patty. I have actually just called the KLM customer service centre (I have always found them to be the best in the business - charming, courteous and polite). The helpful lady I spoke to located a map of the airport and advised me that minimum turnaround is given as 20 minutes, so I should be fine. Watch this space...!

Patty

I think the helpful lady has no idea what she's talking about

greg

I have just done 2F to 2G transfer via 2E. It took 35min from getting out of the door of my plane at 2F and sitting down at the departure lounge at 2G after going through the security check at 2G. I waited for a minute or so for a shuttle bus at 2E. Since you are starting from 2E, your transfer time would be even shorter than mine. It was Schengen-Schengen transfer, coming from AMS and continuing on to Spain via CDG. I am presuming your tight connection is 2E to 2G. The shuttle bus runs counterclockwise, so it was faster to walk over to 2E from 2F to get to 2G.

The boarding of planes at 2G starts about 20min before the departure. 2G feels more like a make-shift regional airport. You really don't have margin for late arrival or late getting off the plane.

If you are sitting in the last row of a single aisle big plane like B757, it would take at least 10min to get off the plane.

skatlam

Thanks Greg, yes I arrive into 2E, on an aircraft called Avro RJ-85 Avroliner. Dublin - quaintly - has no internet check-in option, nor even a self-serve check-in, so it has to be the good old-fashioned queue up before the flight opens, in order to try and secure a front-row seat!

Patty

If you're arriving on a regional jet, I don't believe these get a jetway so you'll be bused to the terminal. In that case, it may not matter whether you're the first off as the bus will need to wait for other passengers. The other variable will be passport control. Good luck!

skatlam

Well Patty, the helpful lady was spot on! As it happened, the flight to Pisa was delayed by a few minutes, having had to have a tyre changed, but I was there in comfortable time. Now, I'm not saying I'd like to be doing it during either morning or evening rush hour!
The irony is that, having been bussed from 'Inishturk' into 2E; customs; passport; shuttle; 2G; passport; security; bus to plane-side, didn't I fetch up RIGHT NEXT DOOR to 'Inishturk', where the whole process began!!!
Happy ending!
En-route home, with a whole 3 hours to pass in 2E, I was astonished at how poor (and how overpriced) the food offerings were.
All I wanted was a nice cafe with some fresh coffee and a Parisian croissant. Not a hope! What a pity they missed the opportunity to part their captive audience from some latkes by offering some first-class dining... (

Patty

Congrats!

Christina

I've never been in any airport in the world that didn't have overpriced food. That's what airports do, it's how they make money. You can easily buy coffee and croissants at the airport, it just won't be cheap. I don't think the airport really cares bout making those things cheap for travelers passing through, why would they, it's not like travelers have a choice or that people are going to the airport for the food.