macook3

Hi!
I am currently debating purchasing two separate tickets with a connection in CDG. The first flight would be arriving in terminal 2E from Chicago at 11 am with AirFrance. The next flight would be departing to Madagascar at 2 pm from terminal 2C. However, because they would be purchased separately, I am assuming we would need to collect baggage, pass custom and passport control, and recheck in. Would 3 hours be enough time to do this? We are experienced fliers, so mainly curious about wait times in CDG around noon. Thank You.

WoinParis

It is enough time.
The 'rule' is 1 hour min for a European flight, 2 hours for elsewhere.
However if your flight is late, you miss the connection and nobody cares, you can buy another ticket.
But you're experienced, so you know that.

Robert2016

What's wrong with just booking a flight straight to Madagascar, if that's where you want to end up at the end of the day? It's much better then worrying about making a connection on a seperate ticket.

Landing times really have very little to do with arrival time. It's all for record keeping, on-time arrival, etc... It can easily be 30 minutes before you reach passport control, and if you have to collect your luggage, that can add more time to your transfer.

The journey time between terminal 2E and 2C can be 40 minutes, if you don't have to check in at the ticket counter (http://easycdg.com/airport-guide/tra...s-cdg-airport/).

Sarastro

If you are experienced fliers, you already know that scheduled arrival times are only schedules; you could actually arrive CDG earlier than schedule or you could arrive hours later. You´re rolling the dice with, in my opinion, more downside than upside.

For connect times at CDG, 3 hours may be fine keeping in mind that you are NOT connecting passengers and will not have access to expedited immigration, baggage transfer, check-in, and follow-on security processing.

My advice would be to purchase one ticket from the Chicago to Madagascar. It might very well be a cheaper option.

StCirq

I would not do this. There are too many potential risks, and missing a flight is one of the last things I ever want to happen. As an experienced traveler, of course.

lincasanova

makes me nervous just thinking about it. delays.. technical problems.. immigration delays.. too many factors..

travelhorizons

SIMPLE ANSWER: DO NOT BOOK SEPARATELY. Problems do occur with flights, and if your first flight either inbound or return is delayed substantially, you'll miss your second flight and be out the money.

If you book everything with AirFrance, you're protected.

isabel

I'm going to guess the reason you are looking at two separate tickets is cost. But the problem is if the three hours isn't enough (and there is no way to know for sure ahead of time) then you are stuck with no way to get to Madagascar.

I often do something similar but give myself an entire extra day - yes that means spending the night in Paris (or London or where ever) and getting to and from the airport. But I LIKE having a 'bonus' night in cities like Paris or London (this assumes you've been there before and know your way around). Often the savings is enough to pay for the hotel and the extra to/fro the airport. So it's a question of time vs money. If you are on a tight time budget this doesn't make sense of course.

But no way would I allow just 3 hours to catch a non-connected flight after a transatlantic flight.

greg

If you are an experienced fliers, you would know that your are rolling dice here. I would not do this unless I have something enormous to be gained on the upside while protected from the drown side with an acceptable fall back plan ready to execute at the last minutes. "Enough time" you are referring to is a statistical entity. You might hit the acceptable range or get stuck with long tail part of the distribution. Landing on the long tail of the time distribution on the wrong wide would royally foul up your schedule and possibly the finance if you have thought through possible consequences.

BigRuss

You're flying in from Chicago - aren't there flights that would arrive earlier than 11 am? Your day will be shot no matter what, so if you're avoiding cost, just build in more time on the front end with a flight that gets in at 9 or earlier.

Christina

What airline are you flying on, anyway? I checked and the cheapest flights around 2 pm are partners of AF, anyway (KLM, then Kenya airlines), so I don't know why you can't buy it all on one ticket. The only nonstop flight seems to be on AF, also.

I think you could possibly make that connection, but I would prefer to allow at least 4 hours, probably. Depends on the consequences.

AJPeabody

Any glitch with the first flight, any delay inside CDG, and your ticket to Madagascar evaporate, as does the return flight of course. Then, you will be in Paris until the Paris Chicago return flight or pay the exorbitant walk up price to get to and from Madagascar. This is the textbook case of penny wise and pound foolish.

MmePerdu

My personal rule is if there's a missed flight, for whatever reason, if I can afford buying a replacement ticket for the missed onward flight, fine, take the chance. In this case, it sounds like an expensive possibility. And delays if later flights are full and you have to wait. I'd be inclined to either 1) spend somewhat more if necessary for both flights on 1 ticket, or 2) overnight in Paris. Worse things can happen than a night in Paris.

It also depends on the season, if coming for instance from N. America in winter. Flights get cancelled for weather.

rouelan

Hum macook is flying AF from CHI to PAR, and then Air Mad (because the AF flight to Tana does not connect).
You could try to call AF to see if they would sell an interline ticket. On the web site, AF only sell online connections but they may however have a special prorate agreement.