CDG - Is 2 hours 5 minutes cutting it too close?
 

Good evening all. I'm looking at purchasing a flight itinerary on Air France, LAX - CDG, and then CDG - RNS (Rennes). There is only 2 hours and 5 minutes between flights, and I am concerned it will not be long enough to claim luggage, clear immigration and customs and get to my next gate. Your thoughts?

Thank you.

Assuming you'd be flying Air France one one ticket, they supposedly would not sell you a ticket with too tight of a connection.

Clearing customs for an American doesn't amount to much, a few minutes more or less, but passport control might take a little longer, depending on how many international flights are arriving at the same time. Check with Air France regarding the connection.

Can you check the luggage through and print the boarding pass for the second flight?

If not, 2 hours would be rather tight to get through the passport control, get your luggage and check in again. ( different terminal?)

also, you will have to go through security control for the second flight.

Those are good questions, danon. I guess I'll need to speak with the airline, since I'm no familiar enough with the procedure/law at CDG. In the U.S., I'm pretty sure I have to claim my luggage at the port of entry, then send it back through for the second flight. I guess I'm assuming the procedure is the same in France.

I agree that if you have to deal with luggage between flights, it may be tight. It also depends on how far away are your two terminals from each other. CDG is a huge airport. I was in quite a panic once trying to get to my second flight at CDG because I had to wait for a bus to get from one terminal to another. There was a line to get on the bus, and I was unable to get on the first bus etc.

Agreed, Gina. I'll have to get all the answers from Air France.

If it's sold to you as a single ticket that the airline is responsible for getting you where you're going as soon as possible - but that might be quite a wait. I would be uncomfortable with that itinerary - but have you checked what the next flight out would be?

I've had it take more than an hour to get through Immigration at CDG when a bunch of transatlantic flights landed at once and it was about 2 hours before we got outside to find a cab - so obviously we would have missed the flight. But part of it is the luck of the draw - and the tailwinds from the west.

(I don;t trust airlines since SAS put me on a flight with a 1:15 time limit and said there was plenty of time. After going through Immigration I had to get my bag and knew I wouldn't make it. so I went to the nearest counter and asked about being put on the next flight - and was told to go pickup my bag and RUN with it to the other finer of the terminal. They said they would wait for passengers from my flight. so I did - luckily wearing flats and having a small bag. But they closed the door in my face at the ongoing flight (and the faces of 8 or 10 other passengers - and said we should have gotten to the gate faster - even tough we had been waiting for both Immigration and our luggage). Sorry - I'm not an Olympic sprinter. they put us on the next flight an hour later. Ever since then I decide on how long a connection I'm willing to live with.

I assume by the way you have asked this question that you are purchasing two different tickets and will not be a connecting passenger at CDG (meaning it will be your responsibility to be sure to make the departure for your follow on flight).

If this is the case, you will need to deplane, pass immigration, collect your luggage, pass customs, make your way to the check in desk, complete all formalities there, pass through security, and finally make your way to your departure gate a board your second flight.

2+05 is not near sufficient time to assume you will make this connection successfully on any consistent basis.

Everyone above is answering a different question and they're probably all correct.

Here's why: if this trip is all on one ticket and one airline, that means you just pass through CDG, don't collect your luggage and don't need to clear customs (you'll need to clear immigration no matter what because you're coming off an international flight) then you're fine - we've made 75 minute connections at CDG and considering the place is still a dump that's pretty good.

But if you won't be a connecting passenger and you have to connect from one airline to another on separate tickets (Sarastro's assumption), then you'll be somewhere between cutting it exceedingly close (because the second flight is within France, so checking in again isn't as terrible an ordeal as it would be for an international non-EU flight) and completely screwed.

That means, answer this question: what's your flight itinerary and is it one ticket? If yes, the layover should be sufficient.

Both flights are Air France flights. But, you're saying I WON'T need to collect my luggage for customs at CDG? I can check it through and deal with customs on arrival in Rennes?

2hr and 5min should be enough IF you are simply transiting CDG and all you bags are checked-through all the way to RNS.

By the way, based on my GDS (Airline Reservation System) there is no AF flight combinations that offer 2hr5min connection time in CGD from LAX to RNS.

1*S#AF 65 LAXCDG- 400P1135A 0
2*S#AF5721 RNS- 125P 235P#1*0 13.35
3*S#AF 77 LAXCDG- 935P 500P 0
4*S#AF5723 RNS- 800P 910P#1*0 14.35
5*S#AF 69 LAXCDG- 645P 215P 0
6*S#AF5723 RNS- 800P 910P#1*0 17.25

You might want to check your flights.
The minimum connection time in CGD between your terminals is 60 minutes but IMHO that is too short. 2 hours is fine.

AF 65 LAX 4:50PM CDG 11:20AM 10h 30m
Layover in CDG 2h 5m
AF 5721 CDG 1:25PM RNS 2:35PM 1h 10m

Iregeo - you could make this a lot easier if you would simply clarify if you have one single ticket and one reservation to RNS or if you have purchased two separate tickets with two separate reservations; one to CDG and a second to RNS.

If the second assumption is correct, the fact that both segments are on Air France means nothing and you will very unlikely be able to check your luggage to RNS.

What Sarastro said.

But Sarastro, I haven't purchased anything! I found this itinerary on itasoftware, and am simply trying to determine whether it is reasonable to purchase in light of the timing. I am not trying to be difficult. I don't know what else to tell you. I guess I'll have to check with the airline.

Just make sure you book the flight on one ticket! As I mentioned earlier, check with the airline, or use a travel agent who knows how to book a flight.

.."dealing with customs" basically means just walking out with your luggage.
and
what Robert said

Regarding whether one ticket or not before purchasing tickets by looking at ITAsoftware: If you look at the top labels, it says "Multiple Airlines", "Air France", "Delta", etc.

The single airline booking operated entirely by that airline's fleet is the safest bet against missed connections. But this is usually not possible.

The next best is a single airline booking operated by codeshare partners. I have just gone with some passing the buck between the code share partners when one canceled the flight. At least they still seemed to have retained the obligation to connect my flights. I think the flight you are looking at is no worse than this type if you choose "AF" or "Delta", "KLM", etc. You get luggage checked to the final destination and get all the boarding passes for the trip at initial departure.

The next in line is the "multiple airlines" ticket. If you search Tripadvisor, Flyertalk, etc, there is no straight answer to just what kind of liability you have shouldered over a single airline ticket. The luggage "may" be checked all the way to the final destination, but the first carrier cannot always issue boarding passes for other carriers so one ends up having to checkin at layover airports to obtain boarding passes. There seem to be some exciting blame games if there is a delay resulting in missed flights for this type of ticket.

The worst of all are the tickets purchased separately.

I think the flight from CDG to Rennes is by Brit Air (operates AirFrance colored planes but run by Brit Air) operating from the Terminal 2G. The AF65 flight from the US would probably arrive in Terminal 2E. You would take a frequent shuttle bus from 2E to 2G. I have just done longer 2F to 2G transfer in 35min, but I did not have to go through the passport control, and the plane was a tiny A320 so it took no time to get off the plane. I think AF65 is a A380.

If this is all one ticket and looks like it. as repeatedly said here you do not collect luggage ever in Europe when connecting on same ticket to destination. You will walk through customs at arrival airport.

Yes, 2 hrs. 5 minutes should be OK and since you are protected by the airline in case of delay.. I would definitely go for it.

Thank you for all the information.

"In the U.S., I'm pretty sure I have to claim my luggage at the port of entry, then send it back through for the second flight. I guess I'm assuming the procedure is the same in France."

The procedure is not the same in France. This is why I always try to make connections in Europe rather than in the US when I am returning to the US. I can avoid having to collect and recheck my bags this way. This is pretty easy for me since I am flying to Boston; it is obviously harder if you are flying to LA.

I believe the reason for collecting luggage at the US port of entry before connecting to another flight is that not all US airports have facilities for customs and immigration. So when you land at the first US airport, you go through customs and immigration there and then have to recheck your bags for connecting flights.

In Europe, you generally walk through customs at your last stop rather than your first. You may have to go through immigration at your first stop; however, you do not collect your bags to do this.

<<In Europe, you generally walk through customs at your last stop rather than your first.>>

You will always clear immigration at your first EU arrival city. If you connect to a second EU city, there will be no customs. You will arrive, pick up your luggage and be treated just as any other local (EU) passenger.

... If you connect to a second EU city, there will be no customs. You will arrive, pick up your luggage and be treated just as any other local (EU) passenger...

actually, you may THINK there is not customs there because of the set-up, but all international bags that have come from outside the EU are funneled into an arrival area that has "nothing to declare" "something to declare" exits.

Whether the customs officials are out observing is one thing.. but it is set up that way.

I've transferred at CDG many times coming from the US and then going on to some other city in Europe and have never once had to collect my bags at CDG.

I have always had a single ticket on Air France, however (for both flights).

"You will always clear immigration at your first EU arrival city."

This has not been my experience. If you are departing from the same terminal as the one where you arrive, you may just walk to the gate. Or, as Greg said above, there are times you may go from one terminal to another and still not pass through passport control.

Assuming one ticket, 2:05 is plenty of time.

<i>You will always clear immigration at your first EU arrival city.</i>

You clear immigration/passport control at your first point of entry into the Schengen area. Not all EU countries are part of the Schengen agreement and not all Schengen member countries are part of the EU.

<i>If you connect to a second EU city, there will be no customs. You will arrive, pick up your luggage and be treated just as any other local (EU) passenger.</i>

There actually is customs when you pick up your checked baggage. It's just that most people don't notice this non-event.

And it's possible to through check bags on separate tickets and most definitely if they're both on Air France. Most airlines (although less likely with LCCs) have interline agreements to accept baggage transfer on separate tickets. I've done this many times with separate tickets on different carriers. The critical difference is that you won't be protected on a later flight in case of a misconnect on separate tickets.

Thank you, Nikki. I was doing a poor job of articulating my question, but you understood what I was getting at.

Btw, I will be staying at the rue Truffaut apartment again, this time with DH. I think you were there before, weren't you?

I certainly was. I understand they have done a great job of restoring it after the fire. I would love to see it.

I'll be there in November. If you don't get there before then, I'm sure I'll have pictures.