Charles de Gaulle airport
 

Anyone have any recent experience with CDG and transferring planes in the short time they allow? From past posts we've just resigned ourselves to catching the next plane.
BS

I did a connection of approximately 70 minutes in May and had time to spare; going back it was a bit of a rush, but I still made my flight with about the same connecting time. It really depends on whether you are connecting within the terminal 2s or to something else. If you can walk to your connecting terminal, then you can make a tight connection. A lot of people on this board have experience with CDG---both positive and negative---so you can probably get more specific advice if you can tell us which terminal(s) you are flying into and out of and what your connecting time is.

I always arrive around 6:30 a.m. and immigration has always been a breeze with maybe one or two people ahead of us. This past March, however, there were so many people from various flights in very unorganized lines (both times I went thru). I think I made it thru in about an hour, but everyone was stressed about making their connections and tensions were running high with people cutting in line, etc. I was very glad I'd changed my flight to a two hour connection, versus the one hour that was orginally booked.

We arrive aerogare 2 terminal C at 11:50 am. We depart aerogare 2 terminal f at 1300pm.
BS

Those are the terminals that I arrived and departed from in March. Like I said we had it so easy at CDG for so many years and this past spring it was a bit of insanity (both coming and going). However, I could have just hit it on a bad week.

What is your connection time? I usually don't worry about the possibilty of being delayed and having to catch a later flight when it's just my DH and I traveling. On this last trip, however, I was traveling alone and due to meet my mom and sister in Rome...and they would have already been waiting for me at the airport there for three hours. So, that is why I changed my connection time from one hour to two hours to avoid missing my connection and being later than planned.

If you have no definitive plans to meet someone else or be somewhere at a certain time at your final destination, and don't mind taking a later flight if you are delayed, I would say an hour or so might work. It's been done by me and many others. It just may not work out each and every time due to unforeseen circumstances.

Hope this info helps. :)

My bad....I just saw that you noted your flight times.

I honestly don't know how busy CDG gets later in the morning since I have only arrived around 6 a.m. or so. Perhaps someone else might be able to give you more info on that time of day at those terminals.

If it were me, and I had no prior plans that I HAD to be at my final destination for, I would chance it and go with those flights knowing that I might possibly have to take a later flight if I miss my connection.

We land on Friday morning at 7:25am and then fly out to London at 9am. I am keeping my fingers crossed but figure if they don't get us there on time, there is always another flight, right?

Dejais, when I have had close connections I always print out a listing of the other flights for the day to take along with me. Just so I know my options.

You might very well be okay with having over an hour and a half, though. It's those connections that are right around an hour that make me a bit nervous. :)

I've made them a lot, but I was certainly glad I had longer on my last trip with what I ran into unexpectedly at immgration.

Statia...Funny you should say that as that is exactly what I have been doing since I posted that....LOL

You're flying AF EWR-CDG, right?

All US-CDG flights with the exception of those originating in DTW and CVG have been recently relocated to 2E. See my post here http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34862278

slightly off the topic, but found an article on today's Wall St Journal about AF-KLM.

&quot;The new airlines two-hub network (CDG and Schiphol) last year started stealing customers from rivals, particularly long-haul business fliers who need <b>quick transfers</b>...&quot;

Huh? Are there some tricks I'm not aware of?

We just got back 2 days ago and missed our connection from at CDG due to lack of time between flights. Air France assured us that 45 min would be Ok but then at CDG they said you should always have 2 hours. The security is so much more time consuming there that I would leave at least that much time. We went through 2 screenings and 2 pat downs plus a interogration (including asking us how ling ago we had used our iPods???)

I was getting a bit concerned with our upcoming connection CDG to MAD in November and was glad to see this post.
I called Delta - our flight is actually an AF flight SFO/CDG arriving into Terminal 2, connecting with a DL flight CDG/MAD - connection time is 1hr 5mins - leaving from Terminal 2.
We've terminated in CDG several times and realize what a maze that airport is - with a connection time of just over 1 hour within the same terminal - do you think we will have a problem as well???

I returned last week from an AF flight that had a connection at CDG. Going there we had about an hour and ahalf, and only made it because I asked for handicap assistance (sometimes I use a cane) and knew that walking at my speed, we would surely miss our connection! The airport helper walked us through security, with no checks. Without her I don't know if we could have made it. Flying home we had an hour more and did it ourselves. The security was so thorough. Pat downs for everyone and each carry on was completely checked and looked through! If you really don't think you'll make it, ask for assistance. I don't know, fake a limp!

zwho....LOL!!! I'm &quot;running&quot; over to the store and pickiing a cane as we speak!
did more research and we are arriving in Terminal 2E and departing Terminal 2F --hopefully our bags are checked thru to Madrid and we wouldn't have to wait and clear customs in CDG.

DMary -

1. Understand that your CDG-MAD flight is operated by AF. Find out what the AF flight number is, because the the displays at the terminal may not show the DL codeshare flight number.

2. There are many posts about this, but with a tight connection, you need to understand the process:

- Go straight through French immigration just like you're going to Paris. <b>Ignore</b> all the signs that say transit or connection.

- You don't need to claim bags at CDG. They will be automatically transfered to the MAD flight.

- After you get out to the public area, look for signs to walk to 2F. It's a short walk.

- Reclear security at 2F. Go to your gate and board your Air France aircraft.

3. Check out the map for CDG2EF from a link on this page. May want to print it and carry with you.

http://www.aeroportsdeparis.fr/Adp/e...sPratiques.htm

Thanks rkkwan! You are the Fodors Travel forum guru!
Our SFO/CDG flight is actually an AF flight (AF83). Thanks for the tip re &quot;ignoring&quot; the signs which we would have done had you not said anything.
Have since downloaded and printed the map for Terminal 2E to 2F.
Mucho gracias!

I started this post on Sept. 5 with very few good pointers. Now that I have been thru the mill I can comment from experience. All of the little secrets of how to get here or there at CDG won't help if the flight is held up as it was last Thursday around noon. This made the original flight over an hour late (too much to make up in the air) of which I found out thru the AF people helping our flight was the NORM for the last 6 weeks. I repeat that this occurred around NOON and can't comment on other time frames. The end result was that connecting flights in Philadelphia were missed and we ended up at our destination around 1:00am on Friday instead of 5:35pm on Thursday. There has been further discussion on this subject a few days ago. BS

Well,
After reading all of the stories about the CDG Airport. I now have a new question concerning transfers. We will be arriving CDG from FCO, Terminal 2 F on Alitalia. We have a connecting flight on Air France(City Jet) which also leaves from Terminal 2 F, one hour later. Will we have to go thru Customs/Immigration, or security, as we are not actually making an official entry into France? Has anyone been this route before and what can we expect? Thanks

Limey - Italy and France are both in the Schengen common travel area, so there's no passport control between them. And my guess is that your final destination is in it too. So, it'd be like flying from Houston to Boston via Chicago. Different states, but no passport control among them. No security either if both flights in the same &quot;finger&quot; of 2F.

The list of Schengen countries can be found at www.eurovisa.info.

rkkwan
Thanks. I forgot to say that we were flying on to Dublin. Does that change anything?

Yes, that changes things because Ireland is not Schengen. So you need to go through passport control to get out of Schengen, and most likely security (though I'm not 100% sure about the latter).

You will be going between the two &quot;fingers&quot; (as I like to call them) of 2F.

To go from the Schengen side of 2F (where you arrive) to the non-Schengen side of 2F (where you depart) requires going through passport control, then security. If you look at a map of CDG, 2F is divided into two separate peninsulas.

Patty and rkkwan,
I am hoping I won't have to recheck my bags? Any thought on that issue?

You bags will be checked through. Just make sure they're tagged properly at your original check-in in Rome.

rkkwan
Thanks for the info. Have been to CDG before but never had to make a transfer. As always the knowledge on this board is amazing.

So, let me get this straight, within the Schengen countries, one can travel to and from without going thru passport control? I just checked the website and most of the EU is part of this.
We are traveling from SFO to Madrid via CDG on AF arriving in 2E and departing from 2F on another AF flight - we have a 1 hour transit and I am getting very nervous.

People seem to be getting very confused about the Schengen issue.

If, <b> as applies to Limey </b>, you're arriving at CDG from non-Schengen and continuing to non-Schengen, <b> you don't ordinarily go through passport control </b> &quot;Ordinarily&quot; means you'll have to under slightly odd circumstances - such as if you're connecting to an airline like Ryanair that has check in only outside the secure area. Rkk - for the first time in history - is just wrong, though there is routinely a boarding gate airline passport check on all flights from anywhere to the UK/Ireland.

If, <b> as applies to DMary, </b> you're arriving at CDG (or any other Schengen airport) and you're going on to another Schengen destination, <b> you go through immigration as you arrive. There is then no more immigration as long as you stay within Schengen </b> The CDG-Madrid bit has no immigration control: but you have to go through immigration at CDG to get into Schengen.

flanneruk -

Limey is coming from FCO, which is Rome, Italy. Which is clearly Schengen.

Rkkwan is correct. Limey's connection at CDG is definitely <b>Schengen to non-Schengen</b>.

Patty,
I found a good map of CDG on the internet. It looks like the flights from Rome will arrive at the gates to the left as there appaers to be no control(Schengen), while the gates to the right have security, immigration etc, just before entering the non Schengen area. Any thoughts on that and will we make our connections in an hour?

Limey - You're looking at the right map. Your understanding is correct.

However, what makes CDG so difficult for passengers to use is its unpredictability. I once stood at the passport control going from non-Schengen to Schengen at 2F (right to left) and took me a good 20 minutes in line when 5 lines merged into just 3 officers working.

During that time, I was looking at the people going the other way (i.e. left to right, Schengen to non-Schengen, like what you're be doing). When I first arrived at the queue, nobody was going that direction, so the wait is zero minutes. But by the time I went through, the opposite direction was even worse than my side.

You should understand that you don't have to use those passport control lines. If the line looks ridiculously long, go back out and exit that side of 2F, and then use the passport control from the main hall into the non-Schengen area. <b>Maybe</b> the line will be shorter there, but who knows.

This might or might not apply. My trip from JFK to CDG to Barcelona I had to go thru passport control but it was a breeze at about 9:00am. My return from Barcelona to Paris was about Noon. Our line thru passport control took about 45mins with virtually body search for everyone with a minimum of attendants. Our flight was an hour late taking off of which created a dominoe effect. The Air France attendants were profuse with apolgies and contended that this was going on for about 6 weeks (3 weeks ago). Maybe this applies to only US destination flights. My contention is that the AF people that I contacted prior to my flight did not mention any of this or offer any solutions to my concerns. The 5:35pm arrival at my destination ended up being 2:00am the following day. I feel that AF or any other airlines involved with this should &quot;fess up&quot; and let their travelers know what's happening. BS

Oooops! sorry for being redundant. Most of which I've just posted I had posted just after my flight. Wish Rkkwan had responded to my inquieries before my flight. Good Luck. BS

Limey,
Hard to predict but I think you have a good chance of making a 1 hour connection from 2F1 to 2F2 if your inbound flight is on schedule. At the same time, you should prepare yourself for the possibility of taking a later connecting flight. Have you checked what time the next one departs?

Good Morning and thanks to all of you for the information. We are prepared(checked next flights etc.) for the worse when transiting CDG, but we leave in 24 hours for Rome for 8 days before going on to Dublin via CDG . Thanks again all and I will say a prayer at St. Peters and drink at least 1 pint of the Black Stuff in Ireland, well maybe more than 1.
Limey

This is just fyi if you've a connection from 2D to 2E. Be prepared to be shuttled if you travel on Air France regardless of whether the flight is intra-Europe or to/from the US.

It is possible to walk from 2D to 2E and we chose to do so rather than wait for the sporadic shuttles. However, it is an extremely long, long walk. 2E is very modern and spacious though. We didn't get to see any shops as we were on a 55 minute connection time. But no worries as to missing our connecting plane to the States as they hold the plane until every passenger is on board.

Immigration was a breeze. There was a line, but it flowed quickly.

What is frustrating is that when you get to your gate you will need to take another shuttle to the tarmac for boarding. You may get pulled aside by security. Unfortunately if you travel with others (e.g. spouse, friends, etc.) you may get pulled aside and they may not. What happened to us and to another couple is that the wife got pulled for checking while the husband went into the shuttle unaware that the wife was pulled aside due to being in a rush to get to the shuttle. Luckily we nor that other couple didn't get separated as the husbands realized quickly what occured.

Expect this secondary security search to include a full hand search of your bags, shoe check, and a wand search.

We now know why the planes are held up for 45 mins. or more. Our seatmate complained that he was sitting there for over 45 minutes and heard that many passengers were late in arriving, but he didn't know the real reason why.

we're sort of resigned to the fact that we might have to catch a later flight to Madrid. We have a 1hr connection between 2E and 2F. Luckily there is another flight 2 hrs later - with luck we will be in Madrid by 4:30pm.

True. You can always catch the next flight to Madrid. Hopefully you will be able to make the original flight though. Unfortunately these days Air France and CDG are a bad combination so I made sure to book a two hour connection for my husband to make his Florence flight.