connection time in CDG
 

I arrive in American Airline terminal at CDG at 12 noon on Friday. My next flight is Air France at CDG at 1:45PM on Friday. It is 2 different tickets. I have 1 checked bag. Is 1 hour 45 minutes enough time, to go through customs, get my luggage, and recheck for my AF flight??? (its my first time at CDG)

That's tighter than I would risk, even pre-Covid. CDG is notorious for long processing times.

AA (oneWorld) and Air France (Sky Team) are not members of the same alliance and AFAIK AA will only through check bags to other oneWorld alliance members. Thus at CDG you will need to retrieve you bags from AA, take them to your next airline, re-clear security and get to your departing gate. AA arrivals are in terminal 2A, and AF departs from 2 E,F, and G. AF bag check deadline is 40 - 60 or more minutes before scheduled departure. What is your final destination?

Since you are on separate tickets AF will not protect you if your AA flight arrives too late to make your connection. (And making the connection involves deplaning, getting to/through immigration, to baggage claim and to AF check in then through security to get to your AF gate.) If there is any way to change your AF flight to allow more time, I would absolutely recommend it. If it is possible to get away with only carry on bags your chances of success increase but still may be tight. At the very least check to see what alternate flights to your final destination are available so you have that info if (as is very likely) needed when you get to CDG.

Not to pile on to Seamus's post, but won't you have to clear immigration control as well? It's been awhile since I flew into Paris, I don't recall that being a fast affair.

I don't like your odds at all. I can't say for sure you won't, but I wouldn't risk it.

Glen

Welcome to Fodors. If you make this connection you should buy several lottery tickets because you will be very lucky. Even without checked bags this would be a difficult connection. CDG can be a total mess (not always bur very often). AA mostly uses terminal 2A, and AF uses Terminals 2 E, F & G which are farthest from T-2A

IMO you should definitely change your AF light to quite a bit later.

Upon CDG arrival, and assuming you are not late, you will go through:

• passport control (recent waits have exceeded 60 minutes)
• baggage claim
• customs - just a walkthrough really
• change from terminal 2A (where AA arrives) to terminal 2E/F
• check in your luggage, which has a typical 30-minute cutoff time.
• security (and passport control if your destination is other than the Schengen zone)
• board your new flight

If you can do that at CDG in under 1+45, buy me a lottery ticket as well.

The only hope is that your flight arrives earlier than scheduled, which often they do from the US. You can check flight status for the past few days to give an indication of actual arrival times.

Wow! No need for the sarcastic and nasty replies. If you aren’t going to be helpful, scroll on by.

To add to your time clock challenge, the time of arrival is the time of touchdown. At CdG the plane could easily taxi for 15 minutes or more to the arrival gate. Add more minutes for the crowd to get off. Even before the covid slowdown your transit would have been frantic. Hope there's no sarcasm in that simple observation.

Really? Every flight I've ever taken arrival means arrival at gate and includes taxi time. Same as departure means gate departure.

Flight schedules are indeed based upon gate to gate times, not actual takeoff to landing. Still, this itinerary has a very unlikely chance of success and rr1218 should seriously consider making changes.

Who was sarcastic or nasty?? Honest question. The consensus is that this is a very difficult connection and IF he makes it he will have been very very very lucky. That is not sarcastic -- that is truth.

Last month I arrived at Terminal 2F, with a connecting flight at 2E, both on Air France. My incoming flight was late, so I had just an hour between the two. It took me 40 minutes to get from my arrival gate to the departure gate, where they were already boarding. I was through Schengen immigration in five minutes as it was an early morning arrival, but I was still scampering to make it in time.

You very likely used the passport control for those making connections. rr1218 is not a connecting passenger and must use passport control for those terminating CDG to be able to recover checked luggage. The two are very different experiences.

It should be okay if you have an EU passport. If not, it is rather iffy. It is never a good idea to have two different tickets if you don't have at least 3 hours between major flights.

Of course, that true. I just wanted to say I was rushing even to make an airside connection. In the past I have had long lines at immigration even as a connecting passenger.