paspeng

Hi, my wife and I are flying in on Westjet in Charles de Gaulle and flying out on TAP. We will be checking a bag. Is 1.5 hours enough to make a connection? Thanks for your help. We have never travelled through CDG.

J62

If Westjet and TAP have an interline baggage agreement and you bags can be checked in all the way to your destination then 1.5 hrs is doable.

If not, and you need to retreive your bags in CDG then recheck them with TAP by the cutoff time which might be 45min before departure, then no way, no how.

Either way, your chances are better if you can get your TAP boarding passes either online before you begin your trip, or when you check-in with WestJet.

mjs

Agree with above. Are your flights on one ticket or two?

janisj

TAP and WestJet do interline. So when you check in for your flight in Canada, they can tag your bags through. If this is on one booking they will also issue your TAP boarding pass. (Neither might happen if these are two different tickets)

But when is this trip? If soon, things can take extra time now with various covid rules / requirements /hoops to jump through. And IF this is several months out there is a HUGE chance one or both of the flight schedules will change. Current schedules for 4/5/6 months from now are basically 'place holders'. No matter when the trip is - you will go through Immigration at CDG. CDG can be a mess and even on a straightforward single-ticket/hand luggage-only I'd be wary of a 90 minute connection. If your incoming flight arrival is even 15 or 20 minutes late it would be REALLY difficult. If this is on one ticket though, if you miss the connection they will put you on the next available flight.

But . . . really the first question is when is the trip . . .

AJPeabody

You risk missing your connecting flight if anything takes longer than expected. I remember waiting an hour standing on a stairway waiting for a huge crowd to go through the only two CDG immigration booths that were open at the time. Change one of the flights so that you will have more time.

paspeng

Thanks for all your responses, I really appreciate the feed back. We will be travelling in early September. We will be on 2 tickets so we will have to collect bags and check in with the second flight. The only other option that day is with a 3.5 hour layover. I am hoping this will be enough time. Thoughts?

AJPeabody

3.5 hours vs 1.5 for a complex 2 ticket transfer is a no brainer. There is no layover, just prudence. Take the longer connection time.

janisj

"The only other option that day is with a 3.5 hour layover. "

3.5 hours isn't a 'layover' - it is a connection and about the shortest CDG connection I would consider - at CDG - and especially in the current situation. 3.5 hours 'should' be good, but do understand if your incoming flight is delayed you have no protection. Also - flight schedules are being changed every day. There is at least a reasonable chence one or both of the flight times will be changed in the next 7 weeks. (anecdotally - Before I recently finally cancelled a July two leg flight to London, one or both legs had been re-scheduled 4 times between early March and late June)

I would build in as much time as possible between flights. You don't mention your final destination, but depending on how many flights a day there are out of CDG, I'd even consider flying at CDG the day before. If there are several flights a day great -- but if there are only one or two you might be out of luck.

mjs

Since you are on two tickets there is no way I would try to connect in 1 1/2 hours. 3 1/2 hours is reasonable. You do have to ask yourself what happens if I miss my connection? Is there another flight later in the day? If not would you have to stay at a hotel at CDG overnight? Would you have to buy another air ticket? Will you miss a tour or cruise if you don’t get to your final destination on time? If you are on two tickets you have to balance the possible costs of missing your connection with the timing of your connection

balthy

Where are you travelling to on TAP from CDG? They don't seem to operate out of CDG but Orly to LIS/OPO/FAO.

mjs

Balthy is correct. Should have caught it earlier as I was just looking where to fly from Lisbon last month and TAP goes to ORY not CDG. A quick search seems to confirm that TAP does not use CDG. Perhaps we are talking about a TAP Star Alliance code share? If the Op needs to transfer airports that would require the RER or a taxi as I do not believe the direct bus runs anymore. So maybe add another hour to an hour and a half for the transfer? Ive only done it by bus many years ago.

janisj

If you ARE flying out of Orly -- Your bags 100% would not be transferred. It isn't a terribly difficult transfer -- Train to Antony then a 7 or 8 minute bus ride to ORY. Or easiest - a taxi. But you'd have to deal with the formalities at two different airports all while jet lagged. If it is ORY -- definitely confirm this of course -- I'd honestly consider flying in to Paris the day before and taking a morning TAP flight the next day.

bilboburgler

yikes