Flights cancelled to Paris, we are now going to be split up on different airlines and different arrival times at airport, where should we meet at CDG???
 

There are 6 in our party, our flights were cancelled out of Rockford to Detroit to Paris. 5 of us are rescheduled for flying Northwest and one in our party is flying KLM> The lady flying alone is elderly and never been to Europe. Her flight is landing 2 hours before us. Where should we meet???? I do not know if KLM/Northwest share the same area. I only have flown Air France to Paris. So thanks in advance.

Sorry to hear that, but it shouldn't be a major problem. I presume your friend will be connecting in Amsterdam. Because Northwest switch from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 at CDG Paris several months back, I wanted to make sure that you got the most accurate, up-to-date info possible. I've therefore posted your question on www.flyertalk.com. Just drill in to "Forums" and go to "Travelbuzz". Your question is listed under the heading:

"DTW-CDG: Group now split up between NWA & KLM flights; where to meet?"

I'm betting there will be some good suggestions from people with recent experience on these flights. If you see responses discussing the Northwest flight arriving at Terminal 1, you will know that is from someone who made the trip prior to March 2005 and the comments may not be valid to your situation.

I was through there a couple of weeks ago but I flew in on Northwest and out on Air France. (DO check for codeshares between KLM and Air France, on the AMS-CDG leg btw.)

I can understand your concern.

I can’t offer any suggestions re the logistics, as I have not flown with either airline, but if the lady is elderly, perhaps you might consider declaring her a “wheelchair” passenger. She might not be too pleased, but it will mean that she will be looked after by the airline personnel until you can meet her in Paris. She will be boarded first, settled into her seat and it will be a low-stress experience. In Paris, she will be unloaded last, an airline employee will help her pick up her bags, guide her through the immigration and deliver her at the other end. If my elderly MIL were flying on her own to a non-English speaking country, it would certainly be the way I would prefer her to travel.

Good luck with your planning.

Regards Ger

there are 6 of you and you cannot arrange the group so that an experienced person flys alone rather than an elderly first timer?

Both airlines land at T1, which is an abomination.

I can only suggest that the single traveler take one of two actions.
Agree to meet you at McDonalds, which all of you should be able to find, at a specific window of time, probably 30 minutes to an hour after the last flight arrives.

The other choice is for her to go to the exit level and take a taxi to the hotel. Have it written with the address on a piece of paper, unless of course, she speaks French.

then meet her at the hotel.
trying to meet someone in that mares nest of a T1 building strikes me as something I would not want to do

I second the taxi to the hotel idea. Issue her a couple of little cards with name, address, phone etc of hotel.

My husband said that might even be hard for her to find. We spent an hour one day looking for the stand where the Marriott shuttle stopped.

However, there's no guarantee the flight with the other 5 will be on time. We had a 4 hour delay in Amsterdam because of fog in Paris. You wouldn't want her to sit in the airport for 6 hours.

If you go with the taxi to the hotel idea, I would call the hotel to make sure that she will be able to check in if the room is not under her name. Back in the day, when I worked at a hotel rez center, I got a few complaint calls because someone whose name hadn't been on the reservation wasn't allowed to check in until the person whose name was on it arrived at the hotel. So, just a heads up- make sure your friend is under the share with information or that one of the rooms is under her name.

I also think the single traveler would be better off just going directly to the hotel. She can check inn, relax, maybe have a snack or drink from room service and just get over all the stress of CDG.

She will have a two hour head start on the holiday. This should be the plan for everyone - go to the hotel so that IF either flight is delayed or diverted everyone will know where to meet . . . .

I just checked CDG's official website for gate information, which was just recently redesigned. All flights from Amsterdam (whether KL or AF, as the two codeshare on each other) arrive 2F, and Northwest arrives 2E. At least that's the situation for today. One can walk between the two easily.

rkkwan, thanks. That is what I THOUGHT I saw a few weeks ago and it is in line with the recent changes. Pjsparlor, there are also a couple of responses on Flyertalk, one of which suggests that you get in touch with Northwest and either get the sixth person rebooked with the other five or add somebody from the remaining group to fly with the lone traveler to facilitate. That makes sense to me, too.

Hi pj,

>The lady flying alone is elderly and never been to Europe. <

I suggest that she inform the staff on the flight from AMS to CDG that whe will need assistance. They should help her get her luggage and get to the cab rank.

She should then take a cab to the hotel.

((I))

Thanks for your great suggestions. Unfortuntely the ederly Aunt was rebooked this way and did not understand that we were not flying together, and she was rebooked last night and has already left for Detroit via Rockford airport. Poor thing she has around 7 hours to spend in Detroit before her connecting flight to Amsterdam then to Paris, on KLM.

I love the idea of having her as a wheelchair passenger. And I will definitely meet her at the hotel. Northwest has not won any points with me on this trip. Thanks Fodorites!!