We have 30-45 minutes between a flight from US to Rome via Paris. We need to go from Terminal 2E to 2F (luggage is not a factor). Anyone know how long will it take? Thanks! TD

I am not sure, but if you have to go through a hand luggage and passport control - more time than you have.
here is the map of the airport.


http://www.bonjourlafrance.net/air-f...le-airport.jpg

Thanks, danon. Don't think we have to go through passport control Air France folks said we should be able to do it and they "promise" to get us on the next flight should things go awry. Fingers crossed BIG time!

Success in changing terminals at CDG in such a short time is unlikely. Air France maintains delusions of success, but be prepared to wait for a seat on a later connection.

Thanks also, AJP. We shall see.

That's a tight connection for any airport let alone CDG. Good luck.

Ian

Can you choose your seats on the plane in advance? This can make a big difference especially with your time being so short.

One of my pet peeves is waiting on a plane after arrival... my last 2 trips I've paid an extra 20 bucks and reserved seats very close to the exit doors.

I'd think it would be money well spent in your case...

Rob

Good luck. I have gone thru CDG many times I have never made such a short connection. You go thru passport control because you enter EU you will not have to go thru PC in Rome. Better ask what time will be the next flight to Rome just in case.

Hi TD,

2E and 2F are next to each other. See http://www.paris-cdg.com/maps.html

Some people have reported making 0:45 hr connections. Most reports here say that it is too short.

AF will put you on the "next available" flight, but you don;t know when that will be.

If they don't make you go through passport control, and if you don't have to go through security, and if your plane is on time, you could make it.

I suggest that you be prepared to miss your connection.

Don't get upset. Don't raise your voice. Don't cry. The AF employees love that. They become unhelpful and intransigent.

I've made 45-minute connections, but I RAN, and the AF staff were there to herd us along and make sure we made it. It wasn't fun, and if I hadn't been in decent shape to really hustle, it wouldn't have happened.

The two terminals are adjacent - it's not THAT big a deal, if your first flight lands on time and you know where to go. You'll get on the next flight if you miss the first one. Good luck.

Several points:

1. From the Air France website:

Vous êtes en provenance d'un pays n'appartenant pas à la zone Schengen* vers :

- un pays de la zone Schengen, Genève ou Bâle-Mulhouse :
vous devez passer les formalités de police et d'immigration avant d'embarquer sur votre vol.

Travelling from the US to Italy, you must pass through Passport control.

2. Much depends upon at which gate you arrive. Terminal 2E itself is two separate buildings. If you should arrive at 2E gates 21-47, the shuttle route to 2F passes 2C, 2A, 2B, 2D and on to 2F - it takes time. It would probably be faster to run across the center parking lot to 2F except you would then be subject to the possibility of lengthly passport control and security lines for re-entry.

If on the other hand you arrive at 2E gates 51 to 76 the shuttle ride is much shorter and the bus departure point is located at the center of a long building.

3. Verbal assurances from AF agents will be as useful to you at CDG as my written skepticisms that you will not.

4. Promises that in the event of a mis-connect you will be placed on the next flight to your destination mean that you will be placed on the next <b>available</b> flight to your destination. You might secure a seat on the next flight but AF will not bump passengers originally ticketed for that flight to accommodate you. This is why during busy travel periods, it may be unwise to accept bookings with unrealistically short connect times (less than 2 hours).

5. One may rationalize that if it were not possible to make a short connection, AF would not sell tickets for one. Well, the airline business is competitive and airlines like to offer services that appeal. On paper, a 30 minute connect time at a busy airport looks great, your total en route time is shorter and you arrive at you destination sooner. Many only realize after having purchased tickets and started their journey that what they had assumed was a guarantee was nothing more than a possibility and not a very strong one.

Of course some people do the unlikely. Hopefully you are one of them.

Oh boy. How this works out will be part one of my trip report. Thanks all.

I had to make a similar connection at CDG in December and was very worried about it. Unbelievably, when my flight arrived from Vienna, an Air France rep met me and others from my flight. She guided us through the airport and security so that we would make the plane. Maybe it was because there were several people making the same connection but it was not an overwhelming number of passengers. Who knows, maybe you will be lucky.

Good news, indeed elcon. Thanks!

Yes, I often see AF reps waiting at the CDG airplane exits with signs for the various connecting flights. I made a 45-minute connection there a couple of years ago, so close connections CAN be done, with a little bit of luck!

Good luck!

Sarastro, thanks for that info; I found it helpful.

AF always takes care of AF to AF connections (and more generally Skyteam). It's when you are completely changing carrier that you are often left on your own.

Well friends, you won't believe this but we DID make the connection. We had to butt in line at passport control and power walk over to our gate, but we made it with 10 minutes to spare.

On the other hand, our return trip from Rome that changed in Amsterdam had a 2 hour connection was the one that we almost missed because the plane was an hour late leaving Rome. We didn't power walk but it took 30 minutes to get to the next terminal and they were actually loading the plane when we arrived at the gate! Phfew! We think the strike in France may have impacted the connecting planes. We had been in row 20 and were moved to row 58.

There was both a gate and a plane change in Amsterdam so we think that is why neither of our bags arrived at Dulles with us.

Luck of the draw I'd say but it can be done. In the future, I'll pay extra to go non-stop! Thanks again for all the advice.