Layover in Paris for Athens flight
 

I am planning to book a flight to Athens from Atlanta with a one hour layover in Paris. Is that enough time to make the flight or should I book one with more layover time? I will be arriving on Delta. Thanks for any help.

That's not enough time unless you're on a connecting Delta flight out of the same terminal and don't have to go through Passport Control and Customs until you get to Athens. But I believe you do. Book a later flight. CDG is a nightmare airport.

Thanks brotherleelove. The connecting flight is a Delta flight but operated by Air France (according to Delta's website). Does that make a difference? I didn't think I had to go through customs & passport control until I arrived in Greece. Another flight may be best. There is also a flight from ATL to JFK to Athens on Delta with a 50 min. layover at JFK. Do you know, or does anyone else know if that is long enough to make the connection? I definitely don't want to miss a flight! Thanks for the help!

YOu TOTALLY cannot do it... BrotherLee is SO right; CDG is an absolute hell ... the airport is like an octopus, and you hav to get from one "leg" to another... a Bus takes forever ... we RAN for nearly a mile. The people who stayed on the bus for the transfer missed the Athens flite. Our luggage didn't make it -- even tho It was a "partner airline." And yes, the way it works out, you go out of security to get to your connection so you have to go thru security AND passport all over again.

Besides that, the attitude of the airport staff is unbelievable. They LAUGH at you in your face when you ask directions.

I am an experienced traveler; in the last 10 years alone I have made 8 trips. I shall NEVER change planes in CDG again if I can possibly avoid it. And if I am forced to, I will never attempt a connection there with less than 3 hours in between. I'm not kidding.

Personally, I would never book a flight to anywhere -- U.S. or Europe or wherever -- with less than an hour connection, preferably 2 hours. Besides having to change terminals and whatever else, there are always weather delays to consider. We once sat on the tarmac for 3 hours before leaving the airport due to a huge thunderstorm. Many travelers missed their connections.

Thanks everyone for your advice. I will definitely book a flight with at least 2 hours layover time. There are quite a few flights to choose from that connect in NY so that will not be a problem - going to avoid Paris. Just wanted to be sure before I bought the ticket. I don't know why the airlines would schedule flights with such a small window of time for connections, especially international flights.

Both France and Greece are countries in the Schengen common travel area; therefore you will go through immigration at CDG.

Like others wonder in your thread in the airlines forum, why not fly ATL-ATH non-stop if the price isn't that much higher?

And don't do the 50-minute connection at JFK either. New York area airports are prone to delays and your incoming flight can easily be 2-3 hours late, especially in the summer.

We are flying into Newark and then non-stop to Athens. Try that. Going in May and it was $618.00 round trip-Continental Air, from New Orleans. I agree with everyone,Paris airport is not a fun one.

We had a similar issue last fall, booking travel to Athens with NW FF miles. I was afraid of the connection in CDG, especially since we were flying from Athens to Crete and didn't want to miss that flight. Check www.skyteam.com for options and then call Delta. Often if you have information on options they are happy to book at reasonable rate. I know that flights change often these days, but we ended up returning on a flight flight from Athens to Atlanta and then connected from Atlanta directly to our home airport. It was very convenient compared to Newark. Again, if you call armed with info the agents are often willing to help you out.