Off to Europe in May. This, of course involves CDG. Our plane lands in 2E ( the new part) but the next leg is out of 2D. Did some airport looking & found-

http://www.adp.fr/webadp/a_cont01_an.nsf/$$Affich@ReadForm&cle=X500520524.html does not have 2E but

http://www.adp.fr/webadp/a_cont01.nsf/$$Affich@ReadForm&cle=X5005A05A4.html has 2E but it is in French.

Now I need to figure out how to get from 2E to 2D in 35 minutes?. We get in at 11:50am but Checkmytrip.com says end of check-in time is 12:25 PM for a 1pm flight to Lisbon. Luggage will be checked thru from FL to Lisbon. Coming back I have 1h to get from 2D to 2E.
Travel company seems to think this is okay. So any tips on how to get from 2E to 2D?
Thanks.

Hi jane,

I called AF. The clerk said that the shuttles between terminals are just outside 2E as you exit customs.

On the map of 2E you will see "correspondance" in red letters just about the middle of the map. I *think* that is where you get the bus.

You might also want to inform the flight crew before you land of your problem. They should be able to make sure that you are properly checked in.

Hi again,

The bus route is found at http://www.adp.fr/webadp/a_cont01.nsf/0/7D6D3B8F4EDA9373C1256B1F0059E5CB/$File/CircuitsNavettes.pdf

Forget about making your connection at all. We also had 55 minutes at CDG and passport control (2 separate ones took 1 hour to get through. There was no one to help or ask for asistance.

The airlines will tell you 55 minutes is the "legal" time and you can make it through. They are totally wrong.

Change the time if possible to at least 90 minutes both ways or forget about getting your flight. Remember that the flight may be a few minutes late and thn you must board buses that wait for all passengers to exit the plane. Then it can be a long ride to the terminal and the stairways are narrow and slow.

We tried to change the time for our layovers and they refused again claiming it is fine.

we also "lost our baggage both ways for 3 days each because they did not have time to transfer the luggage to the new flight. Take some extra clothing as a carry on.

Personally, I will never go thru CDG again for any transfers. I am certain others had better experiences but many have not at CDG

Sorry for the reality check.

David J

Ira: still taking care of me, thanks. But the RED correspondance in the middle says to 2a,2b,2c 2f(41-56)while the BLACK writing 2/3rds up the page says 2d, 2f (1-36). Didn't know I had to go thru Customs to change planes. Our luggage will be checked thru. I guess if we go outside & get on a bus, we will need to be customed. May be time for another AF chat.

Air France is absolutely infamous for impossible connections. You may make it, but be prepared to FLY when you get off that first flight! YOu have to be in great shape to fly AF and make connections.

We just tried a similar connection through CDG, on our way to Florence on Feb. 25. Our flight from the US was late, despite having left on time. We had about 20 minutes to make our connection. We took the advice of the man sitting across the aisle from us (who flies this route frequently) and immediately stopped at the correspondence desk when you come to the end of 2E. They were able to get us on a slightly later flight to Florence with no trouble, so we arrived in Florence an hour or so later than planned, but our luggage arrived with us, so we were happy. On the return flight we had two hours to make the transfer at CDG, and we arrived at our gate just minutes before boarding began. Two hours is comfortable. Anything less is going to be difficult.

janeg - You're arriving in France, but since both France and Portugal belong to the Schengen zone, you clear customs and immigration in CDG. The CDG-LIS is an intra-Schengen flight, so it's like a domestic here in the US, with no further passport control.

Now I am confused. Everyone but RKKWAN seems to think I have a very dicey transfer ahead. "you clear customs and immigration in CDG. The CDG-LIS is an intra-Schengen flight, so it's like a domestic here in the US, with no further passport control." Clearing customs sounds time consuming. I can rebook with 4hr layover at CDG on out bound and 3hr at CDG on the way back. All my travel company says is that the 1h10m connection is legal. I think I am too much of a nervous nellie to try to hot foot it thru CDG.

Hi jane,

I would go for the longer layover. You can always wander through the shops at CDG1.

The 'correspondance' in black is if you want to walk to 2D.

I won't worry too much about the outgoing flight. If you didn't make it, then they'll just put you on the next one. If your plane leaves the US on-time, then you have a good chance for an early arrival in Paris. But where are you flying out of? A spring storm in Chicago or Atlanta, for example, can put flights 2-3 hours late, easy.

I'm more worried about your inbound, because if you couldn't make the 1 hour connection, then you may be stuck in Paris for a day. Again, you'll need to go through immigration and security at CDG.

I can only tell you my recent experience at CDG, but that's in Terminal 2A, not 2E. Our plane arrived about 45 minutes late, but we got through French immigration with no line at all. But March is low season, and again, it's in a different terminal.

Thanks to all. I have called Travel Co. & said adjust! Now we have about 4 hours in CDG each way. We miss a little of the tour in Lisbon & probably won't make the Mephisto shop, but I shall be calmer.

rkkwaw- yes, It's ATL. Then there is the Tallahassee part at the beginning & the end. We get home at midnight, but who cares? Except my wonderful friend who always picks us up at the airport.

This thread has addressed concerns that I have had about a September trip to Florence connecting through CDG. We have plenty of time between flights and right now know that those flights arrive at 2A and connect at 2D. Do we have to go out of the secured area and then go back through security to get into hall D? I have looked at the CDG web site and it does not seem that there is a way to transfer without going out of the secured arrival area. Since Ladylawyer just made the trip in Feb., maybe she could shed some light on the subject. Our luggage will be checked through to Florence, we are told.

Assuming you're flying from N. America (or other non-European countries), you go through French immigration at 2A. You'd exit in the landside, and therefore must go through security again to get on your flight in 2D. But you've already arrived in Europe. There's no passport control for France-Italy flights.

Thanks for the reply rkkwan. Yes, that is the case----we are arriving from North America----Miami to be exact. I am glad we have plenty of time since the last time we had to go through security at CDG in Nov. it took almost an hour an a half because they only had one line open to get through security and xray. I guess it may have something to do their shortened 35 hour work week and they have not hired more people.

We did have to go through security again transferring from 2E. There was no line, however, so it was pretty quick.

I did two weeks ago and the whole transfer took about 25 minutes once we got off the plane, including going through immigration and security again.

I, too, had similar experience as davidjac last fall. Flying from JFK to Florence, w/chaange of planes at CDG left me frustrated/exhausted but I did make the connection. My return was out of Rome to CDG, going on to JFK and in hindsight I realize there was no attempt to ensure my luggage made the flight which it did not; I did make it, however. (also flew Delta instead of AF, which I knew nothing about; nowhere did anything say Delta). I got in the wrong line for the connection as there were 2 planes leaving at approx the same time and had to go to the back of the line after getting to the front of line #1. Another problem (& I studied French in college) was the announcement advising of which gates....E & F not only look alike, there was NO ONE to help or ask and "E" in french sounds more like a grunt that a gate number and using these letters is stupid if you ask me. They are too similar and one easily can make an error. I was not the only one wandering around anxious & confused. I will think twice about going thru CDG again myself.