suze

All else being equal (cost, flight times) would you take British Air thru Heathrow or the new Air France flight thru Paris CDG?

Thanks a million for any tips or recent experiences, Suze in Seattle

DAX

I prefer Air France over British Airways anyday even though Heathrow is a nicer airport than CDG. So my vote would be Air France.

maadimom

When are you going?

Air France has issues with strikes at certain times of the year.

Other than that, they are about the same.

If I had to choose, I'd probably go with someone completely different unless you're flying business class or above.

enzian

Suze---I don't know when you are going, but did you also consider Lufthansa? They start flying from Seattle soon; maybe in March. The flight departs Seattle at 2:30 pm.

I just did a test booking for flights in April and came up with $933 RT to Geneva, including all taxes. The route is with one stop, in Frankfurt.

swissgirl

BA would be my choice. Great service, generally comfortable airplanes, even in coach. Heathrow can be a zoo, but Paris is even worse!

swissgirl

forgot to say...i live in Geneva so let me know if questions.

hetismij

T5 will be open soon, which should make Heathrow a slightly more pleasant experience for BA passengers at least.
I hope so anyway - we chose to book BA to Phoenix so we have an EU-EU-US connection, rather than KLM with an EU-US-US connection!

suze

Thank you everyone!

The trip is for a party I just got invited to today, in Montreux on Saturday June 14th. I'll make about a 10 day trip out of it.

Enzian~ Good tip to consider Lufthansa since the trip is not until later this year. One stop Frankfurt sounds great.

Maadimom~ What other airline would you pick instead? I thought BA and Air France were the only carriers offering non-stops between Seattle & Europe. And yes I am definitely traveling coach.

Swissgirl~ I appreciate your help. Since I've been thru Geneva a number of times to visit this same friend, I actually (surprisingly) know my way around at least the Geneva airport, and how to catch the train out to Lac Leman towns. But I'll remember your kind offer.

DAX

T5 will definitely be in operation in June so that makes Heathrow even nicer. The other thing about transiting in CDG is that you will have to go through passport control again if you're flying to a non Schengen country (Geneva, Switzerland). To me the airport transit is no big deal as I still find the 10 hour flight more comfortable on AF than BA.

enzian

Suze---SAS flies from Seattle too. That is always my first choice when prices are comparable. The stop is in Copenhagen, and that airport is a pleasure compared to Heathrow (I've never been to CDG).

suze

Thank you again for more ideas. You guys are good!!

I didn't find those options at first glance, but obviously need to investigate my flight options more thoroughly.

I'm one of those crazy people who enjoys layovers at Heathrow and have flown BA before (4 out of 5 times) so at least that flight and transfer is somehwhat of a 'known' to me.

suze

DAX~ Thank you for the postive vote for reasonable comfort on the AF flights. I'm usually OK with airport transfers as I only book flight connections with way more than sufficient time to make them.

DAX

I am one who also enjoys Heathrow airport transit like you. CDG just doesn't stand a chance compared to Heathrow, but I'm biased towards AF even against Lufthansa, though I did enjoy SAS very much on its Seatle-Copenhagen route in 2002,

KLM has improved so much ever since AF took over its operation that's how good AF service is comparatively. Of course that's my bias.

rkkwan

The OP shouldn't have to go through immigration at CDG if he's flying SEA-CDG-GVA. It's an international transit, just like going through LHR.

Gardyloo

All things being equal I'd take Northwest's nonstop to Amsterdam and connect from there.

AMS is a piece of cake compared to CDG or LHR, and NW's new 330s are arguably more comfortable than either AF's or (especially) BA's coach product. (That said, BA will probably be using Terminal 5 for both SEA and GVA services, so it ought to be easier.

Depending on when you fly, you might go through immigration at either AMS or CDG depending on when Switzerland officially enters the passport-free zone. It was supposed to have happened sometime last year, but I think I read where it's postponed until sometime this year. Either way, AMS would be my preference.

suze

Yikes another good option.

I have been thru both CDG and Schiphol so can imagine at least some of the variables.

I have never seen a plane with less space or smaller seats than BA in coach, so ANYone's probably got them beat on that account (and I hate how they won't let you get seat assignments in advance, the worst!).

Barb

Suze, here's another vote for NW to AMS. I think coach is more comfortable and spacious than all the other options - 2-4-2 with inseat entertainment and Schiphol is a dream to connect through.

jay

Suze,
I'm from Sea as well. The one stop options would be NW, AF, Luft, BA and SAS. Schipol is a very easy airport to get through.

LunaBella

Hi suze - I'm from Seattle also and I agree with what Gardyloo and Barb said, I've always had good experiences with the NW transfers through AMS.

I've no experience yet with Lufthansa but I will be on one of the maiden voyages for the non-stops at the end of the month SEA-FRA, hope this turns out to be an experience I can recommend in the future as well!

suze

Hmmm... On both NW thru Amsterdam and Air France thru Paris, they are OK going over... but on the return trip are taking me thru one extra U.S. airport).

My dates are flexible so I'll continue to study up. All the prices seems to be similar coming in at about $1450.

I appreciate everyone's comments and sharing their experiences. Feel free to add more or top this post later on with additional info.