Those darn buses at CDg
 

I keep seeing a lot of posts about short connection times at CDG. We had such a tough time with buses at CDG that nearly everyone I was near missed their connections. I just wondered is this common?

What I want to know is how many other travelers have been hung up on the buses at CDG that collect you as you come off the plane on the tamac and then drive you to the terminal?

Is that a common problem, or did that just happen to us? (We were on Delta.)

Do you recall that there were NO SEATS on those buses? That everyone is standing, exhausted, carryiung luggage, babies, you name it?

How long did it take you to get from plane to terminal? Ours was, seriously, at least an hour - maybe more. Not only was it really slow driving across the tarmac, but unloading there was a LONG line of buses discharging one at a time.

I just wondered if this is a common experience or what.

Thanks.

Hi wl,

Don't worry. It was nothing personal. they do it to everyone.

((I))

At least you got to ride a bus! I had to <i>walk</i> 1/4 mile across the tarmac (fortunately I was not connecting, but others on the AF flight were).

I've never had to ride a bus or walk over the tarmac in dozens and dozens of trips through CGD. I'm always deposited on a people mover, with plenty of seats, and transported to the terminal. Must be a Delta thing.

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. Luckily our p[lane had a telescopic gangway connecting directly into the terminal but my friends that met me in Paris had a similar experience and were the very last passengers to board - connecting with a flight to London via Rome at CDG.
I will not allow a Travel Agent to book my flights without at least 3 hours in between connections wherever possible. I never rush, get flustered or have to panic in that event. Always have time to read or people watch over a coffee.
I did however find that the shuttle bus from Terminal 1 to T/2 parked with the sign 1 on its left (approaching from the back of bus) and the 2 on its righthand side. Now as you say, one is tired, confused, etc. so did not know for a few minutes if it was the correct shuttle to terminal 2. I just asked (several times in English) and eventually got a YES.

&gt;Must be a Delta thing.&lt;

And an AF thingy, too.

((I))

Most often I fly CO to CDG and cannot remember anything other than landing at a gate with a covered jetway. On the few occasions I have taken AF flights into CDG it has been a mixed bag, sometimes the dread bus and sometimes the jetway. Last time on AF was in June and it was the bus.

Most of my arrivals at CDG have been at a gate with a &quot;passerelle&quot; or walkway taking us into the terminal. However, I have also arrived on both Air Canada and Air France, transferred to a bus on the tarmac, and then been driven across the ramp to a stairway up into the terminal.

The problem, I gather, is too many planes, not enough gates ...

Anselm

I suppose it's an airport thing -- combined with allocated terminals. I could be wrong because I don't remember these kind of things too much as they aren't important to me (which means I know that exact thing has never happened to me). I've flown through there probably at least once a year in the last five years and am pretty sure that, like St Cirq, I've never had to take a bus upon arrival. I have had to take a little bus from the terminal to the plane when departing from CDG on AF, but I don't think I've ever had to do that when landing there. As I recall, those buses are mainly standing room, which I assume is to make more space. They've never taken that long, maybe 5 minutes.

I know I have never spent an hour getting from the plane to the terminal upon arrival, so if I was on a bus, it was so uneventful and short, I don't even remember.

I had a 45 min. connection at CDG and had to take the bus between terminals. It was realtively painless and quick and I made my connection easily. Unfortunately my luggage didn't.

I am wondering if part of this has to do with the new terminal that had a collapsed walkway? not long after it opened (maybe spring 2004?). We flew out of CDG in Sept. and it looked to me like some of the parts of the terminal we came thru were maybe &quot;temporary&quot; construction. We were loaded onto a bus and then driven out to the plane - I think all the new terminal gates have never reopened so it makes sense the airport is all snarled up. I have transited several times in the past at CDG with a one hour connection time but I wouldn't want to try that with the current bus situation!

Interesting. Well, it sounds like this bus thing is a common enough (or unpredictable enough) thing that it should probably be factored into people's decisions about time between connections.

When it happened to us we were not making a connection, so I was just happy to be in Paris! But honestly, it felt like every person on that bus was seriously sweating their connection.

Why do you think it is common? I don't think anyone on this thread (except perhaps Ira, I'm not sure what he means) said that happened to them or that they had a bus from plane to terminal on arrival.

The bus people are talking about for transferring terminals is the shuttle bus that goes around the terminal halls. I don't think anyone on here said they had a one-hour bus to get from a plane to the terminal upon arrival.

Well, Christina - Both bardo1 and AnselmAdome has indicated they have arrived at CDG with the plane parked in the middle of the tarmac and not at a jetway. You YOURSELF has a similar departure experience - think about those passengers that may have arrived on that particular aircraft into CDG.

To me, it seems like that at least happens &quot;sometimes&quot;.

On my trip in September, I had to connect from Alitalia to Air France. We unloaded through a passenger walkway, then had to change terminals (at least through a covered, underground tunnel), THEN go through security again, then get on the d*** bus with no seats and a rookie driver!

I am not exaggerating when I say the driver did loops around the tarmac because he couldn't find the right plane, all the while starting and stopping so suddenly that several people fell into others and nearly landed in a heap.

It took them so long to get everyone to the plane and loaded, that we left an hour late - causing me to miss my connection in Chicago.

I have also ridden buses in Frankfurt.

Christina:
I am not trying to conduct a scientific poll here. I was merely trying to get a sense of whether or not people should factor this into their time at CDG, since that seems to be a very common concern on Fodors lately.

I think trying to transfer between planes is one of the most stressful things during a trip. From now on I am going to allow extra time and if need be I will go into a cafe or the duty free shops and avoid the rush, it just isn't worth it.

We must have had the same driver that Dayle had. A beginning teenaged driver could have done better. We were only out at CDG to pick up our luggage that had been there for a week. British Airways was not answering its phones and we had been caught in the Gate Gourmet/baggage handlers' strike at Heathrow. Took Eurostar after the first night at Heathrow and went for a week with only the clothes we had on. Sure hope that BA pays for our total of almost $600 for 2 last minute 1-way tickets to Paris!

I have gone through CDG a number of times since 1994 and always have had to use a bus to get from the plane to the terminal on various airlines. I believe that we have probably just been unlucky. However, we have missed conections some times and always had luggage arrivals delayed.

David

I flew Delta two weeks ago and we deplaned on the tarmac where shuttle buses (no seats) were waiting. As we neared the terminal, we had to wait in line for other shuttles to empty out. The whole process took about 25 minutes. Not an enjoyable experience after an eight hour flight. On the way home, the plane was only about a five minute shuttle ride.

We were told that work is being done on Terminal 2E and that's the reason for the shuttles.

Our flight from the States arrived at CDG and deposited us directly at the terminal, but it took between 15-20 minutes to do so. But coming back from estern France the AF regional flight landed on the tarmac in a location that seemed pretty far from the terminals. They had a shuttle bus waiting and it was the one without seats. This was at 8 a.m. and many people were pretty tired and still sleepy. We all stood in a full bus which drove to Terminal 2C. The driver wasn't lost but it seemed like a ride that went on forever. Luckily I had about two hours total for the connection time.

The CDG bus is the worst, pathetic, ridiculous. I spent about 30 minutes on one, seemingly touring the entire &quot;backlot&quot; of the airport.

The bus was over-crowded, hot and, despite the early hour and temperate weather, smelled like a sweaty camel.

My wife and I had the unpleasant experience a week ago of riding the AF bus both ways, hot, no air, NEVER AGAIN!

I missed a flight because the bus driver stopped for - I was going to say, for a fag, but since most people here are American, I'd better say for a cigarette :-)