msbeavers

I just noticed that we only have one hour in the Paris airport between our flights ( coming and going from the USA). Is this enough time to get to the next plane ? and yes I am checking bags ( 4 people / 4 bags) !
traveling in early Oct to Naples

Weadles

I'd recommend trying to change the flights if possible. Judging from our own experience this summer on AF, you need at least two hours between flights in Paris.

pittpurple

I agree - changing terminals in CDG takes forever and we barely made it with a two-hour layover. If possible I would change the flight.

Nlingenfel

From my experience 1 hour is not enough time.

kelliebellie

No. Change the flight on the way in. They will not go out of their way to get you on your Naples flight.

You might be fine on your way back. Air France had people waiting with vans to get us to our international flights. I think they work harder at those.

ira

Hi M,

Some folks have reported making 0:45 hr connections at CDG.

Most have complained of missing connections of less than 2 hr.

On our last connecting flight, we had 1:30 hr and made it only because our outbound flight was delayed.

natc143

I'd say there is a 90% chance you "will not" make it. I bought tickets with a short connection because they were dirt cheap. 1 hr connections and 1 hr 15 min return connection. I missed the first and changed my return to ensure I got home. it was a disaster missing my connection as Lufthansa wanted to put me on a flight NINE hours later. Good luck!

rkkwan

Here's one recent unsuccessful 50-minute connection.

fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2&tid=34984453

kfusto

Six connections on Air France over 5 years and only one actually made it. The luggage made it 3 of 6 times.

IME one hour is not enough at CDG. You will not get any assistance, the signage is poor and the airport is poorly designed and over extended to handle the number of people that fly through it.

Frozen_North_Dave

I agree with the others. Short answer is no, unless the outgoing flight to Naples is delayed. And if you make it, your baggage will likely not. You do not mention which terminal you are flying into or out of. This greatly affects connection time in a frenetic airport that is both huge and incredibly busy. As an example: on our way to Athens (from Toronto), with over three hours between flights, my wife's suitcase STILL did not make it to Athens. On the way back we made our flight with less than a 1 hour connection time only because we were "lucky" that CDG was socked in with cloud cover and the one-a-day CDG to Toronto flight was held back at the gate because there were so many of us late in making the connection.

I wrote a tongue-in-cheek travelogue on our experiences with CDG airport. This is the link if it works:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2

Skip down to the section on "Charles de Gaulle, Our Luggage Enjoys Extra Time in Paris... the topic of: “The EVIL that is Charles De Gaulle Airport”. I was trying to import some humour into our experience.

If I ever travel to Paris I'll fly Air France cause it's a great airline. I wil never again go through CDG for connections if at all possible. We are travelling to Florence next year and I by-passed every flight option through CDG like the plague and opted for a connecting flight through Milan instead.

Change your flight time. The odds are better that you will start out your much-anticpated vacation with your luggage AND "on time".

Dave

kelliebellie

The thing is with safety nowadays, they don't want you flying without your luggage. When we were going through Paris to Madrid they weren't going to let us on our flight (even though we RAN and actually caught it on time) because our luggage wasn't going to make it. They weren't even going to let us on the next flight because they still would not have been able to find out luggage. They were going to put us on the one 5 hours later!

But luckily, and I still have no idea how this happened, our original gate agents flagged us down and threw us on our original flight. Our luggage was sent to our hotel the next day. I would not bank on this being the norm however. We got really lucky.

Our luggage did make it on the flight home. Again, they seem to care much more about you making an international flight. We were actually the first ones on the plane on the way home! A van met us at the jetway and took us right to our gate.

romana

Yikes - I agree with the others. I would be nervous with just one hour in Paris if I were just getting another European connection, but you are coming from the US. This means you also have to go through customs in Paris (the Paris-Naples leg of your trip is a "domestic" flight since it is within the Schengen countries). It would truly be a miracle to clear customs AND arrive to your flight in time. Change it quickly to start your trip off well.

ira

t

charnees

These stories sure ring a bell with us!! We have vowed NEVER!! to go through CDG again, ever.

After our slow bus ride we were dropped off at a door where our flight to Norway was not listed. Airline people gave us a Gallic shrug and pointed up the escalator. Top of the escalator we found: a vacant terminal!!!! Ran for 20 mins trying to find someone, anyone, who could tell us where we should be. Finally found the gate with 20 mins to spare, but no! The gate was already closed!! Had to wait 3 hours for the next flight to Oslo.

Another time we had a rental car, and it took us about an hour to find the road to the right terminal and to find the exit to the car return. There was nobody there to take the car, so we just parked it and ran. I guess someone found it, as we never heard from them.

Charnee

msbeavers

thanks for the not so good news.... since I purchased these tickets via expedia will the change to the flight be difficult / costly / impossible?
I will call them today or should i call Air France?

jabez

AF will get you on the next flight out.
We have only 70 minutes for a CDG connection next month (Cdg-FCO).
We will have carryons only.
Most likely I'll arrive at 2E - S3. The FCO flight probably leaves from 2F1.
I'll take the shuttle bus to 2F2, and do your immigration into Schengen at 2F, rather than attempting to walk from 2E (immigration lines can be rather long at 2E).
If we don't make it, we should get out on the next flight (about 2 hours).If we have the luck to make it, that gives us a couple extra hours in Italy and not CDG.

kelliebellie

Just be prepared that you might not get the next flight out. Because of having to locate our luggage first, they weren't going to let us on the next flight. They will eventually get you there for the price you paid if you don't want to pay to change. It might just take awhile or your luggage will be a day behind you.

DEFINITELY take all the toiletries you can and a change of clothes in your carry on. If you can do all carry on, that is the way to go. Sounds crazy I know, but next time I might try it. I can always buy a cheap suitcase there to fill up with stuff to bring back.

And good luck with AF. Every time I mentioned our short connection they kept making me seem crazy for worrying about it.

Guenmai

I absolutely would change the ticket. I've been going to Paris, almost annually, for over three decades and trust me when I say that things move very slowly at CDG. Happy Travels!

LaSalle61

Definately change if you can. Arrived from Boston last year with one hour to make the change. We made it but only because of delays caused by fog and a jetlagged sprint. CDG is tough to negotiate. I recall running out of signs and having to backtrack to find our connecting gate.

DavidTH

We are also flying to Naples via Paris on Air France, but thankfully have (if the first leg arrives on time) over 3 hours between flights.
That said, our Itinerary indicates us arriving at CDG Terminal 2E, and departing CDG at Terminal 2D. Being the uber planner that I am, I thought I'd look at CDG's website/terminal map so I'd have an idea of where we're coming and going. But no Terminal 2E on the map! Does anyone know where it is? Is it so far away that it doesn't make it onto the map?! (I see 2A,B,C,D, and F)
MSBEAVERS, what did you decide to do?