What would you do? Plane connections in Italy
 

We are heading to Amalfi coast from NY. We can either chose an Air France flight, changing in Paris, with (only) 45 minutes for a connection or an Alitalia flight changing in Milan with plenty of time for connection. My concern is really flying Alitalia versus Air France...what would you do? Thanks for your help.

Considering that I am not at all fond of Alitalia because it is often on strike, I would suggest you to fly Air France through Paris. I would check with AF though, to see if 45 mins is a minimum connecting time (which I think it is), but in case you arrive late and you can't make the connection, ask AF which is their policy because they should be able to put you on the next available flight in case of missed connection.

If you want to travel with a longer connection for your peace of mind, go for Alitalia, but I would personally be more concerned about Alitalia than AF, because of the strikes: one day it's the pilots, one day it's the flight attendants, one day it's the ground personnel, and on and on and on.

I, too, would prefer Air France. However, last October when we flew Air France from Dulles connecting at CDG to Rome, we had just over an hour connection time and did not make our flight. They put us on the next flight only an hour later, but they would not hold our flight with 20-30 minutes to go and a long walk and "re-screening" or whatever it was to go. There was clearly some construction going on so maybe they have made this process smoother.

I would just check on what time the next flight leaves in case you miss your connection.

Good luck and happy travels.

Let me just state the obvious. You will not make the 45-minute connection at CDG.

I have in the past made a 45 min. connection at CDG. Unfortunately my luggage did not. But it was delivered the next day.

I have flown Alitalia a few times. No problems and generally courteous service. It seems, in judging the risks that Altialia might be a better bet.

Go via Paris, but schedule a "skip" in your connecting flight. I always do this when connecting to Intra-European flights at Schipholm. In the past, I usually made my connection but my luggage did not. Now,with skipping a fligt, I don't have that problem.

Thanks to everyone for their quick and honest replies. However, I am not sure what you mean by "skip" a flight. The flight we must make in Paris is the only flight out of Paris that day to Naples, so if we miss it, that's it!
We are leaning towards taking our chances with Alitalia rather than worrying about making our connection.

So, let's review here: the big "problems" with Alitalia seem to be that they are "often on strike" and....???

You, on the other hand, would rather not worry about making a connection (much less your all-important luggage).

To me, this truly would be a so-called "no brainer" in that I'd rather take my chances with a possible strike rather than WORRYING from now until you actually get to Paris about making that connection (yeah, you will worry!!!)..but, you may feel differently than I do..or do you?

Have a great trip regardless.

And besides Alitalia and Air France are partners (most of their flights are code shared) -- let's toss commonplaces about Italian unreliability and French chauvinistic superiority. These days all airlines are just the same!

Are these the only alternatives?

Surely there are connections on Lufthansa at FRA, KLM at AMS, Swiss at ZRH and BA at LGW? All much easier than CDG, and at LGW and ZRH you don't need to go through passport control. Or even, though it's an acquired taste, UA/bmi at LHR, where you don't go through immigration either.

Even if they're pricier, I'd still pay a bit more for peace of mind.

Go with Air France.

I know that this is just one experience, but if you are tallying ...
We took Alitalia about 2 weeks ago starting from London to Naples with a changeover in Rome. They lost our checked-in bag bag along the way, found it and delivered it to our hotel in Sorrento the next night after our arrival, and I'm struggling with getting through to their New York customer service office to get information on their lost baggage policy.

I want to thank everyone for their advice. Finally, we booked a flight. We are taking Delta (out of the frying pan into the fire!!) with connections in Venice and Milan. We also used miles to upgrade to business class, which was a big consideration why we did it. The connections, if everything with their code share partner in Italy,Alitalia, works, we hopefully will be ok. I figured if there was a problem with strikes with Alitalia, at least I'd make it to Venice, and if I get stuck there, there could be worse things that happen!!

When we were at CDG in June we spent well over 45 mintues on a bus just to get from the plane to the terminal. That was on Delta, but many other flights were on these buses too.

After returning from my first trip to Europe on Air France, all I can say is: NEVER AGAIN!!!! There is currently one of the all to common "strikes" in France, affecting all travel and luggage. We originated in Barcelona, connecting in Paris and on to Boston. In Barcelona only 1 counter agent was checking in hundreds of passengers, while at the adjacent Delta counter passengers zipped right through. Obviously, we missed our connection. Although they got us on a later flight to Boston, they neglected to inform us of the strike and could not have been more rude. Next time we'll pay the extra for an American carrier. Predictably so, our luggage is missing in action and who knows if we'll ever see it again. 3 hour waits in lines, multitudes of crammed bus shuttles, delays, cancellations, impromptu strikes, rudeness, lost luggage......Air France: NEVER AGAIN!!!!

CDG + checked bags= bad start to trip

Do carryons and take AF.

mcjl
Sorry about your bad experience. Believe it or not, people who have taken Alitalia (and Delta for that matter)have similar stories. Two years ago Italy was having one of their strikes, Delta didn't tell us of it. Last year they changed planes and times, no contact. Sadly, all 3 of them have their troubles.
Bottom line, jparis-AF will give you a slightly (more so in Bsn/FC) better flying experience, but 45 minutes at CDG will most likely get your bags delayed.

I suppose I could deal with delayed luggage, but there is just no need to be rude! When we arrived at CDG from Barcelona, the counter agent informed us there we 2 seat in the middle, on a row of 4 seats; or 2 aisles, not together, at the back of the plane. That was after informing her my wife gets sick all the way at the back. We took the aisles. She made us feel we lucky to be getting on another flight, even though they caused to arrival to CDG to be so late. When we boarded, I explained our situation to an Asian male flight attendant. He explained there were indeed SEVENTY (70)seats available. He apologized for the counter agents rudeness and moved us up to the wing, 2 seats together at a window (like we originally reserved). On the way up to the those seats, a French female flight attendant scouled at him for moving us, then gave up and shooed us on like we were dogs. The 2 seats in front of us, also empty, and many more! AF may share problems common to other airlines, such as baggage delays that are out of their control, but I have flown all over the globe and have never encountered such frank rudeness. I work with the public every day providing customer service and I can tell you, these people need major help!

mcjl; just to weigh in w/another side
of the story.
last week Alitalia was on strike (after
AirFrance) so I was put on Air France
from Venice to Paris & then Continental to the States.
What blew me away was the female
flight attendant who kept coming to my seat to update me on our progess & how to get from our Terminal F to A @ CDG.

All would have gone smoothly IF The
Shuttle Bus had not taken 25 minutes!
I made my flight ONLY because there
was a "Suspicious attache case" left
at gate.
CDG is always a nightmare no matter what airline you fly & I prefer foreign airlines with better service &
food.

This post was very helpful for me since I'm experiencing similar issues planning my May 2006 honeymoon.

I think the key might be to avoid connections in Europe at all, if possible. If I had to book my flights knowing what I know now, I simply would have flown directly to and from Barcelona. I had never been to Paris and really enjoyed my few days there. It's a shame I probably won't ever go back because CDG is indeed such a nightmare.