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Air France connection at CDG


pompeii
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We are changing planes in CDG on our way to Venice and have 1:35 between flights. Both flights are on Air France, arriving terminal 2E at 8am and departing terminal 2F at 9:35am. Flights are in late November on a Wed.

 

Do we have enough time to make our connection? We're flying in from JFK and are from the US so we will have to go through passport control.

 

Or should I look for other flights with a less tight connection or through another airport, even if they cost about $100 more?

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We just flew Barcelona to Orlando with 1:25 at CDG. It was tight, but we made it with 20 minutes to spare

 

Different situation. OP is inbound Schengen, while you were outbound.

 

All that said, the 1:35 is doable but not one that you want to dawdle on. Be aware that your flight into T2E can be into any of three different "halls", which are separate buildings. Then, you will follow the "Correspondances" signs to T2F (which has two concourses in a single building). Get a map of CDG so that you have a general idea of the layout - if not before your flight, then onboard in the AF magazine.

 

As to whether you should spend the $100, only you can place a value on the extra connection time. And only you know how well you can navigate a new airport, how fast/slow you walk, how you react to potential stress and your general attitude while making a connect.

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Thanks for the reply. I was hoping that since both legs are on Air France it would make it a little more doable. We can walk quite quickly but would undoubtedly be stressed while stuck waiting in a passport line watching the clock count down...and since we'll be flying all night our attitude might not be the best!

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You do arrive when many international flights are landing and the corridors will be jammed, however the terminals are well marked. It's a little tight for me too but if you are not cruising that Wednesday I'd risk it. There will be other flights to VCE that day. If you are flying business class (and lucky enough to be on their 380 even with the angled seats) you will disembark first which helps.

I know CDG takes a lot of heat but terminal 2 isn't that bad....now terminal 1 is another story.

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You do arrive when many international flights are landing and the corridors will be jammed, however the terminals are well marked. It's a little tight for me too but if you are not cruising that Wednesday I'd risk it. There will be other flights to VCE that day. If you are flying business class (and lucky enough to be on their 380 even with the angled seats) you will disembark first which helps.

I know CDG takes a lot of heat but terminal 2 isn't that bad....now terminal 1 is another story.

 

No, we're flying in a couple of days early so we have some time in Venice before sailing. Our main options (flexible Princess EZAir) would be to stick with what we have and wind up on a later flight if we don't make the connection, or rebook now (for about $80pp more) to a flight with a less tight connection. Rebooking would still only give us about 2 hours though, still not a lot of time so I'm not sure it's worth it.

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  • 2 weeks later...

We just did an Air France connection at CDG with a 1 hour 25 minute connection. Same thing, going from terminal 2E to 2F. Both AF flights, and we had to go through passport control (returning to the USA from Europe, so that is the only difference as you will be arriving not departing).

It was a very tight connection. We had to walk quite a distance to passport control and the line was long. There was one customs agent processing USA passports (and one doing the EU line). He took a group of French students ahead of us -- they were behind us in line. Also, there is a special line, don't recall the name on the sign, that allows certain passengers to cut off the line and go through first. Perhaps first class passengers? Wasn't sure but I had a weary eye on my watch the whole time.

After we made it through customs, we walked farther to the gate that was on our boarding passes and had been confirmed by a stewardess on the plane when we landed there. There was no one at that gate. We had ten minutes left until boarding started. Luckily, I recognized the group of French students at a different gate farther down that had also been flying to SFO. We rushed down there and sure enough our gate had been changed in the last few minutes.

So, we did make it to our connecting flight, and it was a huge plane so took a long time to board anyway. But it was my least favorite airport connection experience to date. Would I fly AF again after this? Probably not. But if you have no other option, and you have to do the short connection there, just be aware of these things. And double check your connecting gate, no matter what is on your boarding pass. Most likely you will be fine. But I wanted to add my recent experience if it might help someone in the future.

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In the interest of helping someone in the future:

We just did an Air France connection at CDG with a 1 hour 25 minute connection. Same thing, going from terminal 2E to 2F. Both AF flights, and we had to go through passport control (returning to the USA from Europe, so that is the only difference as you will be arriving not departing).

 

If you were flying from Europe TO the USA, you would have gone from 2F to 2E. The E terminal (Halls, K, L & M) are for the extra-Schengen flights while F is for intra-Schengen.

 

It was a very tight connection. We had to walk quite a distance to passport control and the line was long. There was one customs agent processing USA passports (and one doing the EU line). He took a group of French students ahead of us -- they were behind us in line.
Curious that "French students" would be in the non-EU passport line.

 

After we made it through customs, we walked farther to the gate that was on our boarding passes and had been confirmed by a stewardess on the plane when we landed there. There was no one at that gate. We had ten minutes left until boarding started. Luckily, I recognized the group of French students at a different gate farther down that had also been flying to SFO. We rushed down there and sure enough our gate had been changed in the last few minutes.
Were you checking the monitors for flight departures, or just relying on the boarding pass and the reassureance of a flight attendant? And even after arriving at an empty gate, shouldn't your first move be to check a flight monitor rather than get lucky spotting a group?

 

So, we did make it to our connecting flight, and it was a huge plane so took a long time to board anyway. But it was my least favorite airport connection experience to date. Would I fly AF again after this? Probably not.
You don't mention why you would not fly AF? Did you object to the walk? Waiting for an immigration (not customs) line? Going to the wrong gate? How was the actual flight experience, including seat comfort, food and beverage, and service?

 

There are long walks for connections at many airports. T4 at Heathrow and AMS come to mind.

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Its a tight. Try to get a seat closer to the front of the plane if you can. But if you have days between cruising if you did miss it it would likely be because of a delayed flight out of JFK so they will rebook you while you're in the air flying to CDG. There will be other flights to VCE and if the other option only gives you 30mins more I say just stick with it. There is not too much risk given the time between arriving in CDG and your cruise days later.

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Yes I also wondered why the students were in our line. All I can figure is it was because their leader had a USA passport, so there you go.

And yes we checked the flight boards as we went through the terminals. And near the (original) gate. They still showed the original gate number.

AF was fine onboard the planes. I just wouldn't deal with this type of connection with them again.

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Its a tight. Try to get a seat closer to the front of the plane if you can. But if you have days between cruising if you did miss it it would likely be because of a delayed flight out of JFK so they will rebook you while you're in the air flying to CDG. There will be other flights to VCE and if the other option only gives you 30mins more I say just stick with it. There is not too much risk given the time between arriving in CDG and your cruise days later.

 

There are 5 flights a day on Air France between CDG and VCE. If you comfortable with the concept that things may not go as planned and you may need to go with flow, then I would go with the tight connection. If you do not make the connection Air France is responsible for making it right.

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I continue to be amazed by people who book short connections, especially when they can legally book a longer one and not break the fare. Although airline systems give you the shortest connection as the primary option, you can force longer connects. And on international itineraries, you have up to 24 hours (and I am simplfying the rules here) to complete your connect, so you are not forced.

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I wouldn't do it.

 

Past experience means nothing because things happen. Maybe the odds are low but if it happens to you it can be a problem.

 

On our recent arrival to Paris a crazy thing happened.

 

We got off the plane and headed up the walkway to the exit doors. Somehow there was a breach with the doors as they were configured so a plane arriving like ours can exit passengers while another adjacent door is used by people who are getting ready to board another flight at a gate right next to ours. Long story short we had to wait while all of the people boarded. We waited for twenty minutes.

 

Is something like this unlikely to happen? Yes. But on your flight it could be something else. A malfunction with the gate. How about a late departure. If it was me I would have a longer connection. Why? So I don't have to stress about this and to increase my odds that if an unexpected situation happens I still have time to make my connection.

 

Keith

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I continue to be amazed by people who book short connections, especially when they can legally book a longer one and not break the fare. Although airline systems give you the shortest connection as the primary option, you can force longer connects. And on international itineraries, you have up to 24 hours (and I am simplfying the rules here) to complete your connect, so you are not forced.

Different flights have different rates. Maybe the short connection has a lower fare?

 

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Forums mobile app

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Different flights have different rates. Maybe the short connection has a lower fare?

 

 

In which case you decide what's most important to you... paying more for the peace of mind you get with a longer connection, or paying the cheapest price and assuming a risk. It's all a choice.

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We are changing planes in CDG on our way to Venice and have 1:35 between flights. Both flights are on Air France, arriving terminal 2E at 8am and departing terminal 2F at 9:35am. Flights are in late November on a Wed.

 

Do we have enough time to make our connection? We're flying in from JFK and are from the US so we will have to go through passport control.

 

Or should I look for other flights with a less tight connection or through another airport, even if they cost about $100 more?

 

Just some thoughts. On international flights I will not book anything less than 3 hours. I heard some stories about CDG so, I also wouldn't book anything there either.

 

However, the good news is that you are going to AF hub, and are arriving really early in the day. If some delay were to happen, AF very well be able to send you on the next flight available. You did say you were arriving early to Venice, so it might not be an issue except for loosing some sightseeing time. I missed two connecting flights on one trip once. First one was due to weather, and the rerouted trip the connecting flight that was added, was also delayed, and another missed connection to the final place. Long story short, the airline rerouted us each step automatic and although it was a long day it was stressful. That was my last 90 minute layover. If it was 3 hours, I might of been ok.

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Thanks for all the replies. However, I have a new concern.....

 

Princess EZ Air has changed our flights and the good news is that they added 10 minutes to our connection in CDG (every minute helps, right? :) ) but we now have only a 45 minute connection in Atlanta!

 

What is everyone's experience with connections in Atlanta? The "legal" minimum is 40 minutes, I'm told, but I am not comfortable with 45 minutes.

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Flight details always help. Dates, flight numbers, cities - the stuff that allows for research and solid answers.

 

Seems you've gone from CLE-JFK-CDG-VCE to CLE-ATL-CDG-VCE. Was this a schedule change or for what reason? Was this done by DL or Princess? Had you actually had tickets issued and not just a reservation? When are you travelling - in a few weeks or in 10 months?

 

You may have various rerouting options, but without details it's impossible to know. I can't even say if you are in peril or not with the ATL connect, since I don't know if you are on the last flight out to Europe or the first.

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Thanks for all the replies. However, I have a new concern.....

 

Princess EZ Air has changed our flights and the good news is that they added 10 minutes to our connection in CDG (every minute helps, right? :) ) but we now have only a 45 minute connection in Atlanta!

 

What is everyone's experience with connections in Atlanta? The "legal" minimum is 40 minutes, I'm told, but I am not comfortable with 45 minutes.

 

The only reason I don't like short connections when its Domestic-Domestic is if there is a delay of any kind, whether it be weather, mechanical or the gate is not ready etc.. Which would then delay all your other flights.

 

If all goes fine, 45mins is enough. ATL is a pretty easy airport to navigate with the concourses and the train on the lower level that takes you to all the terminals. Just make sure you know which terminal you need to go to and which side of the station to get onto the train. its simple. I have done connections in ATL with 45mins and have even been from one plane to the next in less than 20.

 

It helps to get a seat towards the front of the airplane.

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Flight details always help. Dates, flight numbers, cities - the stuff that allows for research and solid answers.

 

Seems you've gone from CLE-JFK-CDG-VCE to CLE-ATL-CDG-VCE. Was this a schedule change or for what reason? Was this done by DL or Princess? Had you actually had tickets issued and not just a reservation? When are you traveling - in a few weeks or in 10 months?

 

You may have various rerouting options, but without details it's impossible to know. I can't even say if you are in peril or not with the ATL connect, since I don't know if you are on the last flight out to Europe or the first.

 

Princess EZ Air department made the change so I can't say what the reason was. We are reserved but not ticketed yet, as Princess tickets at 45 days out unless we ask them to ticket early, which we haven't done since we're not comfortable with the connections and we still want flexibility. We are still travelling in late November of this year.

 

Original flights were CLE-JFK-CDG-VCE. Now they are CLE-ATL-CDG-VCE. With this new routing, we would arrive in ATL on Tuesday, November 21 at 4:51pm and connect to a flight to CDG at 5:35pm. All flights are on Air France, although the one CLE-ATL is operated by Delta.

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Princess EZ Air department made the change so I can't say what the reason was. We are reserved but not ticketed yet, as Princess tickets at 45 days out unless we ask them to ticket early, which we haven't done since we're not comfortable with the connections and we still want flexibility. We are still travelling in late November of this year.

 

 

 

Original flights were CLE-JFK-CDG-VCE. Now they are CLE-ATL-CDG-VCE. With this new routing, we would arrive in ATL on Tuesday, November 21 at 4:51pm and connect to a flight to CDG at 5:35pm. All flights are on Air France, although the one CLE-ATL is operated by Delta.

 

 

 

The connection in CDG is short and would make me nervous given our very long lines at CDG Passport Control in June. Now that you've had a tight connection in ATL added, too, I'd really consider changing your flights since it sounds like you booked the Flex fare. ATL is so spread out; you could walk forever and then still have to take a train and maybe walk forever again. It wouldn't be worth the stress to me. Personally, I'd feel better about a 1.5 hour layover in ATL and a 2.5 hour layover in CDG. Good luck whatever you do!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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First off...the walking at ATL. Each of the concourses is 2200 ft long, with the train in the middle. so the maximum walk would be 1100 feet (if you were at the absolute end of one concourse), then the train ride, then a maximum of another 1100 feet.

 

To the OP: You don't have a ticket and control of the "reservation" is with the cruiseline. I don't know what your original flights were (hint) but there are still plenty of JFK connections, and with decent connect times. Here's just one example.

 

DL 6261 CLE-JFK 12:14 - 14:00

DL1016 JFK-CDG 16:25 - 05:40

DL 8516 CDG-VCE 09:35 - 11:15

 

The latter two fight are operated by AF. Would give you 2:25 at JFK and 3:55 at CDG. In addition, there are CDG and VCE flights that leave after this pair, in case you run into delays.

 

Play around with ITA Matrix and you can find a ton of DL/AF options. Now, will the cruiseline offer them to you or have them available for sale? That is completely dependent on factors no one outside the cruiseline knows. Were you booked with a bulk fare? Published fare? The details matter.

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