Which would you choose?

[spongerob]

No, not another question of pricing or perks, but one concerning the destination airport.

 

We want to visit Alsace-Loraine to visit some villages where my wife's family originated (and just to keep it minimally cruise-related, we might take a cruise from Southampton after the land bit). It's a bit off the beaten path so we have a choice to fly into Paris (CDG), Frankfurt (FRA), or Zurich (ZRH).

 

My biggest concerns are efficiency, basically I will want to get the heck out of Dodge (which does not have an airport so no acronym) by car or train. Ordinarily I'd choose CDG on the idea that I'd rather deal with the devil I know than the devil I don't but a recent experience by one of my co-workers and the French transportation disruptions has me looking at alternatives. Thoughts?

[Jade13]

No, not another question of pricing or perks, but one concerning the destination airport.

 

We want to visit Alsace-Loraine to visit some villages where my wife's family originated (and just to keep it minimally cruise-related, we might take a cruise from Southampton after the land bit). It's a bit off the beaten path so we have a choice to fly into Paris (CDG), Frankfurt (FRA), or Zurich (ZRH).

 

My biggest concerns are efficiency, basically I will want to get the heck out of Dodge (which does not have an airport so no acronym) by car or train. Ordinarily I'd choose CDG on the idea that I'd rather deal with the devil I know than the devil I don't but a recent experience by one of my co-workers and the French transportation disruptions has me looking at alternatives. Thoughts?

 

Without knowing the destination airport/distance to drive to final destination or whether this involves a train, and based on airport only I would choose Zurich/ZRH (and SWISS Air is you have a choice. Lufthansa is a good airline too). Frankfurt airport is crazy and we had to run one time and made it just as our flight finished boarding. If your not trying to make a connection it won't matter that much, but we have always had to deplane on the tarmac at FRA.

[YXU AC*SE]

Thought one: DDC = Dodge (City, KS) served by Great Lakes Aviation - codesharing with Frontier and United, with service to GCK, GBD, DEN and MCI. :D

 

Thought two: You may also wish to consider GVA (Genève - Cointrin) as your destination airport. From there, it is a 4 1/2hr train ride to Strasbourg, FR.

 

Scott.

[Gardyloo]

By train, at least this autumn there are 4 direct TGVs a day from the CDG airport TGV station to Strasbourg, each taking around 2 1/2 hours. The best part about it is that there are no train changes required (or the dreaded cross-Paris station change) so even if the train runs late you don't have to sweat schlepping bags from one platform to another, etc.

 

FRA to Strasbourg requires two changes but takes about the same amount of time. ZRH to Strasbourg requires a local train to the Zurich Hbf then a Lyria/TGV train to Strasbourg, also around the same total elapsed time not counting the change in Zurich.

 

We went Strasbourg - Zurich - ZRH by train last month and it was okay; frankly we ended up taking a taxi from the Zurich Hbf to a hotel near the airport (around 50 EUR) because we were pooped and didn't feel like schlepping heavy luggage through yet another train station.

 

If renting a car (and intending to return it to the renting location or at least within the same country) I'd bet the FRA option is the cheapest; it seems like rental cars tend to be cheaper in Germany than in France (or especially Switzerland.)

 

However if it was me I'd fly into CDG and take the train to Strasbourg directly from the airport station, and I'd probably then spend the night in Strasbourg, pick up the car the next morning (numerous car agencies at the station) and proceed from there. Use the first afternoon in Strasbourg as a chance to walk off the jetlag (Gewurztraminer and choucroute ease the pain) and get into the vibe, then off into the villages the next morning.

 

(We stayed at the Mercure 100 yds from the station, highly recommended.)

 

If you haven't visited the Alsatian wine villages before, you're in for a serious treat.

 

(For what it's worth, trip report here: http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/trip-report-fringe-movements.cfm )

[Globaliser]

My biggest concerns are efficiency, basically I will want to get the heck out of Dodge (which does not have an airport so no acronym) by car or train.

YXU AC*SE has beaten me to the code for Dodge City.

 

However, my first suggestion is flying as far as Strasbourg (SXB), rather than abandoning the air at a big hub that's still some hours away from the area. You can fly non-stop to SXB from Amsterdam, Madrid or Paris CDG. In addition, Lufthansa does a bus service from FRA airport to Strabourg (city centre, I think) that bears the LH code. One of these options is likely to be the most efficient way of getting there.

 

Thinking wider, if you're going to need a car anyway when you get there, alternative airports to fly to include Basel and Stuttgart, which are each only about 1½ hours drive from Strasbourg. And if you don't actually need to go to Strasbourg itself, this may be a better option anyway. There are lots of one-stop itineraries to get to BSL and STR which avoid connecting at CDG.

[scottbee]

No, not another question of pricing or perks, but one concerning the destination airport.

 

We want to visit Alsace-Loraine to visit some villages where my wife's family originated (and just to keep it minimally cruise-related, we might take a cruise from Southampton after the land bit). It's a bit off the beaten path so we have a choice to fly into Paris (CDG), Frankfurt (FRA), or Zurich (ZRH).

 

My biggest concerns are efficiency, basically I will want to get the heck out of Dodge (which does not have an airport so no acronym) by car or train. Ordinarily I'd choose CDG on the idea that I'd rather deal with the devil I know than the devil I don't but a recent experience by one of my co-workers and the French transportation disruptions has me looking at alternatives. Thoughts?

 

none of the above

 

pick AMS. Train line runs right underneath it; 2nd ZRH (again served by main line trains; and an express train to Zurich HBf

[spongerob]

Thought one: DDC = Dodge (City, KS) served by Great Lakes Aviation - codesharing with Frontier and United, with service to GCK, GBD, DEN and MCI. :D

I did not know that grass strips got monikers. Imagine! And "served by" Great Lakes is a bit of hyperbole. It's more like, we'll fly if we can wake the pilot up. But that's a whole 'nother story.

 

Thanks everyone for the advice. CDG will probably get the vote since it's a bit easier to get to direct from DFW. Direct trains are a nice benefit, too.

[UKBayern]

I cannot find this town Dodge on any map???

Like Globaliser suggests, Strasbourg, Stuttgart, Basel-Mulhouse is probably best.

[Globaliser]

I did not know that grass strips got monikers.

I cannot find this town Dodge on any map?

Here's the airport - more than a grass strip!

 

I see that the main road leading to it is called Wyatt Earp Boulevard. :D

[kenish]

All airports (at least in the USA) are assigned codes from JFK down to 250m long gravel strips in Alaska used only by bush planes. In the USA there are about 400 airports with commercial service and roughly 14,000 non-commercial airports. Airline flights are only a small percentage of flights operated daily.

 

UKBayern- "Dodge" is Dodge City, Kansas. It has a very colorful history that includes Wyatt Earp. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyatt_Earp It's the basis for a lot of the "Wild West" folklore (fact and fiction).

[UKBayern]

UKBayern- "Dodge" is Dodge City, Kansas. It has a very colorful history that includes Wyatt Earp. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyatt_Earp It's the basis for a lot of the "Wild West" folklore (fact and fiction).

 

DW who is the airline aficionado did not know it, but I, who am a Western movie aficinado, do: http://maps.google.de/maps?q=dodge+city&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:de:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=Dodge+City,+Kansas,+Vereinigte+Staaten&gl=de&ei=CceoTKKFEoTNswa9mPWtDA&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBwQ8gEwAA

 

Anyway, it's nowhere near the the French-German border.....

 

Off-topic: the most unlikely airport as far as I'm concerned is IATA code BRR, ICAO code EGP http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/barra/airport/index.html

[spongerob]

UKBayern- "Dodge" is Dodge City, Kansas. It has a very colorful history that includes Wyatt Earp. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyatt_Earp It's the basis for a lot of the "Wild West" folklore (fact and fiction).

And it's been the victim of more than a few jokes. You have to have lived in southwestern Kansas to really appreciate them. It's the basis in reality that makes them funny. :)

[FlyerTalker]

I see that the main road leading to it is called Wyatt Earp Boulevard. :D

Don't forget Matt Dillon and Miss Kitty, who were also denizens of Dodge.

Off-topic: the most unlikely airport as far as I'm concerned is IATA code BRR, ICAO code EGP http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/barra/airport/index.html

It's on my list of airports to visit....perhaps I can combine that with the Loganair hop in the Orkneys from Westray to Papa Westray; the world's shortest airline flight - 2 minutes!

 

As for beach landings....here's an unintended one at SBH (St. Barts) THIS LINK

 

Relating to the OP: the connection to the TGV at CDG is quite easy, with the station situated within the T2 complex. Easy if on AF from DFW.

[Gardyloo]

Off-topic: the most unlikely airport as far as I'm concerned is IATA code BRR, ICAO code EGP http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/barra/airport/index.html

 

Barra is now the only beach airport anywhere in the world to be used for scheduled airline services...

 

No disrespect but I've used a lot of beaches on scheduled flights, including KQA (Akutan, Alaska) numerous times. At Akutan the beach is the terminal; the bay is the runway.

 

[Globaliser]

No disrespect but I've used a lot of beaches on scheduled flights, including KQA (Akutan, Alaska) numerous times. At Akutan the beach is the terminal; the bay is the runway.

There are quite a few places where you can do water landings and takeoffs.

 

I think that BRR's claim to fame is that it's possibly the only place where you land on land with a wheeled aircraft, but the "runway" surface is the beach itself.

 

Anyway, whatever the ins and outs of that, it's a great fun thing to do. Highly recommended.

[spongerob]

We used a frozen lake as an airstrip during a project in a remote area. I guess we should have named it BRRRRRR.

 

 

I think this thread gets the title for the largest thread drift in the history of this site. We've gone from Alsace to northeastern British Columbia by way of Orkney and the Shetland Islands. :)