How much time do I need between flights connecting in Paris?

[tally10]

Why did you have to run with an hour and 45 minutes? Was your connecting flight from a different airline?

 

It took quite a while because (and we had people following us who had come in with us, and were a bit confused, catching other ships out of Barcelona) we had to change terminals (Air France going from international to a "domestic" terminal), go through security at three places), upstairs several times, downstairs several times, and then take a bus to the other terminal to another gate and then walk upstairs (outside) to the gate. I felt like we were doing an obstacle course, but was so happy to make it. I would suggest taking minimal hand luggage as I really struggled, especially climbing all of those stairs with it.

[tally10]

:( We have only an hour and 25 mins to make our connection. Tally, what time did your flight arrive? We are supposed to be there at 6:20 a.m. so maybe, there will be less people and a shorter wait time?

 

I'll be prepared to run!

 

Well, here is some clarification as I went back and looked at the actual flights. It was closer than I thought at CDE. We arrived at 8:50 am from Houston. And we left CDE at 10:05am to BCN, so it was actually an hour and fifteen minutes. Sorry for the confusion. But, the experience stayed with me as one of the most nerve wracking times. From now on, we choose flights with 2 1/2-3 hours between flights and never again will go through CDE. No reflection on Air France itself. Just the system at CDE.

[Fanchew]

Thanks Tally. Now I know what to expect and if it turns out easier, I will be pleasantly surprised.

 

Globaliser, thanks for the clarification. I've checked out the Air Forum and it does have lots of good info. :D

[mek]

quote=Globaliser This is simply incorrect, if you are connecting at Paris on a connection where both flights are written on one ticket.

 

This is the correct position:-It may be different if your connection is written across two separate tickets, and the first airline refuses to through-check the bags; or in the very unlikely event that the two airlines don't have an interline baggage agreement (this is very unlikely if you're flying on major airlines).

 

For more information, come to the Cruise Air forum where there are some SkyTeam experts.

 

Having flown through Paris before and never having to claim bags, go through customs, and then recheck our bags, this information came as quite a surprise, however when I called Delta, they confirmed that this was the case and they even put me on another flight because of it. We can only rely on what the airlines are telling us. Now we're on a nonstop flight to Rome from the US and it's not even an issue anymore

[debsjc]

I work for an airline and Globaliser is correct.

 

It both flights were on 1 ticket, flying into and out of CDG onto a international flight, then you definately should have been able to have the bags checked through.

The only reason I can think of where they wouldn't do it is if you had beeen booked on an ''illegal'' connection - which is one with less time between flights than the published minimum connecting time for CDG.

[Fanchew]

What is the mimimum connecting time for CDG? We looked at one flight that had only 55 min and thought that was crazy-optimistic.

[debsjc]

Usually there is a table of times for each airport. The actual time depends on which airlines you fly in and out with and the terminals they use.

 

I'm not at work at the moment with access to the info, so I can't be 100% sure this is correct, but I found these on the net

 

Connecting time

When booking your ticket mind a minimum connecting times at CDG Airport (formalities + transfer between the terminals).

60 minutes intra Terminal 1/2/3

75 minutes between terminal 1 and 2

90 minutes between terminal 1/2 and Terminal 3

[tally10]

MEK,

I see you are on the Freedom in October as we are. Which itinerary are you doing? We are on the Oct. 25th Eastern mediterranean. BTW, we only have to change planes in Philly (U.S. Air).

[judybee]

There is a web site called "Easy CDG" :rolleyes: - http://easycdg.com/pages/indexpag.html - I had to laugh because I didn't find anything easy about connecting at CDG but perhaps this site will provide you with some answers.

 

And here are more opinions: http://slowtalk.com/groupee/forums/a/tpc/f/3956056284/m/7121071914

[mek]

tally10 - We are on the 10/1 sailing. We have done the Med before but have always managed to miss Venice, which is on our itinerary. I'm really looking forward to the 2 days we spend there. Looks like this is your first Med cruise. I hope you enjoy it. Our flight is from Cincinnati to Newark, NJ and then directly to Rome on Continental.

[tally10]

tally10 - We are on the 10/1 sailing. We have done the Med before but have always managed to miss Venice, which is on our itinerary. I'm really looking forward to the 2 days we spend there. Looks like this is your first Med cruise. I hope you enjoy it.

 

Thanks. I hope we enjoy it, too. We wanted your itinerary but DH's sister is coming along and she wanted the 10/25 one. I'd love to see Venice, too. Maybe the next cruise. Hopefully by October, the weather will be a bit cooler.

[mek]

I believe the weather should be very nice that time of year. We've done our previous Med cruises in late May/early June and the weather has always been great. I've been following the threads for the summer sailings and everyone has complained about the heat. I'm pacing so I can wear layers - unless we run into a blizzard, I think we'll be OK.

[Globaliser]

We can only rely on what the airlines are telling us.

Let me see:

 

On the one hand, you have the word of one agent on the phone, who may or may not have known what to look for in the computer; who may or may not have correctly accessed the information in the computer; who may or may not have read it correctly; who may or may not have ever personally flown outside the US before, let alone connected at airports outside the US; or who may or may not have confused how to connect at airports outside the US with how to connect at airports inside the US.

 

On the other hand, you have the word of people who do this all the time, in some cases so often that they can do it without thinking and can mentally run the "mind movie" of every single step of the way and describe to you almost every feature of the terminals, right down to the colours of the signs you need to look out for.

 

And you think you can only rely on what the airline agent is telling you?

[mek]

quote=Globaliser

 

And you think you can only rely on what the airline agent is telling you?

 

 

Well Globaliser, lets put it this way. If I contact the airline and they give me advice and it turns out to be incorrect, I believe I have a much better leg to stand on to resolve the issue than if I follow advice from these boards and it turns out to be incorrect resulting in a problem that the airline or I have to solve. I can just see me telling Delta, "But Cruise Critic told me it was OK." Yeah, I'm sure that would really go far.....:rolleyes: Besides, they did resolve issue to my satisfaction and gave me another flight, so I'm happy with the outcome.

[debsjc]

Unfortunately, I think sometimes airline call centres are not always accurate with their info. The people you speak to only deal with selling tickets, so their knowledge about airport procedures may not be very good.

I wonder if they were classing Europe as one country and thinking you had to clear customs at the first point of entry.....as you have to clear customs at your first point of entry into the USA.

 

If anyone else comes up against this problem I would recommend speaking to a supervisor for clarification.

 

Anyway i'm glad at least you were offered another solution you were happy with :)

[cruiseluv]

Having connected through this hellish airport I can tell you that I would not consider any connecting time of less than 3 hours , if you want to have a reasonable chance of your luggage making the transfer.

[Globaliser]

If I contact the airline and they give me advice and it turns out to be incorrect, I believe I have a much better leg to stand on to resolve the issue than if I follow advice from these boards and it turns out to be incorrect resulting in a problem that the airline or I have to solve.

Likewise, you should rely only on information that you get from Internet bulletin boards. But the latter are very often much better sources of information than the former. If you go to FlyerTalk, the stuff that you can get from the discussions there goes waaaay beyond what any individual member of the airline's staff knows. One of my cabin crew friends relies on me to tell her what's happening in her company, from what I glean online (for my own use, too).

[Fanchew]

Thanks Deb and Globaliser for the info. I can see it both ways. I do appreciate the insight provided by people who've been there, done that, but also can understand relying on 'professionals' who are supposed to know what they are doing.

 

It's a crapshoot sometimes, because despite research and planning, things can go wrong like delayed flights, weather, not-so-helpful workers etc that nobody can predict or control. So, crossing my fingers and hoping we can make it from 2E to 2F in an hour and 20 minutes.

[mek]

I'm absolutely not disputing the fact that I might get misinformation from the airline people. There is also a lot of wrong information floating around on these boards as well and if I had to take my chances with a screw up based on either of those two options, I would still rather take my chances with the airlines or the representative from whatever company I'm inquiring about. I always record the name of the person to whom I'm speaking and the date and time. Again, if I rely solely on information from CC and it is incorrect, I don't think anyone will give too hoots and my chances of getting resolution are slim to none. In the case of my issue, I didn't see the need to talk to a supervisor - the Delta reissue desk gave me a better flight than I was originally on and the problem was solved.

[Globaliser]

Likewise, you should rely only on information that you get from Internet bulletin boards.

Sorry, classic writing screw-up!

 

This should have read: "Likewise, you should not rely only on information that you get from Internet bulletin boards."

 

:eek:

[bheals1]

Does anyone know if it makes a difference if you are using FF miles. When I called Continental they looked up my reservation and told me I would have to collect my luggage in Paris. In have no idea if both flights will be on the ticket.

 

Tally10 it sounds like you took the same route, Continental PHX to IAH, IAH to Paris, Paris to Barcelona on Air France.

[tally10]

Does anyone know if it makes a difference if you are using FF miles. When I called Continental they looked up my reservation and told me I would have to collect my luggage in Paris. In have no idea if both flights will be on the ticket.

 

Tally10 it sounds like you took the same route, Continental PHX to IAH, IAH to Paris, Paris to Barcelona on Air France.

 

Yes, that was our route. Where do you live in PHX? We are in Queen Creek, so even to Sky Harbor is a trip! We would have never made the connection in IAH without that golf cart guy speeding over to the other terminal as our flight from PHX was late and Air France was boarding. Not even time to use the ladies room. Air France to CDE was actually a very nice flight on a new and spacious 777. Once we got on the Air France flight from Paris to BCN, we could relax. It was an old plane, but it is not a long flight. The CDE experience was definitely not something I want to do again. Like I said, the luggage made it and it was actually the first luggage off the plane in BCN (probably the last to be loaded). If you haven't made your hotel accomodation, consider the Hilton Diagonal Mar near the port. Great hotel, with the sea on one side and a large mall behind it. The best European hotel we have ever stayed in. Not near the tourist area, though

[bheals1]

I live in Chandler, off Riggs and Gilbert.

I am sorry I picked my route. I skipped on connecting in NY because I was afraid there might be weather issues. I guess either way I could have issues.

Thank you for the hotel information. I will defiantly look into it.

[debsjc]

Does anyone know if it makes a difference if you are using FF miles. When I called Continental they looked up my reservation and told me I would have to collect my luggage in Paris. In have no idea if both flights will be on the ticket.

 

Tally10 it sounds like you took the same route, Continental PHX to IAH, IAH to Paris, Paris to Barcelona on Air France.

 

It wouldn't make a difference that you are using FF miles if both flights are on one ticket. However they may not be, especially if one ticket is using miles and one is a normal fare.

 

The official line is that with separate tickets the airline does not have to through check your baggage. However, if you present both tickets at check-in usually they will still do it if you ask them, it's just at their discretion.

[tally10]

I live in Chandler, off Riggs and Gilbert.

I am sorry I picked my route. I skipped on connecting in NY because I was afraid there might be weather issues. I guess either way I could have issues.

Thank you for the hotel information. I will defiantly look into it.

 

We chose that route for the same reason as our cruise was Dec. 2 and did not want to go through Newark or JFK. If your PHX flight is not late, you will be fine catching Air France in IAH. Maybe we just had a bad day. We questioned the airlines about connecting in CDE and they assured us it would be no problem with the time frame we had. Obviously, that person probably never went through CDE.