One hour connection in CDG

We are booked booked on a Delta return from Budapest to Detroit next September. It was ticked BUD/AMS on KLM and AMS/DTW on Delta. The AMS/DTW flight has been canceled. It now appears that the only option is a return on Air France connecting in Paris. The best flight time has a one hour connection time which I know is very tight . The only flight after that on the same day has a 12 hour connection through ATL. So, here are my questions:

If I miss my connection will Delta/Air France put me up for the night and pay for the room or would I be forced to take the 12 hour connection? I don't mind spending the night and being delayed by a day, but I want a direct flight and a decent place to stay. Can I insist on the direct flight? Would I be able to get my luggage?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Ericosmith,

A couple of questions.

I understand what you have posted but have you checked routes yourself or relied on a Delta agent?

You can use a tool like Kayak or Google Flights or ita matrix to truly investigate other options.

In your case you can also request a full refund due to the cancelation.

Now to CDG.......I have been there 4 times in the past year and I would not book the offered flight. I can't recall the minimum connection time but I think it may be longer than one hour. If you are not familiar with CDG you would connect in terminal 2 but more than likely with far flung concourses. If your CDG to US flight leaves from M that could also involved a bus ride in addition to a long walk with a security check along the way.

Also consider the likelihood of additional schedule changes.

Could you take a later flight out of Budapest that would work better with your transatlantic flight? Just a thought.

Any airline will put you on the first available flight. The choice may not be yours.

Getting your luggage if forced to overnight can be arranged upon landing at AMS or CDG or your connecting airport but it may take a couple of hours. Your Delta status could affect overnight accombinations but there are EU rules that could also come into play.

I wish I could make everything work for you without a hitch but you do need to come up with some workable alternativeso before you call Delta.

Charles de Gaulle is not known for easy connections. Sometimes you come in on one flight and have to queue again airside to go through security before connecting with your next flight. I don't know why. One hour is too tight and your luggage is likely be delayed.

For a definitive answer, check with travellers on http://www.flyertalk.com

http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/passenger-rights/air/index_en.htm

I tend to have bad experience with CDG so I personally wouldn't connect there if I can help it. Especially one with only an hour transfer.

But I do love Paris and a misconnect would be a good excuse to see the city of light!

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As outlined already: a 1hr connection is a NO go!

EU rules: this applies to EU carriers only... if your ticket is booked on a EU carrier, that carrier is obliged to care for you... if your ticket is with Delta..the EU rule i don't think applies, even if yr on a code share, via a European airline.

Either way, airlines are responsible for ur wellbeing if it is their fault... flight changes and cancellations.

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As alcoa1 mentioned:

Your best to research flight schedules yr self and tell Delta, which flights you want.

I did this two yrs back when BA cancelled my flights..

I went back to them with what worked best for me: in this case I flew via a new city and had better flight times.

Take advantage of this situation.

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EU rules: this applies to EU carriers only... if your ticket is booked on a EU carrier, that carrier is obliged to care for you... if your ticket is with Delta..

EU flight delay compensation rules apply to ALL airlines flying out of EU airports, notwithstanding the nationality of the carrier:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/flight-delays

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We are booked booked on a Delta return from Budapest to Detroit next September. It was ticked BUD/AMS on KLM and AMS/DTW on Delta. The AMS/DTW flight has been canceled. It now appears that the only option is a return on Air France connecting in Paris. The best flight time has a one hour connection time which I know is very tight.

If you're prepared to take a day's delay in the event of a misconnect at CDG, is that where you'd want to spend the time? I can see how some people would be quite happy to have an unexpected day in Paris in that event. But an alternative would simply be to reschedule now for the next day and plan to spend an extra day in Budapest. On every other day of the week, it looks like there is a routing through AMS that gives you 90 minutes there, which should be more comfortable than the 60 minutes at CDG that you're currently being offered.

I can't recall the minimum connection time but I think it may be longer than one hour.

As it happens, it looks like all DL-DL ITI connections at CDG have a 60-minute MCT.

AMS offers a far superior level of service to CDG, and I would be happy with whatever minimum connection times they quote, and be fairly confident everything would go as planned.

I'm the odd duck here. I enjoy connecting through CDG. I'm all-SkyTeam, so it is always within the T2 complex. But, 60 minutes is not enough for a connection ex-Schengen. You do all your Passport control in addition to security check and those line can be rather long if you do not have Sky Priority for the flight (there are separate lines for this). Your flight from Budapest will arrive in T2F and the fight to the US will leave from T2E.

From the Air France site for connections:

"Estimated transit time to Hall K in Terminal 2E is approximately 20 minutes, including the time needed to pass through customs.

Estimated transit time to Hall L in Terminal 2E is approximately 25 minutes, including the time needed to pass through customs.

Estimated transit time to Hall M in Terminal 2E is approximately 30 minutes, including the time needed to pass through customs and take the automated shuttle."

But, to me, that would be an absolute best-case scenario, and I never plan for that ;)

As far has taking a bus to "M" - I've not taken a bus, but the airside train. And, if you have status/cabin, the Air France club down at "M" is really good!!!

To clarify a little bit. This ticket was purchased by a river cruise line as a promotion. It is on a Saturday and was book with the 90 minute connection in AMS which was my choice. Unfortunately Delta canceled the AMS/DTW flight on Saturdays.

I have done some research on other booking sites and there just isn't anything on Saturday other than the CDG connection, at least on Sky Team. Actually I don't recall there being one on any other airline.

There is a 6:30 BUD/CDG flight connecting to the same CDG/DTW. That would mean a 4:30 minute layover plus trying to leave the ship in the middle of the night. Not a very appealing option when I have a 2+ hour drive from DTW to get home.

I considered delaying until Sunday but the cruise agent told me that wasn't possible without penalty. I haven't tried talking to Delta myself. Perhaps I should.

Thanks for all the responses.

I see the AMS issue now...DL 139 from AMS doesn't run on Saturday. Yes, I could see why that was the ideal flight.

So, now you are going to have to either 1) suck it up and do a two stop back...there are other flights that work, 2) get up early and make DL 137 AMS, 3) or accept the consequences of the too short connection in CDG.

I would say suck it up and take a two stop back.

Last trip back last June we made an 1:25 connection through CDG. It was a nail biter because the security line was long. The flight from LIN may have took off a tad late also...I can't remember for sure. We hustled like heck and did have time to hit the bathroom near the gate. But, as others have said, it is just as likely you won't make it. We only took the connection because it was a FF award and I viewed Paris an ok spot for a night if we didn't make it. BTW, because beggars can't be choosers for low mile FF flights, this was a two stop LIN-CDG-MSP-DTW.

Interesting, I did note that my name was on the gate board while I was in line to get on the flight. Perhaps, they were using me to track tight connection flyers making it to the gate?

Personally, I would either suck it up and get up in the middle of the night, since they won't let you take the fly after an extra night in Prague, or do a two stop that uses one of the 3:00 pm flights from AMS. Perhaps spend the night at a DTW hotel before driving the last hours home if you feel too tired. For our flight next August from WAW, I opted for the "getting up in the middle of night" option.

Another thought...Air Canada seems to work ...but, I don't know your exact dates and just assuming you are Cruise air which might allow a change of airline.

One other thing...that Air Canada flight is a Rouge flight. If it works in other respects, it might not be what you want...you have to do further due diligence if the on board experience will be acceptable.

Don't know which river line you are traveling with but often they will use multiple airlines. Delta cancelled our AMS-DTW flight a few months ago and cruise line switched us to a KLM flight thru IAD. So if you are going to have to make an additional stop you might look at still going thru AMS and connect via some place on this side of the Atlantic. Personally I hate CDG and AMS is by far the easiest hub in Western Europe imho.

I would use a search engine as suggested above and find what suits you best and then contact the cruise line and tell them what you want. It is unlikely that Delta will deal with you directly since it was booked via an agent.