Air France/CDG help! I'm driving myself crazy!!!

:confused: :confused: :confused:

DH and I are going on a RT Venice Med cruise in May. I found a good deal for air from Boston thru Air France with connections at CDG and both of us could fly for $1365 total, not bad given the cruise air would have cost us $1200 ea. So I booked right away and then I started hearing a lot of horror stories about the disorganized connection/transfer at CDG, lost baggage etc. I guess most of the lost baggage complaints were around the time Air France workers went on strike last fall, but still now I couldn’t help but feel may be I should have paid the $1K more and try and fly with another airline. But there really aren’t that many options flying to Venice from Boston- Delta is one but they code share with Air France so essentially we’d be on the same flights, and BA/AA requires us to fly into LHW and out of LGW, so the airport transfer seems even more troublesome. So I guess I’m stuck with Air France. The good news is we will be arriving 2 days prior to the cruise so if our luggage is lost/delayed we still have time to shop a bit and replace the essentials, though that would really put a damper on our vacation. On both outbound and inbound flights we have 1 hr 25 mins to make our connections. Can anyone with experience with Air France making connections at CDG try to ease my mind?

Hello

My husband flies on business from Houston to Mumbai, India quite often on a Delta codeshare (AirFrance) from Houston to CDG and then on to Mumbai on a true Delta operated flight.

Before I can answer your question properly, are both of your flights operated by Air France, Delta, or one of each? Once I know the answer to this question, I can then address how difficult your connection will be.

If you fly in and out of CDG on actual Air France flights or Delta flights, a terminal change may not be necessary and the inconvienience will be minimal. However, if you fly in on an Air France operated flight and out on a Delta operated flight, a terminal change requiring two buses may be required and the an hour in transit time should be allowed. It is confusing for a traveler who has not made the terminal change previously.

Let me know and I will try to assist you.

B

Thanks for your help! We are booked on actual Air France flights. The reservation agent told me on the phone that we would need to change terminals at CDG. We'll arrive from Boston to CDG terminal 2C and then the flight to Venice is terminal 2F. We'll have 1 hour 20 mins to go thru customs and make our connections.

On the way back we'll fly from Venice to CDG terminal 2F and then make our connection at terminal 2C. We'll have 1 hour and 25 mins to make this connection.

I guess what worries me the most is overall people seems to think lowly of Air France airport support. There are stories of people who missed connections at CDG having to wait 6 hour or more for the next flight, lots of lost/delayed luggages etc.

How do you husband like flying Air France?

Goodluck at CDG . :eek: It is one of the worst for connections. Hope you know some french , most of the signs are in french and there is hardly any airport staff around to answer questions. From 2b to 2f is a looong walk and there are walkways (they work sometimes) .

At least you are within terminal 2 .

There were quiet afew frares from 831-850 pp for may

Here is some info I found on flyertalk.

Terminal 2 (Air France and other Skyteam Carriers)

When you get off the plane, follow the "Correspondance Transfer" signs up to the Transfer desk to check your departure terminal.

• If your connection is at Terminal 2:

Check your departure terminal at the Transfer desk:

- For an international flight, departures are from Terminals 2A, 2B, 2C, 2E or 2F: Take the Air France shuttle bus (within customs zone) situated close to the Transfer desk

- For a domestic flight or Schengen, departures are from Terminals 2D or 2F: Proceed to the public area and follow the "Correspondance Transfer" signs

minimum connection times:

Terminal 2 : All connections : 90 minutes

CDG2 Terminal A,B,C,D and Rail Station

CDG 2 Terminal E,F

Hello, again

My husband really likes flying Air France. He thinks the airline is great. The problem he has is changing terminals at CDG. He's always afraid he will miss his connection! He only has carry-on baggage, so he is not concerned about losing luggage.

All of that being said, if you go to the Northwest Airlines site,http://www.nwa.com, click on Travel Tools, then Destination Info & Maps, then Airport Maps, then Paris, you can print out a map of CDG.

You will arrive at 2C and take buses (they only manouver clockwise) to 2F. My husband says it will take 45 minutes to an hour. Your return (clockwise) from 2F to 2C will be somewhat shorter. He said the best advise he can give you is that it is not as bad as it appears and to go into the situation with resolve and patience. He did ask if you have any mobility problems.

For the price difference, I think you should go for it.

Let me know if you have any further questions and I will ask my DH. He is in India now!

Best Regards

B

http://www.nwa.com/travel/trave/airports/CDG.shtml

Here's the actual link from NWA.

B

DH and I are in our early 30's so no mobility problems yet. We can definitely run if we have to. And since we are going on a 7-day cruise we really can't do it without checked luggage as Air France limits our carry on to 13lbs each.

But yikes! :eek: 45mins to 1 hour on a shuttle bus from Terminal 2C to 2F? I wonder if there's a walkway of sort and will that be faster? Looking at the map it seems like 2F is right next to 2C.

Your husband is right. I guess I'll just have to go with the flow and see what happens. :(

The two times we changed planes at CDG, we've walked from 2C to 2F. From reading the AF magazine, it appears that the bus never leaves the "secure" area of the airport, so if you take the bus, you won't have to go through security again. We did go through another security screen, but it really didn't take that long. Maybe 20 minutes from one gate to the next, including a pit stop.

Ironically, the time we had a 2-hour layover going to Milan, our bags didn't make it. On our last trip, with an hour to connect, they did. The Milan bags arrived on later flights, and, because we were staying near the airport, we just picked them up the next morning.

Make sure that you carry on enough clothing to get you through 2 days without luggage.

DH and I always carry a change of clothes in our carry-on bags when we travel in case our suitcase takes a detour. And you betcha we have travel insurance to cover some of the expenses for replacement items.

To clarify your post, did the walking from 2C to 2F take 20 mins or did the bus take 20 mins to make the trip from 2C all the way around to 2F? I think if the walk is doable we'll try and walk instead of taking the bus. It seems I'll have more control over how fast my legs can move vs. how fast the bus driver feels like going or stopping. :o

We walked both times, so I don't know about the bus. Maybe it was closer to 25 minutes (including pit stop and security), but it didn't seem to take too long - it really wasn't that far, and I had time to look at perfumes on the way to the gate.

On the first trip, we did encounter an AF agent who checked and confirmed that our luggage had made the plane. Then it stayed in Paris while we went on to Milan. The second time we figured it didn't really matter where it got lost, but it came on both planes with us.

Since I already bought the tickets with Air France I guess it's too late for me too worry too much now. I'll just have to go with the flow and make the best of it when I get there. On the bright side I am saving more than $1K going thru Air France directly, and if I get delayed/whatever, I'll at least have my travel insurance cover some of my expenses. :o

Sounds like you have everything under control.

I asked my DH about walking between terminals and he said the issue is security. He'll be home this weekend and if he has anything further to contribute, I'll let you know.

By the way, are you on Splendour of the Seas? It's in Galveston now.

Regards

B

I'll be sailing on SOS out of Venice in May. Right now I near Boston where it's cold and the ground is icy from all the melting snow. ;)

I booked my air through Air France, too. We are going from Boston to Paris and then a short flight to Venice.

We are not going until September on the Splendour/Greek Isles cruise.

I have never flown on Air France before. Last year we went on Alitalia, but it was direct from BOS to Rome.

What are your flight numbers?

I posted a bunch of information about CDG in the Crystal Forum. The post can be found HERE. CDG can be difficult, but is doable if you have knowledge aforethought.

I'll try to address your specific questions later today.

Hi there,

Here are our flight nos:

AF321 from BOS to CDG

AF1426 from CDG to VCE

On the way back:

AF1427 from VCE to CDG

AF322 from CDG to BOS

Hope this helps!

Flight 337 dept Bos 5:30 pm, Arrives Paris 6:15 am

Flight 1126 dept Paris 7:25 am, Arrives Venice 9:05 am

My return flights are 1427 & 322.

It says on my reservation that check in time for flight 1126 is 6:55, so that's only 40 minutes. I am sailing the same day at 4pm - no pre-cruise stay in Venice, as we have a long 8 day post stay.

Now I'm worred. I looked at the map of the Paris airport and it just shoes three red bars (which equals bus/shuttle transport).

Maybe I should change the second flight 1126 to the one that departs at 9:55?

LADCAD, my inbound flight only gives me 1 hr and 5 mins for connection at CDG. I assume we'll be checked in at Boston all the way thru to Venice and won't have to stand in line at the check-in counter again when we get to CDG. So it should just be a matter of going from one terminal to another. Sounds easy enough but I know people have said CDG is a PITA for terminal changes. The CS who took my reservation at Air France told me they normally allow 45 mins for layover and assured me 65 mins ought to be find. I know they probably tell everyone not to worry. We are arriving 2 days before the cruise so I just tell myself not to worry too much and play it by ear when we get there. If we miss our connection and have to take a later flight to Venice we should be OK. On the way home if I miss my connection and have to spend a night in Paris, that wouldn't be the world's greatest tragedy either. ;) So we'll see. Since you're not leaving till September, if you want I can let you know my experience at CDG after our trip in May. Just drop me a note here to remind me.

I wouldn't worry about delays or missing a flight so much if I were staying in Venice before the cruise. The ship sails at 4PM, which should be plenty of time even if I did get bumped to the next flight.

I'm kind of thinking that maybe I should stay 1-night in Venice before the cruise? Maybe it would be less stressful with a buffer?

Our post stay will be 3 nights - Lake Garda, 3 nights - Florence, then the last two nights back in Venice before flying home.

I live in NH. Are you in Mass?

I'm in NH too, Nashua to be exact. I would definitely consider flying in one day early if you can. If for nothing else you can have one day to adjust to the time difference before you start the cruise. The only trouble you may find is most hotels in Venice would not let you book less than 2 days. At least that's what I've found when I was looking for a hotel pre-cruise in May, so we end up deciding flying into Venice 2 days early just for that reason. Not that we need an excuse or mind spending more time in Venice at all. :p

Well, I called AF and they told me it's $300/pp to change the flights. I told the Rep on the phone that I was afraid of missing the connecting flight. She told me I'm not arriving in terminal 2C (which my email conf. says I am). She told me I arrive in 2E and have to go to 2F, which is not that bad. She also said if the worst happened and I missed the flight to Venice, that I could go on the next flight, which is 9:55. We splurged on Biz class, so we're in row one of the plane, the rep. pointed out our advantage in getting off the plane first.

I did find a couple of hotels where they would take a single night, but I'm going to leave it the way it is and hope for the best. I already have 8 nights post cruise. I've been reading a little bit more about CDG. I didn't even know what CDG was 24 hours ago. Now I think I'm actually afraid of an airport. I thought Rome was bad - disorganized, but at least the Italians are friendly.

I live in Bedford. I'm really glad I found your post. The title caught my attention - so thank you. Now I know a lot more about what to expect at that nasty airport. Also, now I'm planning on carrying a few garments in carryon, since there's a good chance of losing luggage at this airport.

We booked Air France biz class last Aug for our cruise this June on the Millennium from Barcelona to Venice. I usually research everything compulsively in terms of our travel. However, I really dropped the ball with regards to Air France and CDG. I booked rather impulsively because they had a good deal on business class airfare. However, after booking I have read horror stories regarding CDG and Air France ground personnel.

We only have 60 minutes to connect. After reading several posts regarding the utter chaos at CDG, I called Air France to see if we could change to a later flight from Paris to Barcelona. They told me that if we wanted to change it would cost $400.00 per ticket and that 60 minutes was a legal connection time. We are traveling with our children ages 10 and 12 and my parents who are in their mid-seventies. In order to change to a later flight it would cost us $2400.00 total. Consequently, we are going to stay with the flights we have and hope for the best. We will be packing carry-on bags with enough clothes and personal hygiene items to get us by for a couple of days in case of missed connections and delayed luggage.

I had no idea that Air France had such an awful reputation for poor service when we booked. I am also concerned that we may have wasted money upgrading to business class. I have read their service overall is very hit or miss. It may not be worth the extra money.

Anyway, I am concerned, particularly since we will be traveling with my elderly parents who are in no condition to "run like the wind" to make a connection, or endure missed connections. I think the trip itself will be taxing enough without the additional stress of making a tight connection or missing it altogether.

We are very much looking forward to our cruise but are definitely concerned about our flights.

Nancy

Please don't stress out about AF - they have their issues, but I predict that you will be fine!

We've been on Air France to Europe twice - in 2003 and 2005, connecting through Paris to Milan and Venice. For Milan we had 2 hours and our bags didn't make it (they arrived on a later flight and we picked them up the next day, although the airline would have delivered them to the hotel). For Venice we had just under 1 hour and our bags made it with us. If your flight lands on time, you will NOT need to run like the wind to make your connection. We stopped at the rest rooms, looked at perfumes, had to clear another security line and STILL made it to our connecting gate with 10 minutes to go until they started boarding. All this without breaking a sweat.

There is a separate security line for business & first class, which may be faster (it wasn't when we went through because it wasn't all that crowded). If you miss the flight, they will put you on the next one. Business class on the connections is still coach seating, they just don't put anybody in the middle seat, so even if you get "stuck" in coach, it's only for an hour or so.

Repeat after me - it will be fine! (Just bring an extra day or two's worth of clothes in case...)

I'm hearing so many different things. I am confused.

I read on the CDG site that if you are going between any of the 2 terminals to take the shuttle, UNLESS you are going between E & F, then you should walk, because Italy is not considered international, etc.

• If your connection is at Terminal 2:

Check your departure terminal at the Transfer desk:

- For an international flight, departures are from Terminals 2A, 2B, 2C, 2E or 2F: Take the Air France shuttle bus (within customs zone) situated close to the Transfer desk

- For a domestic flight or Schengen, departures are from Terminals 2D or 2F: Proceed to the public area and follow the "Correspondance Transfer" signs

One person says take the escalator to the lower lever and go through the tunnel and it's only 5 minutes.

Another person says that if you do that you have to go through immigrations and lose the time you save by taking the shorter route.

Then I keep reading about going between #2 terminals "Airside" vs. "landside". What are they talking about??

Here's another post from tripadvisor -without the "tunnel" route ...

If you've taken the time to look at the CDG#2 Terminal diagrams at the CDG wen site, you will have seen that #2-E and #2-F are situated directly across from each other and the transfer between the two may be accompliched either by free ADP shuttle buses or by walking the relatively short distance---following the more than adequate '..CORRESPONDENCE TRANSFER..' signage. But to make sure you know where you're going, ask a flight attendant aboard your aircraft or a gate attendant when you deplane to point you in the right direction.

So long as you remain within the '..In-Transit..' spaces of these terminals (a tip off that you may be about to leave the In-Transit sapces is if you see a French Customs control point--DO NOT pass through it). Stay within these In-Transit spaces, follow '..CORRESPONDENCE TRANSFER..' signage and you will not have to pass through any additional airport security check-points (unless there is a heightened VIGIPIRATE security alert in effect).

Another thing I'm hearing is that "2E" is the one that collapsed in 2004? And is not operating anymore. Then when you print the map of 2E / 2F terminals, it shows HALF of 2E exists, the left half.

Also, regarding the shuttles - which go clockwise - if you look at the map to go from E to F is almost a complete circle.

People advise you to familiarize yourself with the layout. I am trying to do that but there's so much conflicting information.

Do you know which terminals you are arriving/departing from?

I never thought my thread will generate so much interest and concern as well. :eek:

I was told for my inbound flight I'll arrive into 2C and fly out of 2F for my connection to Venice. Returning it'll be the reverse, arrive into 2F and then out of 2C back to the states. Correctly based on my flight schedule I'll have about 1 hr 20 mins to make the connection both ways.

Another poster mentioned earlier that the shuttle bus only go in clock-wise direction, so for my inbound flight if I take the bus from 2C, then I'll have to make the round stopping at all the terminals before the bus will finally arriving at 2F. Someone said this will take about 45- 1 hour. That does seem like a long time. I do wonder if walking from 2C to 2F is doable and if that would be faster than taking the bus. Coming back I'm not as worried because if I take the bus at 2F the next stop would be 2C (based on the terminal layout).

Anyway, my cruise is mid-May (only 60 days to go!:D) so if anyone want me to email them about my experience at CDG after I return I'll be happy to do so. I can try and find out how walkable it is from 2C to 2F, situation with the shuttle bus etc.