CDG connection: 2E to 2G

I did 2E to 2G on an Atlanta to Rennes itinerary last fall. I arrived on an early flight (7 am arrival); it took me about 30 minutes from the time I exited the plane to the time I sat in the Hop! waiting area (Hop! is Air France's name for its division that does regional flights). It will be busier at 10 am, but you should very easily be able to make the connection as long as your inbound flight is on time (or even if it is somewhat late). I don't remember if I had to go through security again between 2E and 2G. i would feel extremely comfortable with that amount of time for a layover at CDG.

Kristen - were you able to find this map?

http://www.parisaeroport.fr/en/passengers/access/paris-charles-de-gaulle/terminals-map

Shows the location of 2E and the shuttle ("navette") to 2G, which is on the far right of the map.

I usually estimate an hour from the plane touching down to being out the front door of CDG - so maybe in your case 45 minutes to get to the navette and then another 20 or whatever to get over to 2G in the navette, then find your gate etc.

I don't have any actual experience with this transfer, but I'm just thinking that your arrival and immigration processing will take longer than 20-30 minutes itself (which is why I estimate 45). But Dave is the one with actual experience doing this!

I do think you have plenty of time to make the connection or AirFrance wouldn't have sold you that ticket. Anyway they will be responsible for putting you on another flight to Pau if for whatever reason you were to miss the one you're scheduled on.

To clarify Kim’s comment that you are protected:

American and Air France/Hop don’t code share because they are in two different alliances. Was this sold via a third-party vendor such as Orbits, Expedia, etc? If so, it’s one itinerary put together by the vendor but seen by the airlines as two separate flights.

If AA or Hop issued the ticket as one itinerary, you are covered in case of delay, rerouting or cancelation of a flight by the airline.

Dave-Thanks for your reply! It is reassuring to here from someone who has done this recently. I know there are always variables/delayed flight/unexpected lines/etc. But I have heard such bad things about CDG so it's nice that this seems like a reasonable connection time

Kim-Thank you for the link Kim! I did see that map. I was a little confused about what constituted a "shuttle". It is difficult to determine if the shuttle stays in the secure area of the airport. I have found similar questions posted on flyertalk/trip advisor from a long time ago that describe more of a monorail situation. I also came across some You Tube video where it looked like the shuttle completely left airport grounds and got on an expressway. So I am just trying to determine all of the possible spots that could add time to the connection

Bets-Interestingly, I purchased this flight on the American Airline website and it's all under the same record locator. I never use third party booking website. I have all of my FF miles with AA so I book all of my international flights and 90% of my domestic flights with them.

There were multiple Air France options available for this itinerary (on the AA website) but none of them had an associated AA number. So while they aren't codeshare partners, there must be some type of agreement. I have also seem some Vueling flights when looking at other itineraries.

Thanks for this interesting, new-to-me, information on AA and HOP. I see now that you are a reguler poster, so of course you’d already be aware of the direct and third-party ticketing info.

It is definitely new to me too! I was a little nervous especially since I hadn't heard of Hop before and the no codeshare thing. I have the flight on hold now and I think I am just going to book it.

Thanks for pointing that out Bets - I was reading too quickly and absolutely thought it was an AF/AF matchup. I am doing that more and more lately !!! : (

When I look at AA site and search ORD-PUF it produces no results.

When I select "all airlines" ( near the bottom of their page) it does produce flights.

I suggest you contact AA and make sure of what they are selling and confirm it is a single "protected" booking..

Absolutely Joe! I did call the airline to confirm this morning and pay for the ticket.

EDIT: Specifically they said it was a protected ticket but rebooking is more a little more cumbersome. So if my first flight is delayed or the connection takes forever, I have to call American or talk to an AA rep at the airport and they manually rebook.

If I go on the Air France website, they also have my whole ORD-PUF itinerary under the same ticket number and record locator. All very interesting.

When I click "all airlines" on the AA website, it's not like every possible flight come up with every airline- just a few. I assume there must be an agreement between airlines for certain legs.

If I make the connection, which looks probable. this is the most convenient and quickest way for me to get to my destination. If I don't, it will throw a wrench ino my travel plans but I think only a small one.

Thanks for your feedback everyone!

Hey, Kristen. I'll help with a couple of issues.

1. Air France and American Airlines have an "interline agreement" that allows them to sell each's others flights on certain routes. In this case, One World (American's airline alliance) does not fly to Pau, so American can sell flights on Air France without upsetting the members of its own alliance. An interline agreement is different from a "codeshare" (where AA places its own flight number on the AF flight), so that's why you have an AF flight identifier. You plan to travel only with a carry-on (which every RS traveler knows is smart), but if you were checking a bag, the interline agreement would also cover transferring bags between flights (i.e., you would NOT have to pick up your bags at the AA carousel and recheck them to Pau at the Air France counter).

2. Don't be afraid of CDG! I fly through it a few times each year. Signage is great. I have to admit I never checked ahead to see at which concourse my connecting flight is. I just look at the nearest flight info display after exiting the plane and follow the signs to the correct concourse. Some of the concourses are connected by monorail; some are connected by shuttle. After looking at a map of CDG, I believe you do go through security again at 2G. My 30-minute 2E to 2G transit time was actually on a 6:00 am scheduled arrival that arrived early; my travel companion and I are were seated around Row 15, so we got off the plane fairly quickly. Our flight was one of the first (if not the first) into 2E that day, and there was no one ahead of us at passport control. There was also virtually no line at security for 2G. That's unusual. For a 10:00 arrival, I would expect around 60-90 minutes to get from 2E to 2G, including passport control. My tightest connection at CDG? A 75-minute layover turned into a 30-minute layover due to a late-arriving inbound flight. I did my best power walking and arrived at the gate of the connecting flight at departure time -- the flight was delayed 15 minutes, so I made the flight!

Thank you for the info Dave! That's way more than I found by googling " do American Airlines and Air France have an agreement". It's good to know this an established concept. And thank you for the info about the airport. It's good to hear that people have good experiences as well as challenging ones.

I don't think that either the airport train or the Navette/Shuttle Bus are going to provide a direct route between your stated terminals. Plan to walk. See http://easycdg.com/airport-guide/travel-between-terminals-move-around-paris-cdg-airport/. The time that I took the shuttle bus several years ago, it felt very slow and I did have to go back through security, having actually exited the building.

@Laura,

From the webpage you linked (emphasis mine):

You can walk landside terminal 2 (2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F), all concourses are connected by walkways.

• TGV-RER-CDGVAL station is located between 2C/2E and 2D/2F.

• Terminal 2G is a remote terminal and can only be reached by free shuttle bus to-from the terminal 2F.

I was focused on the words, " By foot (recommended)* " Now I see that I didn't read the footnote! But I do expect the traveler to follow the links and confirm what applies to her. Reading further confirms that the bus is running "landside," meaning an additional security check will be necessary.

Thanks again!