Hey there. Flying United Airlines ORD (Chicago) to CDG (Paris). Trying to catch a flight from CDG to NCE (Nice) that departs at 10:55am. No checked luggage just carry-on.
What is the latest we could land in CDG and make our flight to Nice? I’ve never flown into that airport before so not sure transit time, customs/immigration, etc? Wondering what the min connection time should be.
Thank you in advance!
On a separate ticket 3 hours. On a single ticket it doesn't matter to me as the airline is liable and will just put you on the next flight with available space if you miss the connection and it is their fault. Air France has ten direct flights a day to Nice from Paris these days. But if I absolutely needed to be in Nice by a certain time I wouldn't buy a ticket with a short connection
I thought you were flying into Rome?
Looking at multiple options (Rome or Paris) to get to nice
CDG airport also has a high speed train that goes directly to Marseille where you then transfer to a train to Nice but that takes 6 hours minimum
CDG is fairly big but there is an efficient air port train/tram to get to other terminals as I recall. So your biggest variable is how long to get through customs - which might depend on the time of day, the number of other planes that arrived, and your luck. As some other people mentioned, there is a TGV station directly in the airport. You can also take RER B train about an hour to central Paris. I think that goes to Gare de Lyon from which you could take a TGV to Marseille to Nice. However, I would strongly suggest you have your ticket in advance for the TGV.
For me, I would not try to do all this in a single day.
Last spring it took about 2 hours to get through immigration on a flight from Chicago; in the fall it took 45 minutes (which is more typical) but the plane itself was 2 hours late; this spring it took about 15 minutes which is unusually fast, but then our luggage got lost in a below the floor jam up along with a dozen other people's bags and so it took over an hour to get our bags.
Many flights close check in 40 minutes or so before the flight and security can take awhile. I would not do this with less than 3 hours and of course that is no guarantee. The big unknown is immigration which can take a very long time if you get behind a couple of plane loads of passengers or if only one or two automatic gates are actually functioning. It is a total crap shoot.
What is the latest we could land in CDG and make our flight to Nice?
No way to know what will happen on the day you fly.
Example-- for a recent trip to Hawaii I was watching our flight in the week before we left. Mostly it was +/- 5 minutes of being on time. One day it was 20 minutes early and another day it was over an hour late.
Buy a single ticket, ORD-NCE, and let the airline figure out how much time you need, and if something goes sideways, they have to fix it. You buy 2 tickets and if it goes sideways, you have to fix it ( i.e., buy another ticket)
United is in Terminal 1, Air France in Terminal 2. EasyJet also flies to Nice but I don’t know if they use CDG at all or only Orly. Because these are separate tickets, any weather or other delays could cause you to miss your flight to Nice, So 4 hours wiggle room.
Last summer my son took United and the TGV from CDG to where we live. He had about 3 hours waiting around the train station, but it’s only a 3.5 hour train ride. To Nice, it’s 6. Ugh.
I just booked a flight to the US for Thanksgiving on Air France. It’s from mycity to CDG to the US, which is seamless. If I booked United, I’d have to go to Paris or CDG the night before and pay for a hotel. So that is one advantage everything on one ticket.
Yes, Bets's point about separate terminals for United and Air France can't be emphasized enough. Terminal 1 is far from all the Terminal 2 terminals. So ads more time for getting between.
So Diane saw your question in the "Italy" category. I answered your question there but I will now add - - I've connected through CDG a few times and would advise connecting through FCO traveling from Chicago to Nice. FCO was easier for me compared to CDG. No lines at FCO immigration when I arrived at 8 am. last month on a Wednesday. Much shorter walk at FCO to change terminals from United to ITA gate. CDG can require 2 1/2 hours for a connection. I've always experienced long lines at CDG.
There are a number of transatlantic flights flying directly into NCE. United has one from EWR and Delta from JFK. Possibly others.
I have flown from Chicago ORD, making a connection in JFK to a final destination in Europe... It is risky, with fewer options if the flight to New York is delayed resulting in a missed connection in New York. I much prefer a direct flight from ORD to Europe, making my connection in Europe to my final destination because there are more options for later connecting flights through AMS, CDG and FCO if I miss my connecting flight in Europe.
Looking at multiple options (Rome or Paris) to get to Nice
If you buy a single ticket itinerary, you would not need to ask "how much time is enough?--- is 'x" time enough?", but it seems you are looking at doing separate tickets. Why?
Does not matter what folks here say, if you have two tickets and the first flight is delayed, for whatever reason, you are stuck for the expense of a 'new' 2nd flight.
One ticket gives you peace of mind. We recently made this connection and had a horrible experience catching our flight. The security lines were backed up like crazy and we barely made our flight with 2 hrs. change time. As stated below, a lot will depend on when you are flying (time of year), and what variables that day occur with delayed flights, security, passport control, etc. Allow at least two hours, especially if you have to change terminals. We had carry-on only as well. Once we made our connecting flight, it was a breeze. We were in Nice by lunch-time and at our hotel.
I realize that you asked your question in both the France and the Italy categories of the forum. Whether one ticket or separate tickets... I would still recommend a connection from Chicago to Nice in Rome FCO over Paris CDG and for certain over JFK. Even though a missed connection on a one ticket purchase will give you the added reassurance of the issuer of the ticket to get you to your final destination (Nice), it is more likely that you will have more options for being reassigned a later-in-that-day connecting flight to Nice from either Rome or Paris. I would avoid the possibility of an overnight in JFK to be put on the next morning's direct flight to Nice from JFK. My delayed departure experiences flying to Europe from Chicago (always on one ticket) have convinced me to avoid connecting in the US (Detroit, Philadelphia, New York) to my destination in Europe.
You might also check KLM through Amsterdam. Aer Lingus Chicago to Nice would require 5hours and 45 minutes connection in Dublin.
This isn't a connection.
This is knitting together two different flights on two different airlines.
