Separate Tickets with Layover at CDG

The problem is that the second leg is such a total disaster if you miss. It SHOULD be enough time but if the plane is late, it might not be. If you can make the transfer airside and go through security and Schengen emigration airside -- great. I would think you could if you had your boarding passes and no checked luggage.

But otherwise you have to go through security and emigration with all the people flying out of Paris and those lines are long.

Take a look at the on time record of the flight from AMS to CDG. When I did Berlin/CDG/Chicago a couple of years ago I looked at the on time record of the first flight and it was late half the time, sometimes by over an hour late. With my connection I would have missed my flight to the US about half the time. I used tht informtion to get my airline to change my ticket since they had changed the time of the first leg making it even tighter. Domestic flights like AMS/CDG are much less reliable than international cross atlantic flights. So see what the track record is.

Because the stakes are so high, I would book an earlier flight for the first leg or would come in the day before and spend the night at an airport hotel - and go into Paris for dinner and the evening. But I am very conservative -- You probably make this connection and even more probably if you can transfer airside BUT if things go wrong, the stakes are big and generally trip insurance doesn't cover this sort of thing.

Did you try booking as one trip but multi city? I have found that works on other frequent flyer bookings but have not tried on flying blue.

I will look into the flight history for the first leg.... that is an excellent suggestion.

Unfortunately, while one can book a multi-city ticket for cash, no such option exists for reward flights in the Air France/Flying Blue website.

Because the stakes are so high, I would book an earlier flight for the
first leg or would come in the day before and spend the night at an
airport hotel - and go into Paris for dinner and the evening.

^ditto this. If you miss the flight it's on you and not the airline to find a way home (and you'll lose all those miles to the wind).

As you're researching timeliness of flights from Amsterdam to CDG, also make note the terminal the domestic flight typically lands and where the Detroit flight typically departs. Use this to chart out the route you might have to take to transfer your flight. You could have quite a trek. When I was there in August it took 1 1/2 hours after checking our bags, getting through security, and to the departure gate.

It's a tough call. The chances of things going badly are low, but if the worst happens, the consequences of that would be high ($$$).

As pointed out, 3 hours 50 minutes should be no problem if everything goes smoothly and your inbound flight is on time. The risk is high because IF you miss your connection, then the cost of getting a new same-day ticket home from CDG to DTW is going to be a shock. How bad? Go price a walk-up, one-way ticket on that route leaving later today (or tomorrow) to help you decide if the risk is acceptable.

At some airports, that's a bet I would take. At CDG, Id have to think hard about it. I'd probably find another way to get home. If it were going the other way - on your outbound - I'd probably take it without agonizing too much (because the cost of missing your flight within Europe is relatively low: there are many flight options, low cost airlines, trains).

I do non protected connections a lot

in this case, I would get to CDG the night before. I would not want to have to buy a full fare ticket to get home when my flight gets delayed and no one‘s responsible for fixing this

We are heading home straight from a cruise, so arriving the night before is not possible. The biggest concern seems to be that if things go bad, then it will be up to us to obtain a way home.

If this were a single ticket, I can see how Air France would help us get another flight if their first flight was late. But what would happen if first flight arrives late, but still 2-3 hours before next flight and we miss flight simply because of lengthy backups at security? Is that on us or Air France?

rjlachance.
I fear that it is on you. I hope I am wrong, but with a separate ticket, the airline has no responsibility to you if you arrive late for your flight to the US.

If you have separate tickets and you miss your second flight, it’s not the airline’s problem, it’s yours. You could hope they cut you a deal, but they don’t have to and AFAIK they won’t.

I’m not sure I understand why you’re saying you just can not spend the night between the flights. Do you mean you’ve already bought both tickets?

I don't think I conveyed my follow-up question clearly. If I have a single ticket (not the split tickets I was initially asking about), what are the limits on when Air France would assist in a missed flight? If the first flight arrives just a little late, but we still don't make the second flight (maybe due to long security lines), who is responsible in that scenario?

As far as not being able to stay the night, I didn't mean to imply that. What I was stressing is that we can't arrive the night before we want to depart. Yes, it is theoretically possible for us to stay a night in Paris after debarking from cruise, but we really would rather get home ASAP since we will have spent several days in Paris before the cruise.

If I have a single ticket (not the split tickets I was initially asking about), what are the limits on when Air France would assist in a missed flight? If the first flight arrives just a little late, but we still don't make the second flight (maybe due to long security lines), who is responsible in that scenario?

If the time gap is 3hr 50 min, arriving 'just a little late', shouldn't be an issue.

Unless you are forced to gate check bags, I don't see why you would have to go through security. How long a line there is at passport processing is choke point ( and how far apart the gates are)

How much time is there between the boat's scheduled arrival your flight from AMS? If you don't make the 1st flight, the rest of it is moot, and you are buying a ticket.

Too many moving parts to fit my comfort zone.

The ship is scheduled to dock at 6:00 am, and the flight from AMS to CDG is at 12:30 pm.

Your connections are not without risk. All travel is subject to irregular operations these days. That said, it doesn't mean that things don't work out as scheduled most of the time. It just means no one can guarantee all of the time.

Your flight out of AMS should be easy to get to. Your transfer time at CDG should be enough if all works according to schedule. Chances are very high that everything will work out. You do need to accept that the possibility exists that not everything will and that you are willing to accept the "worst case scenario." I would definitely have travel insurance.

So, there is a nonstop from AMS to DTW, so I assume you are saying that the # of miles
required for that flight is a lot more than the two ticket setup you discussed initially?

It seems kind of insane that two separate tickets is twice as many miles as the single
ticket AMS-CDG-DTW. It also seems insane that this is less than the nonstop AMS-DTW.
If you want to put your travel date in here, we can double check things, but I assume
you know what you're doing.

As far as your question about what Air France will do if you miss your connection
with a single ticket for both flights, there are rules involved here. First off, there
is duty of care, which means that if you have to spend the night, they have to
provide hotel and food vouchers. Second, if you somehow miss the transatlantic
flight due to delays, they have to get you on the next available flight, and in some cases,
provide compensation.

You should not have to go back through immigration if your flights are all on one ticket.
You may need to clear security again, but I don't know how CDG works to that level of detail.

Finally, mile redemption amounts do change, so even if you book now, it pays to keep checking
in case a better option makes itself available. But make sure you know the cancellation
T&C for using Flying Blue miles.

Thanks for the insight. Yes, I do know there is a nonstop flight, but it is Delta (eons ago I took a KLM direct flight home, but it seems that route does not exist anymore). I have Chase/Capital One points as my travel currency, which can be transferred to Air France/KLM (among others), but not to Delta. Thus, Air France/KLM was the preferred airline.

Air France wants nearly 700k miles for our family of 4 (for Premium Economy) for a single booking, but if booked into 2 bookings, it would cost about 360k. That is a huge difference in my mind. Economy was much less, and I could swing that amount for a single booking; hence, why I was asking about whether if I did book in a single booking (although Econ instead of Premium Econ) if that would alleviate most concerns.

If you're using Chase points to book 4 tickets, then, while it's a PITA, you
should consider whether you can book on any of the other airline transfer
partners.

United's network is pretty strong in Europe and I know they have a nonstop
AMS-ORD which is often a better deal than flying through London or Paris.
Air Canada can get you the same flights, sometimes for less, if you convert
your Chase points into Aeroplan miles instead of Mileage Plus miles.

I would not worry about using British Airways as they add in the fuel surcharge
even on award tickets.

Finally, I am guessing that trying to book the entire connection in Premium
Economy may be what's causing the discrepancy in miles. If that's the case,
I can see why you might want to book in 2 segments.

Re the one ticket question. If you are on one ticket then you transfer airside and that is set up to be smooth -- you only go through emigration and security with your carry ons and others who are transferring. You do not get the two hour security or emigration lines you can get with general arrival.

Some airports e.g. AMS have a bypass for those who have very short connections, I don't think CDG does but perhaps someone else can chime in on that. Even so airside connections are pretty efficient. Lots of people make them at CDG with less than 2 hours.

This isn't a layover.

Two separate tickets do not have a layover between them.

Only you know your risk appetite: if you are ready and willing to buy four walk-up one-way same-day trans-Atlantic tickets in the event you can't make the second flight, go for it.

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. I think we will go forward with a single ticket (Econ), which will protect against the biggest risk. Maybe I'll be able to get an upgrade before our departure.