What Time Should I Be At The Airport?

To set your mind at ease make it 3 hours. MORE than enough time to deal with unexpected traffic, slow security check in, delayed flight, etc. Take a good book or audio book to keep you occupied. Call the airline before you leave to see if the plane is expected on time.

Bon Voyage

CDG is actually one of your more confusing airports plus I think it's under "construction" right now. I try to arrive about 2.5 hours in advance. I have never needed all that time, but you never can tell!

We always give ourselves 3 hours for international flights from Portland. We have lunch at the airport after we check-in plus get some water for the flight. You never know what kind of traffic you'll hit enroute to the airport. Have fun!

Marie - I believe all US flagged airlines and their partners are strongly suggesting 3 hours prior to departure, as suggested above!

I was in CDG last week (brief trip to Paris to see family) and flew into Terminal 1. It's been 7 years since I've been to that terminal - usually fly into one of the 2's - and I was pleasantly surprised by the work that had been done. It's still my least favorite airport... but that's another story!

Get there early, take a good book, and relax!!! Better to be early then to have to rush! Have fun in Paris!

Ciao,
Ron

Another advantage of arriving at the airport 3 hours before flight time is that you beat the crowd that arrives two hours before flight time. You will have extra time to shop, eat a meal, read the paper, spend your leftover pounds or euros and walk around. I usually schedule flights for late morning so I'm not getting up in the middle of the night to get to the airport.

I need to voice a dissenting opinion. For most airports, 2 hours should be more than enough. I travel every week and security is not so bad. In Denver at UA you can use an automated machine to check in for an international flight. In fact you can even do this from home - then it is just a matter of checking a bag if you aren't carrying it on.

I can't stand the thought of spending 3 hours at an airport before getting on an 8-10 hour flight. And its worse if one has another 2 or 3 connecting flights to get to your final destination.

In the US, I only get to the airport an hour before departure - whether intl or domestic. In other countries I'll give myself a little more time. Obviously if you are not familiar with your airport, give yourself some leeway - but 3 hrs is probably too much.

Another thing to consider. I went to Paris out of San Francisco earlier this year via Air France. I arrived at the airport at 1:00 for a 3:20 flight. It turned out that the check in counter did not even open until 1:30 as it was the only flight to Paris that day. There were a large number of us who ended up standing in line for a half an hour waiting for the counter to open. You might want to see if that is a factor as well.

THanks for all the suggestions, I think we'll go with 3 hours just to be sure, and just to clarify for anyone who might post in the future, I will be flying OUT of the United States TO Paris, so I will be leaving from a United States airport, thanks!

Marie, you should also be able to check in online and thus only have to do a quick stop at the counters to drop your bags off. I would say 2 hours personally...

Marie, until two weeks ago I would be agreeing with the "no more than two hours" folks. But after my experience flying back to SeaTac from CDG on Air France on July 15, I am now a "3 hour" guy. We spent a full 1-1/4 hours in a short line because AF only had two agents working and they were spending quite a bit of time with what appeared to be very inexperienced travelers with veritable trainloads of luggage. And we had a HUGE line of very concerned looking people behind us. Since you said yourself that you don't mind being early, that extra hour you could be sightseeing isn't much fun if you're worried about your flight. Plus, these days we have to allow for the skeevy activity that seems to always happen at the passport control and security areas.

Quick question for a novice international flyer - if my flight is an international one but has a domestic connection first, where should I expect the greater security delay? For example, Sky Harbor's website says "Sky Harbor recommends passengers arrive at the airport 2 hours prior to their flight for US travel and 3 hours prior for international travel."

However, I am not truly flying internationally out of Sky Harbor - I am first connecting in Philly.

Where should I expect the greater delay for international travel?

I do this all the time. Usually, the only time you clear security is for the first flight. For the most part, your connecting international flight's gate will be reachable within security. For me, when I'm connecting what's of more concern is getting to the location where the international flight initiates. Those flights are rarely delayed, so if your domestic connection is tight and gets delayed you may be in trouble. So, I often get to that first flight early (the full three hours), and stand-by on an earlier flight if one is available. The airlines has generally been very happy to move me closer to the international flight. I also try to fly with the attitude that my vacation starts when I walk out the door. Three hours at the airport is time to read one of those books that I haven't had time to read.

Pam

Sigh

I had a very painful experience regarding getting to the airport on time for an international flight. I share it with you now in the hopes it may help someone else....

In April of 2007 I had purchased an e-ticket for a flight through Air France, but OPERATED by Delta.

Dummy me went to the Air France counter, and had the flight actually BEEN an Air France flight, I would have made it, but it wasn't and I got sent to the Delta counter where I should have gone in the first place.

Well, guess what? I didn't MAKE it to the Delta counter in time and got turned away. No later flight, no nothing. TURNED AWAY and went home!

Many many letters were sent to Air France appealing this decision but in the end all I got back was the tax I paid on the ticket. I had insurance on the flight , but it didn't cover THIS event, so I was out 600 bucks and no Germany vacation.

That's it for any further business with Air France, of course, but from now on, it's three hours for me, and NOT two.

Thanks

Bill

Bill, you bring up a good point that we'll be seeing even more and more of in the future--codesharing.

Codesharing is when you buy a ticket on one airline, but the flight is actually operated by another.

It's best to find out wich airline is actually operating your flight. Some flights have as many as 3 or 4 different flight numbers because it is sold by that many airlines.

One little secret...if you're on a major airline and the flight number is 5000 or more, that flight is a codeshare and operated by another airline. Usually, if you go to the airline's website, they will say which airline is actually operating the flight.

Yeah, Frank. I just checked the ticket which I kept in MY DOCUMENTS, and sure enough the flight numbers are all over 5,000.

Also, under the "Latest Check-In Time" is 1635 (4:35 pm).

I got to Air France at 1620. They told me at 1630 I was at the wrong counter and when I got to the head of the Delta line, it was all over. In retrospect, I guess I could have asked people to let me go ahead of them, but I felt that if I explained my mistake, surely the gate person would understand. Wrong.

Only thing I can figure is the flight was oversold, and I was a convenient way to make more room.

B~

Your airline will tell you how early to be there. If you can spare the time go earlier than they require. You never know what might delay you and you can relax and watch people while waiting.

You say you don't mind being early. Then be early. There will be lots of times on your trip when you have to hurry; so start out with a relaxing visit at the air terminal before you board your plane.

A few thoughts:

1. Possible but not necessarily. You didn't show up on top as far as they're concerned and for an international flight they have very strict requirements for time you must be on board. This is due to customs regulations requiring a firm count before departure (that's why you fill out that little information form among other things).

2. You ticket will always say if it is a code-share flight and you should always double-check. For example, I am flying to Asia this fall and my ticket says, at one point, Japan Airlines operated by Vietnam Airlines, meaning I have to go a Vietnam Airlines gate and it is a Vietnam Air flight.

Thank you, David.

ooh I hate Codeshares. I flew Air Canada exec and was allowed 3 pieces of luggage. On the way there I checked my three pieces, had my carry on, no problem. Lucky I ended up sending one piece back with my family when they came to visit me. 5 months later when I take my codeshared (lufthansa) flight home, I know my carry on is a tad heavy so instead of carrying it around my connecting flights I figure I'd check it. The guy tells me Lufthansa only lets you check two bags, and that it didnt matter that I had booked an AC exec flight, and becuase I had asked to check it he made me weigh my carry on, which was over the limit and told me I would have to check it at the cost of 140 euros. I was not a happy camper and ended up plunking myself down on the floor next to the check in desk and ended up tossing a bunch of stuff in my botomless pit of a purse, to get my luggage weight limit down.

Lesson learned: Beware of Codeshares

I travel often and get a feel for different airports. Bigger airports usually take more time than smaller airports (more passengers to get through security, longer walks). If you don't have a good idea about your airport, follow the Airlines recommended times on their website. It's usually longer than you need but better safe than sorry.