Paris Airport

Hi Charlie: People on the Helpline start getting nervous if the connection time for international is less than 1.5 to 2.0 hours. 45 minutes connection time is a bit scary. If you don't make it, does Air France put you on the next flight at no extra charge? or is there going to be a possible problem with them saying it was your fault and now you have to pay an additional amount, plus the inconvenience of taking a later flight?

If your Paris airport is CDG I personally suspect it's not sufficient. I once had such a short connection at that airport and found that the main challenge is figuring out how to get from one terminal to the next. Problem here is: Information is only available in French (at least I didn't manage to find anything in any other language) so I had to ask the service staff who also only spoke French. By the way it was a Dublin to Paris, Paris to Frankfurt flight so I didn't have to go thru security again which you have to when departing a plane bound to the US and Israel.

CDG is a very large airport, and parts of it are under construction. If you arrive at a terminal that requires a bus to get into the actual airport; or if you depart from a terminal that requires a bus to get out to the plane; or if your arrival/departure terminals are far apart; or if your first flight segment arrives in Paris late, then 45 minutes is probably not enough layover time. If you are going to keep this itinerary, plan ahead so that you know your options in case you miss the connecting flight. You should also plan for your checked luggage to arrive home after you do.

Hi Charlie:

Earlier this year I took a flight from Nice to Paris and then went from Paris to San Francisco. My flight left Nice at 6:20am and I took that flight so I would have a 2 hour layover in Paris. I was told that I would have to change terminals and go through customs etc. I got really lucky I guess and we landed in the terminal directly across from the international one so we could walk to the international terminal and it took 15 minutes.

There was a person at the passport check who directed us to the correct line and there were very few people in the security check. The result was I made it to my next gate in 30 minutes.

This is probably not the norm, but we also had a group of people who had a 45 minute transfer and they were told to make sure that the check in people and the cabin crew knew they had a short transfer time and they would be helped.

Also I had a transfer in Paris on Air France where I had an hour and a half to make the transfer. The first flight was 45 minutes late and Air France met me and several others when we arrived, put us in a van, drove us to the other terminal, jumped the passport and security lines and got us to the gate as the plane was boarding. The next flight knew we were coming and that we were late. I got on the flight but my luggage enjoyed an additional day in Paris.

It can be done, try not to stress. they know you are coming and will help you to get to your connecting flight.

If this was booked through the system as what is called a "married" segment the time is sufficient. Meaning the airline has set up this connection in the system. Air France of course has its own Terminal in CDG - which means you will most likely not even be changing terminals at all.

You will be going through your security in Nice - since you are traveling within the same country for your correspondence you will not need to collect luggage and re-check as you would with arriving the first time in a new country.

Think of it as flying SEA to JFK then onto CDG - you do not have to go through security again.

We recently flew LAX-CDG/Nice-CDG-LAX. We had 75 minutes between our flights and had a lot of extra time. Again the Air France employees helped us walk across from one side of the terminal to the other and then through customs. But this is with all the stars aligned and everything going perfect. If your plane from Nice is late I think it will be a problem, otherwise you will make it.

Thank you, one and all. 1)Air France's scheduling 2)When I first arrive in Paris, I will check out the layout for when I return 3)I will inquire of AF what they will do for us if the first flight (Nice-Paris) is late and we miss out Paris-SEA flight 4) I am encouraged that many of you made this connection. Anything I missed?

It might be useful to use some of your flying time to look at the airport map usually found in the magazine in the seat pocket. Maybe even tear it out? I completely agree with the person who said that all directions are given in French, and they are disinclined to give them in English. Security is at each gate, instead of in a huge central area as we do it, so the waiting isn't excessive. Even so, 45 minutes is very tight. Assuming you are going into CDG, it's a huge airport.

I was booked on an AF frequent flyer ticket with a 55 min Madrid/SEA connection at CDG. After reading some posts here and looking at the CDG map I decided to have the reservation changed. As it turned out there was no way that I could have made the original connection. The 45 min is just too short and you should change the flights ASAP.

You asked if there is anything you missed. Yes, there is. One can never tell when a flight will be delayed; so we cant count on estimated arrival times.

With conditions as they are today, I would never expect to make a 45 minute connection in a foreign air terminal....especially if there is construction which one responder mentions. There is too much stress in your situation. Re-schedule and relax.

A 45-minute connection is cutting it a bit close in most American airports honestly because although I've made it before in such cases virtually every time, any sort of delay can kill your connection.

Thanks again everyone for your suggestions - I just called Air France and talked to a reservation agent (French) who assured me that a 45 minute connection between my two flights is OK. He said that AF will provide a shuttle from the Nice plane to the Seattle flight. When I asked what would happen if the Nice flight is late in leaving Nice or arriving in Paris, he said AF would put me on another airlines flight to Seattle. Earlier or later flights for me on the travel day were not available. So now I have until May 30, 2009, to try not to worry about it! charlie