Taking Air France to Italy

I have heard horror stories about connections at Charles de Gaulle. I go out of my way to make sure I don't stop there (unless of course I'm traveling to Paris!).

I flew with AirFrance last year and didn't have any probmes.
Why don't you fly Alitalia? They allowed me 2 carry-ons.
I did last year in September and I was pleased with the service, no major problems, despite the horror stories I read online. On the way back I flew Delta, which was worse then Alitalia.

I have not flown AF, But I have had to connect in Charles De Gaulle. It was awful!!!! They literally held up our plane (luckily for me) because so many people would have missed it. It is a nightmare to try to get to other terminals.

Like Bea, I flew Altalia to Rome the first week of December. No problems. They allow two carryons and never weighed them despite the 5kg limit. The overhead bins of the plane we were on were on the small side, so some people had trouble getting their suitcases in.

My flight from Seattle connected thru Newark (on Continental) which meant I had to exit security and switch to the international terminal and go back through security. Additionally, the plane home from Rome left a about half an hour late, so give yourself plenty of time for connections (true for all airlines/airports!).

I have flown Altalia to Rome 2 different times and it was fine for me. I have also heard horror stories about flying into Charles de Gaulle.

We flew to and from Philadelphia the end of September. We had to change planes in Charles de Gaulle going over for Rome and coming back from Venice. Our plane was delayed getting into Paris, but they had a girl holding a sign saying "Rome" and a van waiting for us. They wisked us to our plane for Rome with just minutes to spare. We had to go thru security again and they took us to the head of the line. Our luggage did not make the connection and arrived the next day. I heard that if we were changing to a different airline for the 2nd leg of our trip, we would have been on our own to try to make the connection. Almost the same thing happened going home. When we arrived from Venice there was a girl holding a sign saying "Philadelphia" and another van waiting. This time the change was not so thight and our luggage made it with us. As for carry on's, my husband and I only took 1 each and 1 checked bag each, so I can not answer that question.

I already booked my flight. Flying open jaw. Into Venice and out of Rome. I have a stopover at CDG on both flights, with about 1.5 hrs layover each.
All of my flights are Air France planes. Is 1.5 hrs enough?

If you only have 1.5 hours layover, I would suggest you waste no time in finding your connecting flight's gate. CDG airport is HUGE. We flew from Seattle to Genoa, with a layover at CDG. It took forever to get through customs, and then we had to ride a bus in what seemed like many, many circles to get to our gate. I'm telling you, that airport is like it's own little city. You'd be well served to head for an information booth to get your gate # as soon as you arrive.

In Nov 2007 my wife and I flew from SEA to CDG via Air France w/a layover before hopping an Alitalia flight to Rome. On the way back we flew from Verona to CDG on an Air France Regional airline and then back to SEA on Air France direct. We each had one normal backpack along with another carryon (me, Rick Steves convertible carryon - her, a rolling carryon). We had no problems with any of the flights carrying that luggage on. We did weigh ahead of time to stay under limits just in case.
Both of us had the standard issue clear ziploc style bag with our under 3oz containers with liquid/gels. At the time that was OK as per the website.
From AF site:
"Safety measures mean that airline transportation companies must restrict acceptance of liquids in the cabin.

We advise you to place all liquids in your checked baggage prior to departure."
They also had the picture of the 20cmx20cm bag next to this information. I don't read this as a ban, but you can call.

We are also flying Air France into Rome. On the way home, we are leaving from Paris.

I am confused by Sara's post. I asked the airline if we go through customs at CDG or when we arrive in Rome and they said when we get to Rome, our final destination. Why did you have to go through customs before your final destination?

Anthony,
Somehow I glazed over your 1.5 hr layover question. When we flew from Verona to CDG to transfer to Seattle, we had 1.5 hours layover also. We used every minute of it! We weren't running, but we were walking double-time through all of the hallways, etc... to make sure we caught the trams. It looks like everything is in the same terminal, but there are remote terminals served by trams that take 20 minutes alone. Then you have to get to and from those terminals. We had the benefit of a several hour layover on the way in to give us some idea of what would be ahead. Had we been checking bags, I don't think they would have made the flight. So be ready on the trip in! I don't think I'd plan for less than two hours in the future.

Melissa,

You will go thru customs just to get a stamp on our passport, you don't need to take your luggage.The only country I had to put my luggae thru the customs was Canada. My final destination was Europe, not Canada. I will never fly thru Canada. Poor customer service too.

Anthony,

1.5 hr might not be enough. In 2002 after we landed at CDG from Toronto, the pilot took us the ride around the airport. He went around for about 30 minutes and finally he stopped and we were able to unboard. After that we had to take the famous bus which was a slow ride, about 45 minutes.So you have to be quick.
Good luck!

Bea...did you switch airlines flying through Canada? That would be the only reason you couldn't have your luggage checked thru to your destination. Maybe you should blame the poor customer service on the airline.

Am I still changing terminals, even though I'm going from one Air France plane to another? I was assuming that I wasn't. Maybe I shoulda went with a flight that had a 2.5 hr layover.

1.5 hours is not a lot of time to change terminals at CDG. You will probably need to take a bus to another terminal and that eats up a lot of time. Keep your fingers crossed that your flight is on time and you may make it.

According t the CDG website, Air France flights are in the same terminal. Granted it has multiple "hallways" but it would seem that at least they are in the same terminal.

Has anyone made this similar flight that can offer input?

Flew through CDG and was able to still have two carry-ons. If you go through Heathrow, you can only have one. They will make you consolidate or throw out the second carry-on. Avoid it if you need two carry-ons. At CDG, you will have to go through customs again - big hassle and confusing. Towards Italy, no problem with a short connection time because you are probably going to connect with an Alitalia flight and they are always late. Coming back it may be a problem.

I'm going back on Delta so I don't have to make a connection in Europe. LAX to JFK to FCO. Seems like less hassle.

Even though they're in the same 'terminal' they may be separated out at different satellites. When we arrived from SEA, we didn't have to take any trams to a satellite. But we did have to go out of customs and come back in through security for a different area of the terminal (it wasn't done all behind locked security). When we flew in on a regional (albeit Air France) flight from Verona, we landed at a satellite terminal and had to shuttle in, leave the secured area and go through security again. This time it was a little more comprehensive as they pulled both my wife and I out to more thoroughly check one of our two bags (each). And then we had to do the hallway shuffle to another tram out to the departing satellite. We were flying to SEA and there was also a flight to Washington DC. As we were rushing, we were asked if we were going to Washington - and we were told the nearby DC terminal. As we got closer we realized the difference. I think you can check your terminal at AF site.