Paris CDG Airport- Connecting Flight

We had the same connection time on a flight in September -unfortunately we did not make it....CDG does not have an international transit zone, so we had to clear customs and immigration (huge, disorganized line) before proceeding to the terminal for our connecting flight to Copenhagen. We also had to wait in the security line again. We got to the gate about 15 minutes after our flight had departed. Fortunately, there was another flight to Copenhagen in about 2 hours and AirFrance gave us a voucher for a coffee and croissant to pass the time. I did hear that they were working on an international transit zone but don't know the estimated completion date. If it is working you might be OK, but otherwise I would check out when the next flight departs. You didn't mention when your flight lands at CDG - we landed around 6:00AM which was a very busy time, perhaps if you are not in that crush of overnight flight arrivals 70 minutes might work. Good Luck

T2E and T2F are a five-minute walk from each other (plus a level change), call it six minutes. Baggage claim will be your longest hold-up, but you'll still make it. Assuming you're useing the same carrier (or code share) for both legs, if you don't make it, they'll stick you on the next flight. As long as you let the carrier route you, you'll get historically adequate connection times - - if it proves inadequate, it's their prolem and they'll fix it. About the only way you can screw up connection times is if you out-clever yourself and book seperate carriers in and out of an airport that you don't know cold.

Good luck! It all depends on how busy the terminal is when you arrive, the staffing level at that time and the attitude of the personnel, particularly passport control and security screeners. Plus, move up the departure time by 20 minutes, for in a lot of cases, that is when a bus leaves the gate to transport passengers to the plane on the tarmac. If your transfer is at 11 p.m., you will probably make it. If at 11 a.m., it is probably a lost cause. As Ed notes, if you miss the connection, locate and go straight to the airline's office, and they will put you on the first available flight out.

You probably do not have 70 actual minutes. Arrival is when the plane lands, not when you have stepped into the terminal. At CdG that could easily be 15 to 20 minutes later. If the next flight is on a big international carrier, especially US-based, the airline will probably insist that you be present in the departure lounge a half-hour early and may close the plane door 20 minutes before scheduled takeoff. You will need luck to complete this connection.

'Arrival is when the plane lands' Arrival is when it pulls into the gate, Departure is when it leaves the gate. Passengers aren't given landing and takeoff times since the information would be meaningless. 'Flight time' (time airborne) actually has very little use except for logging pilot experience and wear on some aircraft components.

We had no problems with a 70 minute connection at CDG in 2011, arriving on Delta at 7 am and flying out on Air France. It took us less than 30 minutes to get to the next gate. We were connecting from 2E to 2D, which is further than 2E to 2F. Just keep moving. Don't dawdle or stop at restrooms until you are at your gate. This website will help you find your path:
http://www.airfrance.fr/FR/en/common/guidevoyageur/aeroport/correspondance_cdg.htm

My wife and I missed a 90 minute connection. The flight from the US landed slightly early but we sat on the runway for 40 minutes. Luggage seemed to take forever. The lines through security at the departing terminal werd long; but when alerted, a staff member moved us to the front of the line. We missed the flight by about 15 minutes. We were given a "sandwich/drink" voucher and put on the next flight which was about 3 hours later. It was about the same experience as in the US. Everyone with the airport and airline was pleasant and courteous.

I had to do this a little over a year ago. I dreaded having that little of time to make the connection but I made it with 25 minutes to spare. It's doable, ours was early AM close to 6AM Paris time. Long lines but surprisingly efficient.

You're into a "luck of the draw" situation... feasible, but no wiggle room. First of all, double-check the gate number for your connecting flight on arrival at CDG. Check the boards. Don't dawdle for any reason on your way to the gate, as wait-time (disembarking, line-ups, baggage) will chew up your time window easily enough.

We have had 4 connecting flights through CDG in the last year, most recently last month. All of them had tight connections, all were on Air France. We did make all of them, but some by the skin of our teeth. I agree with the comments above, a lot depends on the time of day. Most of ours were either morning or midday. As mentioned above, don't dawdle and study the airport map so you can see where you are going. 2E to 2F is pretty straight forward, you make a left turn and just keep walking. Don't stop at the ticket area. Just keep going since you already have your boarding pass. The danger is more when you are coming in on an International Flight into 2F and you need to get to 2E (or 2D). There is an open area between them that can be difficult to navigate. So if you are leaving 2F and going to 2E, stay to your right, and if going from 2F to 2D stay left. Also you should not have to get your luggage on the way home. We just take a carryon on the way to Europe and check the carryon's on the way back. But you don't have to retreive to go through customs until you get to the US coming back. Not sure about luggage if you are entering France from North America, but my guess is you will have to retrieve luggage on entry to the Shenzhen zone. Once you get to your gate you can get coffee or drinks, but not before~! Have fun and don't sweat it. Worst thing is you get to spend more time in Paris. LOL

Good luck. Suggestion: through-check your luggage from your origin city, have least carry-on possible (easier to run if you have to take shuttles to make your connectionnot all flights dock at an arrival finger and let passengers walk from arrival gate to departure gate) & try to deplane quickly. Also, pack a change of clothes in your carryon just-in-case. We recently connected over CDG en route from US to Spain: Inbound: arrived in CDG Terminal 2F on 26DEC2012 at 0800H (30 minutes early) & had no trouble making our 0935H flight to Madrid Barajas out of Terminal 2E. Walked from 2F to 2E. We did not have checked luggage, only one rollaboard and backpack each. Had to clear Security and Passport Control but no lines, not surprising considering date & time. Outbound: arrived in CDG Terminal 2E on 06JAN2013 at 0940H (30 minutes late due to weather), almost missed our trans-Atlantic flight. Could not walk from arrival gate to departure date. Passengers disembarked on tarmac & took shuttle to terminal. At the terminal, had to clear Passport Control but not Security. There were lines at Passport Control. Then another shuttle to get to the departure gate, which was at one end of 2E. Had to run; got to gate 12 minutes before scheduled departure 1030H. The flight actually was late pushing off, due to baggage handling. Fortunately, when we arrived in CDG from Madrid, we were out of the plane quickly and into the first shuttle to Arrivals & almost at the front of the line at Passport Control. It was a madhouse getting on the bus from Arrivals to Departure as there were other trans-Atlantic flights leaving around the same time. There were a lot of people trying to make connections (expect pushing and shoving). Also, we had through-checked our rollaboards from MAD so all we had were one backpack each.
Mel

Thanks to all! Luckily our flight landed 23 minutes ahead of schedule. We were able to get to our connection with time to spare. All of information and tips were useful and appreciated.
Thanks again! Jack