I'm trying to find a decent itinerary with arrival and departure cities in Italy of Venice or Rome (I've also checked Milan and Florence) on Air France from Seattle. I like the new direct flight to CDG better than another airline that that stops in the east coast. I'd rather have a long haul + a short trip than two medium hauls.
Regardless of which of the two airports we fly into or out of, we're looking at a layover between 1.5-2 hours on our trip home (good layovers inbound either way).
If we don't have to go through customs, our bags are checked through (single airline), and the terminal is set up so that we can go gate-to-gate, then the 1hr 30m layover may be within reason.
Has anyone flown the new direct Seattle route to CDG and how is the terminal laid out for incoming flights and outgoing? Does Air France use multiple terminals or just one?
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
7544 posts
I have seen many,many posts about short connection time in CDG and have had at least 3 or 4 of my own, all without incident. Any more I do not worry about it, in the worst case, they separated out the tight connection people and personally escorted us through expedited passport check (no baggage or "customs" check that I ever recall) and got us to the plane that was held for us. The only issue would be if the connection is on a separate ticket on a non-partner airline, then they are under no obligation to help.
Posted by
Tacoma, Washington, USA
2 posts
Steve,
There are three good options from SEA: SAS to CPH, AF to CDG or BA to LHR. The terminal at CDG is a habitrail. Lilterally. You will fly into one terminal (for intereuropean flights) and out of another for international flights. However, 1.5 hours is plenty of time. You won't have to pick up luggage -- it will be checked through. However, if you fly from Europe to a US city, then home to SEA you should require 2 hours, because you will have to get luggage, clear customs and re-check bags. Have fun.
Stephanie
Posted by
OP
Bellevue, WA, USA
359 posts
Thanks Stephanie,
I've seen the different itinerary options and the CDG one looks the best (shortest overall trip, with do-able layovers). I also like the idea of flying out in the afternoon from Seattle and spending the "night" on the plane - waking up the next morning and finishing the trip in the early evening. That would allow for a nice dinner and evening to acclimate to the new area.
I've only been to CDG once, and we were dropped off at our terminal to fly BMI to Heathrow. It doesn't sound like we'll have any issues regarding the luggage since we'd go from FCO to CDG and then move to the international terminal for CDG to SEA. It sounds like we won't have to bother with any customs in CDG when we transfer terminals? Or am I getting this wrong?
Thanks for the help.
Posted by
OP
Bellevue, WA, USA
359 posts
I just did some research into all of routes we'd consider for this trip. All of the CDG-Italy routes use Terminal 2F, while the SEA-CDG route uses 2E. I've looked at the map of Terminals 2E and 2F, but I can't tell if we'd be able to stay behind the secured area between the two halls - and would we be expected to go through passport control?
Thanks for any info!