CDG Flight Connection

Hi,

Wondering if anyone call help, I've booked a flight from London LHR to Bangkok BKK via Paris CDG however I'm a bit worried about the short connection time at CDG. There is only 1 hr 5 mins between flights, is this sufficent? It's all booked on one ticket with Air France and both flights arrive/depart from CDG Terminal 2E.

Do I have to go through border control/security again or will I be able to board the next flight straight away? Presumably checked luggage is transferred to the next flight by Air France?

Thanks for your help!

Welcome to FlyerTalk DANNYMORRIS ,

As the topic you have raised relates to a connection at Air France's hub at CDG, I will move this thread to the Air France forum.

Thanks for your understanding.

Jouy31
France-forum co-moderator

Don't worry. You will easily make it if there is no considerable delay. Also your checked luggage will be transferred by AF and should go fine unless it's extremely tight (say less than 20 minutes). AF connections at CDG have become easy. And it's even easier for you because it is all terminal E. You will not get a passport check but you will get a security check. Ask a staff who are at the entrance of priority lanes in case it's really tight, they'll let you pass if there is a reason to.

Plenty of flights to LHR by the way, if you miss your connection they'll easily book you and your luggage on the next flight at the transfer desks.

The OP is flying LHR-CDG-BKK, so having lots of flights to LHR would only help on the return trip, if any. For outbound, is there any hope of asking AF to put him/her on an earlier flight to CDG? I would guess no, but it could be worth asking and even trying to get to LHR early and asking before checking luggage. Missing the BKK flight would probably mean a 24 hour delay.

My experience of the LHR people is that they are not the most flexible/accommodating there are so if the OP is flying on a restricted fare and not willing to pay for a plane change I wouldn't hold my breath.

There are good and bad news about the OP's case. In theory, as Zembla mentioned, 1 hour 5 minutes should be enough. I wouldn't call it 'easily' though, even for what should hopefully a same terminal connection. The 'hopefully' is the first piece of bad news. Not only is 2E effectively made of two separate terminals (2E per se and S3, both called 2E) but LHR flights more than occasionally land at the 'wrong' terminal with a bus deboarding (basically because the flight might be positioned for a next flight to a Schengen country ex-2F1 or ex-2D). The second piece of bad news is that LHR is notorious for bad delays so arriving 30 minutes late or so is not unusual. However, are you sure you have the timings right? I thought that for the summer season at least, the shortest connection on LHR-BKK is about 1h45 minutes which, this time, would indeed be plenty of time. Also, if you miss your connection, they will reaccommodate you some way or another, probably either via AMS or somewhere else.

Yes, AF would rebook if the OP misses the connection (assuming single PNR, otherwise they may not be obligated to help), but can OP fly to AMS and make a flight to BKK on the same day?

In theory yes (BKK flight leaves CDG at 14.05, if you fly to BKK via AMS< you need to take the 14.55 flight from CDG). Otherwise, there are options via VIE, FRA, etc leaving much later. I would ask for one of those rather than a next day connection and see what they say.

If you miss a 14:05 long haul flight, it's hard to see how you could be reticketed, go through passport control and security, and make a 14:55 schengen departure, especially if you do not have access no.1 privileges or the use of elite customer service lines.

Unless there are extraordinary circumstances, I don't think AF would rebook you onto *A flights through FRA or VIE and AFAIK the only legal SkyTeam flights to BKK would be through either AMS or CDG, although there might be something creative like SU through SVO, a Chinese carrier, or even new members such as Vietnam or Saudia. Regardless, the probelm is likely to be getting rebooked and to the new international gateway airport in time for a same day departure to Asia.

AF is likely to try hard to keep you on AF/KLM metal or at worst (to them) JV partner flights, although elites can be successful in pushing for other flights within the same alliance. This is written from a USA perspective, so EU protection laws might help you do do better.

ADDED. Another strategy would be to ask for any remaining AF flights departing the same day to Asia, such as CDG-NRT or CDG-SIN depending on its schedule. From a major Asian hub, there should be flights or connections within SkyTeam to BKK, although the best chances might be through China, assuming that you are eligible to transit without visa. CDG-ICN-BKK might also be possible and pleasant, but it's far out of the way.

I think it's a bit early to look into the specific best rebooking strategy beyond what you rightly identify as the obvious choices- af and kl - especially not knowing which day the op is flying. At this stage all we can do is say (1) it's doable but tight so don't go slow and (2) if you are late there is a flight with kl at 14.55 from cdg everything else would be plentiful (because most flights to Asia from Europe leave in the evening) but up to them.

Btw I don't want to get too hypothetical but don't really agree on ams. 50 minutes more is a lot (eg if op arrive, say, at 1.40 they'd miss Bkk but would easily make ams) and as op arrives from lhr they need to reclear security anyway this only adds passport control which is typically very fast at the dedicated 2e to 2f transit channel. But again these are only indications. To op, in a nutshell if you arrive with enough time walk or run straight to your flight, if you are too late walk or run to a transfer desk.

Ps: no skyteam airline flying direct to Bkk from sin or nrt so both would imply further connections. If I made a wild guess if af offered an Asian rerouting I'd guess af to Vietnam then vn but again too many factors to guess about.

Transfers are sometimes easy at CDG, but they are often not so easy, especially because the LHR-CDG could arrive anywhere, possibly with a bus,...
Also LHR is infamous for delays and the summer will be bad with the Olympics.
But you now hold a ticket with this "risky" connection, so nothing much you can do but get emotionally ready.

^

In early May, we flew from IAD to CDG enroute to FCO with a 1 hour connection. Needless to say, we missed our connection by a mile. We had to clear pass control, with a horrible wait, then go through security again, not to mention the long walks. There was no way to do the cnx while staying out of the public zones. So we were re-booked on another flight 4 hours later.

Last fall, we traveled from BCN to IAD via CDG, with a similar experience. The saving grace was that we had a longer connection time. I think CDG is among the worst airports I've seen for EC to intl connections.

I recently transited CDG twice. Once was US-CDG-LHR with a 4 hour connection and we could have easily made a 1 hour connection. The other time was FCO-CDG-US and was a 1 hour connection and we made it in 25 minutes.

I was very concerned with the 1 hour connection on the return based on what I've read here. I realize that I didn't have to use any buses and that certainly helped. We arrived in 2F and went through passport control and then walked the connector between 2F and 2E to the L gates. Went through security and were at our gate with ease.

We were flying business so we used the priority lanes but I looked over at the regular lines and it might have taken us an extra 5 or 10 minutes if we had to use those.

Granted this is just my sampling of 2 but overall I found the signs easy to read and the airport easy to navigate and the connections simple. Quite contrary to most of what I've read about CDG which was fortunate for us.