It happens all over the shop, on the British Airways forum we have several threads dedicated to it because one can often save thousands of pounds by starting an F/J journey in Dublin or Brussels instead of London.

Unfortunately, CDG has the distinction of being the only airport to be rated as "hopeless". Of course for a long haul arrival it might be easier.

So from a BA perspective, see here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...ing-guide.html and http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...tinations.html

One of our regulars is blind, and so he usually requests assistance at airports he is unfamiliar with. I know he has got the staff at BRU to help him with a back-to-back---this involves going through some special transfer channel that is normally closed to arrivals from London, unless you press a door bell and wait for a guy to come and unlock the door for you!

So to be honest, if you tell them in advance what you want and you are insistent about it, they will probably help you 9/10. If anyone asks, "it was cheaper" normally explains everything.