Originally Posted by hsmythe
- What sort of formalities will I have to complete for my AMS transit (ie, immigration control, security queue, transit desk for the international boarding pass, etc) ?
(Additional facts which may be relevant: I'm a US citizen on a US passport, am NW Plat Elite, and will be flying on a paid WBC ticket - Z fare).
- What sort of distance is typically involved for this transit (an estimate in "minutes of brisk walking" would be appreciated for this) ?
- And, in summary, although I've read Schiphol is a very efficient airport for immigration/security/etc., is this connection time simply "too close for comfort" ?
Also, a lesser issue: on my inbound SEA-AMS-CDG I'm booked on an AF-metal flight AMS-CDG ticketed as a KLM codeshare. What is the likelihood of success in standing by for an earlier flight on AF metal ? on KLM metal ? (I'm on a paid Z-fare ticket, and would be willing to take any seat on the plane forn this short hop if necessary).
Many thanks in advance.
Arriving from CDG, you are likely to deplane at the B concourse. Departing to SEA, you are likely to depart from either the E or the F concourse. Note that all concourses at AMS are interconnected through one main terminal building.
You will have to go through immigration to get from the Schengen part to the non-Schengen part. Waiting times in this direction (indeed opposite as you said) are usually not very long, especially because there are no 747s (or equivalent) that deplane where everyone has a connecting destination and stands in the same long lines at immigration. My guess is you won't wait there longer than 15 minutes.
The walk from your arriving gate to your departing gate is approximately 30 minutes, on a brisk walk. Note that boarding of US flights starts early at AMS due to gate formalities ("did you pack your bags" etc).
It's a tight connection, but very doable.
I will leave your standy question to the CDG experts, so go ahead guys!
Kind regards,
Maurits