Originally Posted by hughw
I'll be connecting from a US flight on Continental arriving teminal 2A to an AF flight to Istanbul leaving from 2B. Is it required to "enter France" in 2A and then walk over to 2B or to we stay outside of France the whole time using the shuttle bus?
Or do we have choice? And if so what do you recommend? We have about 2 1/2 hours for our connection. I'm SKy Team Elite and we're traveling Business class so I could use whatever AF lounge would be best. SOme have suggested the arrivals lounge in 2C.
I've read a lot of the threads, but I can't quite put to together what's best for our situation. ANy help would be appreciated.
Well, you are not required to enter France and you can definitely use the airside shuttle. On the other hand, going landside and walking is also easy and allows you to enjoy a nice shower at the arrivals lounge.
The important point for me would be the actual arrival time in the 2A building and the time it leaves you with for getting over to 2B. If you choose to go landside, you need :
- to clear immigration in 2A (no recent experience on my part)
- walk over to 2C : 5mn
- shower at the 2C arrivals lounge : I never had a queue there, and usually spend at least half an hour there
- walk back to the food court between 2A and 2C, go down one level, and cross over to the food court between 2B and 2D, then to 2B : 10mn
- clear immigration in 2B (varies from 2mn to 20mn)
- go to the gate (max : 5mn) and clear security; you would need to be in the gate area no later than 20mn before the scheduled departure time.
So, if you have 2 and a half hours, there should not be a problem. If your incoming flight is late, well things can get murkier, but the above timelines should help you in making the right decision.
The AF departures lounge in 2B is nothing special but it does have a wider selection of newspapers and magazines than the already decent selection available in the 2C arrivals lounge.
Seating on the CDG-IST leg is nothing special either, except for the empty middle seat. Nevertheless, as it is one of the longer medium-haul routes, you always have a hot meal and a selection of 4 nice wines usually served on long-haul routes instead of the bland
Vins de pays served on flights shorter than 3 hours.
Enjoy your flights
