Giantlonglegs

Afternoon ladies and gents.

I shall be flying into CDG from Dubai in November and then connecting for a flight for Edinburgh, both with Air France.

Though my connection time is stated as being 9 hours 50 mins, but fortunately I'm flying Business through out.

I've only used CDG once before, but I was economy.

Any tips how to whittle the time down this time, and any reviews on the Business lounge in Hall K Terminal 2E would be greatly appreciated.

Is the Air France Business lounge better or worse than the new non-schengen Crown Lounge in Schiphol?

Thanks

Goldorak

I have not tried yet the new non-Schengen KL lounge [MENTION=9593]AMS[/MENTION], but the reviews we have on this forum are not really good. AF lounge in 2E-K is not the best in 2E compared to L and M but seems certainly better than KL/AMS based on those reviews, at least for F&B. Warm food is available at meal times in AF 2E lounges.

NickB

While the catering is nicer in the AF CDG lounges (including 2E-K) than in the AMS crown lounges, I think that I would get a bad case of cabin fever if I had to stay there for 9 hours. With such a long layover, I think that I would give some thought of hopping into town for a wee walk around and nice meal and head back to the airport to be there for a couple of hours before departure.

Goldorak

Fully agree.

HalconBCN

IMO food is far better (taste, variety etc) in the AF non-Schengen lounge than in the Schipol non-Schengen Crown Lounge.
Unless the weather is foul I would definitely do as Nick suggests; first head to the lounge, then exit and take the RER train to Sant Michel-Notre Dam and have a walk around Paris; arrive back at the airport 2 hours before departure to avoid risk of train delays etc.

atflyer

Plus one. Almost 10 hours is too much to spent at CDG, unless you really want to sleep (but then at CDG I haven't seen that many sleeping seats inside and outside of lounges). Take a 45 minute RER to Paris and enjoy town, that seems the better option.

brunos

I don't know what type of ticket you have, but it would make a lot of sense to change flights.
You are on AF659 which leaves at 06:40. 1) It is a very unpleasant departure time, 2) it is an A330 with a good chance to have the old angled seats, 3) it means spending almost 10h at CDG and arriving very late in EDI. The other daily DXB-CDG AF655 is a late evening departure at 01:30, on a 77W with BEST seat and only a 3:30h connection.

MSPeconomist

I'd prefer to avoid the RER and take the bus to Opera, but if you want to go to left bank, of course the RER is better.

hotturnip

Dang, there's only 2 AF flights per day from CDG to Edinburgh? That surprises me somehow.

Yeah, with that much time (and depending on how sleepy I was), I'd put my carryon in a storage locker and take the RER into town. Drop in at one of the less-crowded museums: the Musee de Cluny, or Arts et Metiers. Or one of the many small, private museums in Paris.

Goldorak

They have now very bad schedules to EDI. Total nonsense.

Giantlonglegs

Hi Ladies and Gents,

Thanks for all the advice.

I'm tempted to pop into Paris, and catch the bus or train. Though I am also tempted to catch up on a "boxset" of tv on my phone / read a book and just relax in the lounge.

Depends how tired I am, and what the weather is like in the next few weeks in Paris, though the museums would answer that question.

In response to the question about my ticket, my departure date from working out in the Middle East changed, and I changed my flight to the cheapest option.

I'll keep you posted with which ever option I decide, but thanks again for the advice.

offvoice

To add to the long list of options you can exploit not to have to endure close to 10 hours of lounge, if you want to go to Paris, you may want to consider Le Bus Direct as well, slightly longer and more expensive than RER, but much better (imho) to reach Paris' Champs Elyses for instance. I really find it convenient.

ijgordon

As long as you're not fighting the rush hour, I find the RER totally fine. Especially outside of rush hours there are several express trains per hour that make no stops between the airport and Gare du Nord. Even if a local is the next train, I'd probably prefer to wait for the express -- it will still likely arrive a few minutes later, but will be much less crowded. (Again, this is not during rush hour, so the local trains aren't overwhelmed, but they'll be somewhat busy).

I guess if you're going to near Opera or Champs Elysee, the bus could be better, but RER is good for Le Marais, Cite, and Quartier Latin, with pretty easy transfers to anywhere else.

Giantlonglegs

Hi Ladies and gents.


Well, on the day of the races, I decided to stay within CDG airport.

Firstly I was Knackered from travelling prior to connecting onto my flight with Air France from Dubai. By the time I reached CDG, going into Paris wasn't on my to do list. Perhaps next time, but I thought I give you my opinion on Air France's Charles De Gaulle Airport and the Salon/Lounge in Hall K of Terminal 2E.

Arrival Into CDG

The aircraft taxied to Hall M, even though my Airfrance schedule hsd taxing to Hall K.
Getting off the plane was easy, though through tiredness I was slightly confused when I reached the internal train, looking for signs for 2E K. I had forgotten I was in Hall M. A friendly Frenchman customer assistant guided me with the required information.

On arriving at Hall K, the security was a bit of a cluster ( insert your own word here..............).

It seemed disorganised, and not as clinical as Dubai at the X-ray machines. I think I spent 10 minutes going through.

Air France Business Lounge / Salon

Once through security, I turned left and straight on for the entrance for the Air France Lounge. This is found in the left corner, by the La Coste shop. Signage is restaurants and Air France Salon ( lounge). There is s lift, but it's a single flight of stairs down to the basement.

Then a very short corridor to the entrance. On arrival you can either turn left or right into two seperate lounges.

The lounge on the right seems a bit grim, no natural light, though this is where the showers are located, at the bsck of it. The showers are on a first come first served basis, and met my need of rehumanising again.

I spent most my time in the lounge on the left.
This has a large clear window onto the apron, so you can see aircraft movements. Also this has the upper level.

I sat by the window, and plugged my phone into the table to charge using only my USB cable, so anyone reading this, you don't need to worry about plug adaptors, and then a USB cable sticking out.

As I sat next to the window I placed my phone on the upper wooden ledge ss it was perfect head height whilst sitting down for watching tv/movies ( headphones used).

I hadn't eat crepes in ages, and the sugery crepes they served were delightfully consumed. The French bread and butter were equally as tasy.

Later on prior to leaving for my flight at night I helped myself to a bowl of tasty vegetable soup, followed by two seperate plates of beef stew, and portions of carrots. The flavour of the beef stew was delicious, with the cubes of beef falling to bits, and really nice and tender. Cooked to perfection.

There was hot drinks, coffee tea, and hot chocolate from the machines. A fridge full of soft drinks snd water. The centre table hsd champagne and wine, I did indeed have a few glasses of Chablis.

Wifi connectivity is through the free lounge Orange network. The wifi was reliable and very fast. I had no problems watching tv documentaries or a film vis my phone.

The staff were friendly and helpful, and the cleaners did a wonderful continuous job or removing dirty plates, glasses, and other litter of tables.

The only critisism I have is that there was no bag locker stoage facility within the lounge, compared to the Team Sky Lounge in Dubai, or the newest non-schengen Crown Lounge in Schiphol.

However overall I was impressed with the Salon / Lounge in hall K of terminal 2E, and I had a nice relaxing time.

Shops/Duty Free

I went for a wee wander a couple of times out of the lounge. I had to buy the following duty free; Perfume and cheese for the wife, t-shirts and whisky for myself, and something for my-inlaws.

I settled for La Coste, as it was next to the Salon/Lounge entrance. The perfume from the main collection of perfume lipstick ladies gaggle of collections opposite to the entrance to the salon / lounge entrance.

I looked for whisky at the closest drinks shop, but the staff pointed out they had a bigger shop, on the other side of the shops area.

I did then venture over, and the selection of whiskies were much more impressive, but the bonus was that I could buy cheese and whisky within the one shop, additionally chocolate whisky liquors, and French biscuits for my inlaws. This shop had a Whisky Cave, a collection of whiskies way outside my price range, I could only look with wishful glances.

The staff in all the shops I visited were helpful, funny snd friendly. I think my poor attempts of pigeon hole French did impress them, and I was acrially complimented on my attempts.

There are other shops, and I think they cover the bases for anything you need to buy.

In Conclusion

In conclusion I didn't find the time I spent in CDG to be too bad. Netflix and the BBC helped to pass the time, the food very tasty, seats comfortable, wifi spot on, and the shower facilities perfect, the shops adequate for what I wanted.

I know not everyone may agree with me, and it would be interesting to hear what other flyertalkers would like to say.

Thanks




i

HalconBCN

It's good to know you had a nice transfer. I fully agree with you about the beef stew - I had it last week and it was delicious!