Mike8888

Well I just had an interesting discovery. I was checking some prices on the Air France website and decided to look at my itinerary (mentioned earlier) and found that the Paris to Atlanta flight had disappeared. After some further checking I found out that A.F. had decided to discontinue that particular flight. I was able to get on another, so all's well, etc. I asked the agent why I hadn't been notified and she told me that I would have been in "a timely manner". When I pressed her on what THAT meant, she said "about two weeks before the flight"! Although my trip is a couple of months out, that still seems like it would be pushing it. When I asked what would have happened if all the flights were full, she didn't know. Cute! She did volunteer that A.F. "might" reinstate the flight later.

SFO voyageur

I've transited CDG a lot but it seems to be getting worse. Missed flight to Casablanca and had to go to AF transit desk to get new boarding pass. Everyone had tough problems, it seemed, because the lines hardly moved and the passengers were getting impatient.

Air France has this funny quirk that if you have an electronic ticket and you miss a connection, they want to change it to a paper ticket at the transfer desk. This has happened to me twice and causes a lot of delay at check-in on return when you don't have a copy of the paper ticket and so they won't check you in but send you to the Air France ticket counter to get the "coupon."

Coming back from Casablanca, I made my flight home, but it was just incredible the number of busses I took (3 at last count) and the amount of stairs I went up and down. This airport is definitely not for those who are not in good shape.

I notice Air France takes care of its own on the tight connections by having them met at the plane and mini-bussed over to the connection, but this hasn't happened to me when I arrive on Delta or Northwest with a connection to Air France.

infoguy

A business acquaintance has a 2h 10m connection between 2E and 3 from 1150-1400 (arriving from Amman, departing to Podgorica). The required minimum connect time is 2 hours, which he has by 10 minutes, but he's still concerned.

Air France has a baggage agreement with Montenegro Airlines, but the ADP webpage seems to indicate that bags won't be transferred regardless. Does anyone know what the truth is here? The passenger is on one ticket on AF stock. Am I correct that there is no airside transfer between 2E and 3?

Any change of there being a YM transfer desk?

JOUY31

The first phase of the renovation of CDG1 is completed and the new facilities will be open to the public in January. The last of the 4 phases is expected to be completed at the end of 2008.

(Press kit, in French, only)

CDG1 Renovation (French version)

fungirl

I have a 50 minute connection between terminals 2C and 2B in January and I am wondering if I will be able to make it (arriving in coach on AF#39 IAD-CDG at 6:30am to 2C terminal with a connection to AF#1644 CDG-SVO (Moscow) departing from 2B at 7:20am). Last time I was in CDG, I missed the flight, it was a total nightmare and I got stuck for a day.

Any advice on the best transfer? Should I run or take a shuttle (where do I pick it up?). Will my luggage even make it? I sense that I'd rather be on the next flight but I can't change my FF booking due to no FF seats left.

JOUY31

It is doable, but it is very tight. Especially if your incoming flight is not exactly on time or if you have a remote stand upon arrival. Much will depend on these two things and you should ask for information from flight attendants. They might not have it before landing, but they definitely have updated information during taxiing.

In your case, you should stick to carry-on.

There are three possibilities

The best option would have been to book a later flight, but you do not have that option, unfortunately.

Good luck !

fungirl

[QUOTE=JOUY31] Thanks for your detailed reply, JOUY31! A couple of follow-up comments/questions.
I guess, option 1 (walking) is not an option at all - I don't hold either EU or US passport, so can't clear immigration without first getting a transit visa before departing US.

Option 2 - Is the airside shuttle called "navette correspondance"? Also, you mentioned that the shuttle is one level down from the arrivals level. However, the CDG map says "Niveau 0 Arrive" - so, isn't the arrivals level a ground (zero) level to begin with?

Option 3 - Do I approach a flight attendant before exiting the plane about
a possibility of being driven directly to 2B? Or if this happens, it will just happen.

And the last question - say, I don't make it to the next flight or arrive to the next gate too late. Do I shlep back to 2C to search of a transfer desk for rebooking on the next flight? Or can I find it in 2B? And how do I find it?

Thanks a lot again for your insight. I really appreciate it when dealing with this CDG mess. I think it really requires patience of a saint and brains of a nuclear scientist.

eefor jfp

[QUOTE=fungirl]Since you don't have a US or EU passport, the best option is the airside shuttle (two stops) to 2B. There is a transfer desk as you enter the hall from the bus stop. But try going to your gate first if you're close to making it (one flight up on the escalator). You will need to clear security at the gate (every group of two or three gates has a seperate security area. You will not clear security upon entry to 2B, just at the gate.
Arrival in 2C, assuming you get a stand (or one of the big mobile gate busses), is above street level but below departure level. Smaller busses used for European flights will drop you off at street level, but all transatlantic flights should use the big mobile gate busses. The shuttle departs at street level.
Finally, I've never been approached by the purser, but it would hurt to ask during taxi. I've always tried to schedule longer layovers so I don't have to worry and so I can use the arrivals lounge. But my experience with being driven has only happened when parking at a remote stand. I've never had private transport when we arrive at a gate; I guess they figure you can make it on your own.

JOUY31

Well, AF staff are actually as frustrated as you are, possibly even more so, as they have to live every day with the consequences of the roof collapse in 2E. At the time when 2E opened, 2B was a mixed Schengen/non-Schengen terminal already, getting ready to become a purely Schengen terminal like 2D. After the 2E roof collapse, it reverted to a fully non-Schengen terminal and ADP is increasing the pressure by moving some airlines, such as EK, from CDG1 into the CDG2 complex, due to the lack of space in CDG1 resulting from the undergoing CDG1 renovation.

Except for the 2E problem, you would be looking at a short and easy 2E/2E (or less likely 2E/2F2) connection and the probability of having a remote stand, coming from the US and going to Russia, would be far less. Substantial improvements are now not expected until Spring 2007, when satellite S3 opens (more jetways, airside transfer between 2E/2F/S3 without airside shuttle, new baggage sorters ...), if Aéroports de Paris meet their schedule. In the future, the AF hub at CDG will be centered on the 2E/2F/S3/S4/regional satellite/TGV station and AF will gradually leave the 2A and 2B terminals (probably 2C & 2D as well).

Although many people would disagree , I believe that the fact that AF can operate its main hub without one of its six halls, especially one of its three halls dedicated to long-haul flights and the most up to date, is a tribute to the good work done by AF and ADP staff, in a difficult environment, and is a good indicator of the resilience of AF operations and contingency planning.

I can also confirm eefor jfp's information, which is quite detailed and accurate:

Bonne chance !

[QUOTE=fungirl]

fungirl

Thank you both JOUY31 and eefor jfp for such detailed and insightful replies. It sounds like as if you guys live at CDG - you know it as a back of your palm! I will print your instructions and tape them to my forehead and hope that everything will go smooth at CDG. (Whom am I kidding?)

JOUY31

You mean there are people who don't ?