Mofomat

I mentioned this in another thread but got shot down for it.

KLouis

Sorry, I'm a geneticist, but I'm very well aware of the fact that one cannot plan not to have an accident. And it's not only engineers and biomedics: as the most famous barber says to a doctor who thought that he could plan everything, "Ecco che fa un' Inutil Precauzione".

San Gottardo

Just another survey, which does seems to look at big airports countries, which places Paris CDG as worst: http://www.zagat.com/downloads/pdf/IntAirline07ALL.pdf

One can always refute the statistical validity of these surveys, and the sample selection may be doubtful, but CDG comes up among the worst in every survey, whatever sample and method is chosen. One can debate whether is the worst or just #2 or #3, but clearly the world thinks that it is terrible.

After this morning's experience at Terminal 2B I'll edit my list of suggestions to add "change location of CKI desks and improve pax flows in 2B (basically: separate easyjet from the rest)".

San Gottardo

I agree, you can't plan to to have an accident. But you can at least strive for quality and diligence in planning and execution. Neither of which is done at CDG, be it for the construction of 2E or anything else. In other words: are we suprised that it is at CDG that a roof collapses?

If this had happened at Singapore, people would say "that's in stark contrast to the high standards of the airport". At CDG it's "no wonder, look at how they run their building infrastructure. Now let's start worrying about the other terminals, how safe are they?"

JOUY31

Dear all,

I have split the original thread into two different ones, this one, along the lines of the existing sticky about "Suggestions for improvements to AF operations", which is focused on recommendations for CDG and discussions of recommendations, while the original thread, about CDG being "one the world's five airports that make travelling hell" is here.

I have also added a number to new recommendations so that we can discuss them more easily. Thanks for your understanding.

gbrail

OK, I've transferred in the new CDG S3 terminal five times now, and every time I have the same reactions:

1) Wow! What a neat building!
2) It's pretty fun to watch the big jets coming and going through the great windows!
3) Cool! Free Playstations (and some of them are working)!

then I think:

19) Why the heck are the men's bathrooms in this huge new airport terminal so tiny? There's barely enough room to squeeze by the line of guys waiting. What were they thinking? Is there anything they can do to fix this?

20) Why are the food selections so bad and expensive? There are three understaffed counters that sell shrink-wrapped cold sandwiches and pastries at huge prices. (I know that the dollar is weak, but these are "airport prices" if I've ever seen them, like almost four Euros for a coke.) I mean, this airport is in FRANCE for Pierre's sake! We have better dining options in Newark, Boston, or Pittsburgh.

And yes, although I am a Continental Gold Elite (aka "SkyTeam Elite") and a member of CO President's Club, no, I am not entitled to use the lounge.

JOUY31

The loudspeakers in the boarding area of 2D, designed for the initial configuration that can currently be seen in 2B (2 gates per boarding zone) are not well suited to a unified boarding area. Announcements are heard with difficulty. It would be useful to enhance the current audio system.

frcs88

CDG's future :

http://corporate.airfrance.com/fr/me...ash=daa0ab42a7

San Gottardo

After a moratorium of suggestions to CDG - they would have looked out of place in times where there is the LHR T5 disaster happening across the channel - here are some points that might improve service quality at CDG. Maybe somebody at ADP reads them:

• In Terminal 2B, be flexible on the immigration channels of passengers without luggage. If you only have hand luggage, why be sent from immigration 1 (right end of terminal) to immigration 2 (left end of terminal)? This may mean the difference of having noone in front of you or the entire population of the just landed easyjet, Air Algérie, Aeroflot and Swiss flights. Resulting in at least a 30 minute wait. (nice anecdote: a couple of weeks ago this happened as well. So people just walked out by the counters where people usually ENTER the sous-douane area. THe one immigration officer didn't realize what happened when suddenly a mass of people passed by him from behind his back. Plenty of uncontrolled entries into France, but that's their own fault)
• In Terminal 2F, install clear signage for which CKI counters are to be used by L'Espace pax. The departure board only lists the counters to be used for Eco pax.
• In Terminal 1, train security agents at the bottom of the escalators from the departure hall that web-printed boarding passes are OK and do not require any further check of ID (if they don't require them in Terminal 2, why require them in Terminal 1?)
• In Terminal 1, for the satellites which aren't "renovated" (sic) yet, install power plugs around the satellite for pax to be able to charge their phones, laptops, etc. Currently, only four plugs at one end of the satellites without any benches to sit on next to it. So the choice is to charge PC and work sitting on the floor, or not to work whilst PC is charging.
• Allow for baby pushchairs to be used until plane door rather than checked-in (difficult for single parent to carry own piece of hand luggage, one bag with baby food/clothes/medicine/etc. and baby through the labyrinth of "security" checks up to gate)
• When arriving at Terminal 2E on a Schengen flight, don't lead people through the jetty to the terminal, as the terminal doors are closed (2E is non-Schengen only). Instead, make sure somebody opens the door to the staircase leading to the bus waiting below and block access to the terminal building.
• Train staff manning the X-ray machines to clear plastic bins from the belt rather than allow for pile-ups of bins, leading to passengers' belongings (jackets, computers, phones, money, bags) to fall on the floor and be damaged. Should be doable, as it would be at the expense of time chatting rather than at the expense of something else productive.
• Train staff at the security lines that checks (boarding passes, ID) are done for security, not for their individual company. Showing a boarding pass twice within the same confined space only because people work for two different companies (one ADP, the other one Brinks) is silly and does not enhance security.
• As a gentle reminder: clean the airport. Still and always looks like a pigsty.

JOUY31

Oh, well, I had thought the moratorium would last until the successful completion of the move of most of BA's long-haul flights from T4 to T5

JOUY31

A nice and welcome improvement from SNCF. The entry and exit turnstiles at the CDG2 RER station have been removed. A lot less hassle when travelling with one or several pieces of baggage. ^

JOUY31

Nice idea that saved me a long queue at the CDG2 railway station ^

Falco Peregrinus

It looks like a temporary situation. My understanding is that they are working on a new generation of turnstiles that will replace the old ones, hardly compatible with bulky suitcases. It would make sense to fight the massive ticket fraud going on between CDG and Paris Nord. An old style ticket stamping machine has been installed at the mezzanine level overhanging the platforms. I don't see many people using it though.

JOUY31

It seems that you're right. I noticed today that they have installed some new turnstiles that are not operational yet.

robledouk

they should have a running track going from one end to the other as that's what most people have to do