Best/Worst Transit points in Europe!?
 

About to head to Barcelona, and have several choices of getting there from HKG on Cathay. Ideally like a day flight, but they only have those in PY to London as far as I know, and I hate the transfer in London (long queues, terribly invasive and rude security).

Other options are:

- Zurich
- Amsterdam
- Madrid (just a bit long that flight there!)
- Paris (had a terrible transfer there last time)
- Frankfurt (no idea if security is different when transfer as opposed to departure)

What would your choice of airport be, and why would you avoid others...!?

thanks

My order of preferences among the ones you listed:
1. Zurich
2. Amsterdam
3. Frankfurt (if you connected LH to LH I would have placed it on the second place together with Amsterdam, but you will connect CX to LH, so will have to change terminals there, not ideal)
4. Madrid
5. Paris

Have you also considered Dusseldorf? Very compact airport. CX (still) flies there. Plus they fly to Rome and Milan.

Also look at Finnair with a quick transfer in Helsinki.

One more thing: the only other day flight (apart the ones to LHR) is to Paris and it does have PY.

I have never flown AY in premium economy (as far as I know they only have it on their A350), but I flew them both in J and Y and, to me, their product is subpar. I would never choose AY over CX, no matter how swift the transfer can be in HEL.
My two cents.

thanks all, all very valuable input. Anyone have any idea on what the transfer in Paris is like from CX to Vueling/Easyjet is like?

CX arrives at 2A. Easyjet are based at 2D, Vueling at T3.
With CX to easyjet at least you do not have to take the train shuttle (as it would be the case when taking Vueling).
But, frankly, I would not connect in CDG on separate tickets. The immigration (for a non-EU citizen) can be time consuming, plus the luggage takes forever to arrive. On one ticket you would still have to go through passport control, but it would be quicker. You should be able to buy HKG-CDG-BCN (CX + AF) on one ticket (and it could even be cheaper, or at least about the same price, than just HKG-CDG).

either way its bad since you dont get priority.
and you have to switch terminals. i believe A and C is connected (where CX is, and BA, and bunch of legacy airlines)
from CX to EZY you go thru a long tunnel since C and D are opposite each other. of course it's not airside.
Vueling is somewhere else and u'll need to take a landside shuttle train.

http://easycdg.com/passenger-informa...t-terminal-2d/
sorry, there's also a airside shuttle bus for transfering to EZY.

Thank you. This should def come in handy for me !^

You will arrive at CDG Terminal 2A, and clear immigration and customs there. IMO it is the best terminal at CDG, including immigration especially in afternoon when few longhauls arrive.

Vueling departs from T3, no fun. Then you will have to walk to the minitrain CDGVal and go to the LCC terminal 3. That can take time. There you won't need to clear immigration as you have entered Europe (I am not certain though and there could be spot checks) but you will need to clear security.

Easyjet departs from Terminal 2C which is a short walk from 2A, just across 2A. You will need to clear security and possibly immigration again. If you have luggage you will need to collect at 2A for the short walk to 2C and recheck them. Easyjet does not bag interline. And it is probably the same for Vueling and CX, but not sure. Even if they do, I would not take the risk as this is a long way for the bags between 2A and 3.

The worst I've experienced is Frankfurt. A terminal is small and cramped. Z gates take up huge swathes of land. Lounges are generally not very close to the gates.

ah yeah... forgot about that!

(was in fact flying via CDG frequently years ago for the exact reason. 9 out of 10 times the luggage didnt make the connection to London, and I had the suitcases delivered to my home next day, instead of having to lug it trough the underground half way across the city!)

Thanks again for all the heads up and info on Paris. I tend to go with the smallest airports possible, and Paris is obviously not one of them. Frankfurt I guess still need to deal with the messed up security at the gates, so will pass on that too.

I think its a PY night flight (hoping for a operational upgrade), via Amsterdam or Zurich.

Final thought, perhaps go via London, as I might stay a night there anyway, and have daytime flights, so will do a new checkin next day. Just not sure when the immigration queues are shortest there - seem to remember waiting a long time there (no ePassport, but EU).

And, no not using checked luggage, so that might work in my favour in some airports of course

Avoid Paris and London at all costs. Anything else is ok.

AY doesn't have PE. Their Economy Comfort class is analogous to AA's MCE. Basically the same seat as Y, but with a few inches more legroom. It's nothing like CX's PE product.