Transfer in MXP or CDG?
 

I am traveling EWR to Belgrade (BEG) in several weeks.

CO has two possible itineraries: transfer at CDG to Air France, or transfer at MXP to Alitalia. The prices are the same (within US$20). The schedules are also very similar - leave at roughly the same time, arrive at roughly the same time, layovers of about 90 minutes.

So the question is - which would be an easier transfer?

(Also, if anyone has any visitor tips on BEG...)

J

I'd go for MXP. It's a much nicer airport than CDG, and you get to sleep longer on the flight over too. The difference between AF and AZ for short-haul won't be too big, although I haven't flown AF in a while.

I don't think 90 minutes is enough in CDG; I've never done MXP. You have to change terminals in CDG, get your passport checked and reclear a security line. The big issue there is the terminal transfer. They have a bus, and it mostly runs a pretty good schedule, but it can take 20 minutes to get to where you need to be and it only runs about every 15 minutes. Add up having to get off the plane, over to the bus stop, back in to the other terminal, throught security again, and you can easily eat up that 90 minute connection. It should be a little better now with SkyTeam in that they can check you all the way through at your origin. I had a cxn to VCE and they didn't check us in on the AF segment and we got to the gate about 40 minutes before the flight and they wouldn't let us board because we missed the 45 minute checkin window. Fortunatly we were on NWA in C on a rebooked missed cxn in DTW so at least we got to sit in the lounge and shower, but it was a pretty poor cxn option.

S.

I vote against CDG. But that's because CDG is the only airport I've gotten lost in. I think. More accuractely, there's an airside bus, but instead we ended up just going into France and walking all the way over to the other terminal and going through security again, etc (it was SFO-CDG-LHR routing).

Steve

I transferred in CDG just this month,and it took a long time. Believe me, we had 2 1/2 hours to connect, and it just about took that long. Security lines were long, the walk /or ride is long, and the whole thing is just baffling there. I'd go with MXP.

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Be aware that MXP makes transit passengers go through a security check. Took me 30 minutes whwn transferring LHR-MXP-MLA. Might have actually have been quicker to 'enter' Italy and come back through the regular lanes.

This was at about 13:00, so after the main crush of transatlantic arrivals.

Other than that, MXP is great - especially when compared to CDG!

I believe it's the same situation at CDG since there is a terminal change. The CO flight from EWR arrives into terminal 2A, and the AF flight to BEG departs from 2B.

I thought the security check only applied when transferring into or out of the Schengen area, so doing EWR-MXP-BEG should obviate the check. Then again, if you ran into on your way to MLA from LHR, then it must be more pervasive. It might indeed be faster to go landside into Italy and back again, but I've been stuck in those lines too for a considerable length of time.

I also agree with others to do MXP, it is much more user friendly and smaller than CDG. The lines tend to move quicker (at least in my experiences) and is generally an easier airport to navigate and still has a lot of the amenties/food/stores that CDG has.

Have a good trip.

I'm among the small minority that actually likes CDG for transfers, so that would be my choice, especially since it gives you the 777. My one flight through Milan (to Belgrade, actually) was a very unpleasant affair due to one of the frequent Italian ATC strikes.
For general info on Belgrade, try this recent article from the International Herald Tribune. If you have any further questions, PM me (I lived there for a number of years in the 90s).

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You can basically decide between an airport designed by architects more interested in gaining personal glory and fame without ever thinking how a intercontinental hub should be designed or an airport where the architects did not have a clue when it comes to airports at all and were just interested that every party involved got paid off handsomely...

CDG sucks badly, however CO is in T 2 , if you like a 1970`s flashback take the time to visit T1...

MXP is kind of funny, if you know the history of it and significantly smaller and as vinnmann pointed out easier to navigate, although you ask yourself why such a small airport needs two terminals and a third one being completed at the moment...

The trade off however is to deal with Alitalia, constantly ranking on top of every lost luggage and delay statistic within Europe and only still flying cause it is Italy after all and Berlusconi is brilliant twisting laws and his constitution from time to time...

if your flight into and/or out of MXP is on AZ (Alitalia), be warned that they do not allow the use of portable electronic gear on board (e.g. laptops). This may or may not matter to you (it matters to me!).