pinniped

Surprised this thread hasn't been done yet.

Our summer 2013 trip (3 adults, 2 kids) to Europe will include about 3 days in Paris followed by about 3 days in Ireland. So naturally I'm faced with the Ryanair vs. Aer Lingus decision.

We'd save about EUR150, factoring in all of the junk fees, by flying Ryanair. We have no elite status with either Ryanair or Aer Lingus. We will be the lowest of the underclass on this segment no matter who we fly.

I know that the experience dealing with and flying either carrier is going to be pretty bad, but it's just a one-hour flight so we'll survive. What I'm wondering is how much longer or more difficult it is to get from our hotel room to our gate at BVA vs. CDG.

We will likely be originating from the 4th arrondissement or close by. Open to any mix of trains, taxis, or airport shuttles reasonably navigated with a normal amount of baggage. Kids are 6 and 9 and used to riding public transportation. (We will have already been using Metro and maybe RER during the three days.) Don't need absolute rock-bottom cheapest alternative - if a short cab ride to a fast train is the optimal overall value, that's what we'd do. We would likely avoid any kind of slow, meandering city bus.

I'm guessing that BVA is a longer trip to the airport but potentially easier once we're inside the airport... Again, we'll be doing this one "naked" - no elite status, no fast tracks, no J/F boarding pass, no lounge access, no nothing. And we're checking bags, and we have kids with us. We'll stand in the longest lines, pay for every checked bag, and presumably have little help if there are irrops. I know the thought of this is enough to induce a cold sweat for most FT'ers, but connecting in a third country on OW or *A really seems like overkill.

Thoughts? Am I crazy for even thinking BVA is a "Paris" airport?

tcook052

As it is 80 km out of Paris perhaps a little.

IIRC the "best" way to get there is to use use Metro or RER to Porte Maillot and then an fairly slow meandering airport bus that runs from there to BVA, though how often and how much it is I can't help. The ability to forgo that meandering bus ride by taking a taxi to me negates the savings accrued from flying Ryanair to begin with.

A two hours transfer time to BVA is much less convenient that to CDG and so would include that inconvenience factor into your calculations.

Just a few thoughts and MHO but good luck with the trip regardless of how things are decided.

pinniped

So from that method, I guess I can assume the following, right?

- There isn't a train of any kind that runs directly to the BVA terminals.
- There isn't a good, reliable airport shuttle service from central Paris directly to the BVA terminals, perhaps with a couple hotel stops right in Paris but then nonstop once those pickups are done. (a la the Tokyo-to-NRT buses, which are close to that distance but very efficient and easy to use)

I have a hunch that we will be arriving into CDG from LJU, MUC, or VCE, although this isn't yet decided. Thus there's a good chance we'll already have 3 or 5 day Paris Visite passes, especially since one day at Versailles is probably going to be in our plans. This might be a factor that leads us back to CDG on the way out of town...

JudgeJ

On Beauvais Airport
You can find more information about transportation to BVA airport on their website http://www.aeroportbeauvais.com/index.php?lang=eng

You are correct that there is no direct train service. The closest would be to take a TER regional train from Gare du Nord to Beauvais town station, and then a shuttle to the airport - I would not recommend it, though.

The airport has an 'official' shuttle bus, which leaves from Porte Maillot and is referred to in the previous posts; the schedule is based on the actual flight departure times to allow you to get there at the required time (i.e. you just select your destination, such as Dublin, and it tells you when you should catch the shuttle). Tickets start at 15 Eur per person one way, free for children under 3.
I believe they also wait for passengers using the return service to Paris from airport when the flight is delayed coming in, but have not personally confirmed it.

There are also a number of 'non-official' options, one of which the SuperShuttle, website http://en.supershuttle.fr/ Unlike the official shuttle, this one can pick you from your hotel, main train stations or public places. Since you mentioned departing from 4th arrondissement, I ran a dummy booking from Gare du Nord to BVA airport, random date, 2 adults 1 child and it returned a quote of 50 Eur total (apparently fixed price up to 8 passengers). This is the 'French' version of the service of same name in the USA, they have a good reputation.

A google search may yield some other suggestions.

As far as service at BVA airport, not having priority status, Fast Track lane pass or J/F boarding passes won't be a disadvantage - Ryanair don't do any of that (except 'Priority Boarding' / 'Priority Q' passes). Everybody is treated the same [...] way.

Charles de Gaulle (CDG) has a well deserved reputation of being dirty, confusing, poorly designed, etc. but access could not be easier and we have flown in/out on Aer Lingus countless times. The RER B service takes you there directly from central Paris and there is also a very convenient 'regular' train station (i.e. long-distance trains) inside the airport with TGV - high speed trains - coming from and going to the four corners of France; very convenient if you are coming to CDG from another part of France than Paris. Aer Lingus flights leave from Terminal 1 at CDG and elite flyers of their Gold Circle program can use the 'Salon Icare' lounge - but any traveller can use it for a (hefty) fee of 30 Eur per person. http://www.aeroportsdeparis.fr/ADP/e...re_Lounges.htm (I have personally not used it).

Service with Aer Lingus has some similarities with Ryanair, in that baggage fees, credit card fees, seat selection, etc. are all extras that you must pay for; service, however, may feel very different as the cabin crew are generally very friendly and efficient, child-friendly and the exact opposite of treating you like cattle. But, yes, you will also pay for your food and drinks on board with Aer Lingus (which on such short flights to Ireland has never been an issue for us - actually makes you crave that nice pint of Guinness you will have once on the ground even more )

Be aware that, unlike some other airports such as Dublin, the security screening at CDG Terminal 1 would be immediately before entering the boarding area, after all the major shopping and dining areas, and this 'satellite' boarding area can be shared with some busy flights to medium-haul destinations, thus some significant waiting times.
E.g. don't get lost exploring all the shops and fine dining and think you can casually walk to the gate 15 minutes before boarding time, you may end up at the end of a 100-person long queue of passengers boarding to Istanbul or Cairo (it has improved, though - they used to board an Airbus 380 to Singapore from that satellite !)

I hope this helps, enjoy your trip to the Emerald Isle.

Cheers,
J-

SeamusSA

If you were visiting NYC would you book a departing flight from West Haven? It's about the same thing. Seriously, I did this one time - same Paris-Dublin route. Never again.
AerLingus is a slight but real cut above Ryan.
CDG is much easier and probably cheaper to reach and offers more amenities to distract the kids in case of delay.
Depending where you are in the 4th you could take metro/RER to CDG, but with four of you I'd spring for a taxi or car service, which would cost only a couple euro more than public transport but offer a more comfortable transfer.

Mountain Trader

Another factor favoring CDG is where you are if your Ryan flight out of BVA is cancelled. Like few alternatives.

150 Euros is worth pursuing but in this case, it's really fool's gold. Might work out but it's a big pain in the neck.

pinniped

Thanks for the advice...I'm pretty sure we'll stick to CDG for this one. Since we'll already have train passes that would get us back to CDG, it really ends up only being about 100 euros or less savings to use BVA. Even less if we have a bag or two in that 15-20kg range, which is entirely possible...

Figure CDG is a better place to be if we run into irrops as well...

pinniped

Aer Lingus finalized our decision for us today: they are running an every-seat-every-flight 20% off sale, so that narrows the gap to about 30-40 euros in total. We booked our EI flights today. ^

Now if one of these airlines does one of those crazy 1-euro sales we'll probably be kicking ourselves, but I get the sense that our Friday morning flight on a peak August weekend probably wouldn't be part of that kind of sale anyway...