Help Needed 1 hr 35 Minutes Connection Time time at CDG Airport

[Kathy (Trekcapri)]

Hi Everyone,

I think I've waited too long to purchase my tickets and now most of my options for reasonable airfares are for flights with short connection times. I think 1 hr 35 minutes is very tight under many circumstances but even more so in a huge airport like CDG. It's been a very long time since I've had a connection through this airport (try to avoid it as much as possible), but choices are pretty slim and so I wanted to ask your opinions? I do have another option with 2 hr 10 connection time British Airways (going to Venice) stop over in London (Heathrow) and on the return a connection flight in CDG 2 hr 25 minutes (Air France then to Open Skies)

I'm not positive about the Terminal locations. Did a bit of research and I'm thinking these are correct. All flights are with Air France.

Terminal 2E - Arrival from Los Angeles to CDG
Terminal 2F - Flight from CDG to Venice

I like the Air France Flights because it is in a bigger aircraft and we can all sit together on a three row seating, but if we miss our next flight it will not be worth the seating arrangement convenience to me. We will have checked luggage edited to add that we will be traveling Sept-Oct 2017.

Should I go for the longer layover times?

Thank you.

 

[aap519]

You'll need more time.

I missed a connection flight at CDG when I had a 1 hour and 30 minute connection time, and we rushed it as soon as we got off the plane.

Saturday mornings seem to be the worse day for going through Customs at CDG. They have like 6 booths and maybe two Custom Agents checking

 

[aap519]

Also did you check KLM? They fly the big double decker planes from Chicago to Amsterdam, so I would think they would out of LA. That would solve your seating issue.

 

[flennie]

There are 2 non-stop flights from LAX to CDG in Sept. I checked Flightaware.com which shows their average delay in arrival is less than 10 minutes. So their record looks good in general, but you never know what will happen to your particular flight. You also have to take into consideration the amount of time deplaning (especially A380), going thru immigration, and changing terminals. I'd feel uncomfortable to do that with only 1.5 hours at CDG. I've connected there to go to Nice, the flight left LAX late, and we had to literally run through CDG to our connecting flight (we made it). The agent at LAX strongly recommended us to check our carry-on and we were glad to have done that. For peace of mind, I'd go with at least 2 hours connection time.

 

[Kathy (Trekcapri)]

Thanks everyone! Hearing your comments has helped a lot. I think I'll go for the longer layover. Thanks also aap519, I'll check out KLM as well.

 

[Cameron]

I would try to avoid Heathrow connections unless there's no other choice. Even on a good day, changing terminals is a long slog and can be slow.

 

[Kathy (Trekcapri)]

Hi Again, I wanted to report back that I found great flights. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything with KLM (thanks for the fyi though and it was worth a try to research as an option) that fits and I still wasn't quite okay with the option for British Airways because we couldn't sit together and on the long flight back we were on a small plane.

I ended up calling Air France and spoke with their Customer representative. I explained what I was looking for and they found another option with longer layover times and for the same price. What's weird is I couldn't find these flights on their website. Maybe because it was with their partnering airlines Delta. (still don't quite understand it though)

Long story short, I have a 3 hr 45 minute layover in CDG going to Venice and a 2 hr 40 minute layover on the return. And at least for the long haul flight from NYC to CDG and CDG to NYC. We're flying Premium Economy (only requirement my sister had) and were able to get three seats all together in their Premium Economy class which is on their 2nd deck.

I'm so glad I checked with you all on the layover times and that I called the airlines. It's less pressure knowing we have ample time to make our connection flight to Venice. It was a good lesson for me to know that (at least for Air France) their website may not list all the options available and it's worth a try to call and speak with a representative to see if there are better flight itineraries. I was too focused on the internet and forgot about going old school and simply picking up the phone to book my reservations.

All well that end's well. And now I can focus on the really fun part of trip planning, what flavor gelato I'll be sampling first in Venice! Thanks so much everyone.

 

[Cameron]

Awesome!