After reading many reviews and taking peoples advice, I called Air France to change my 60 minute connection time at CDG to Rome. I was told that the fee to change would be almost as much as the ticket and that I would be better off not changing. %26quot;As 45 minutes is all you need from 2E to 2F%26quot;. I then made my case about long security lines, shuttles, etc. to no avail. In fact what she said was...and this is what I am upset and a wreck about was.....%26quot;As long as our plane touches down on time, it is your responsibility to make the connection. We are not responsible for anything else. If we land on time and you miss the connection for any reason, be it long lines, a long time to get to the terminal (ground transportation is not there fault) we will be considered a no show and will have to pay full ticket price on the next available plane to Rome!!%26quot; I asked if we could ask for assistance from an Air France representative, if we find we are in a long line and it looks like we will miss our flight, and she said we could but it not their job to get through a very manageable airport!!
What to do??????????
Barb
|||
%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;As long as our plane touches down on time, it is your responsibility to make the connection. We are not responsible for anything else.
Well Barb, I can say that the time an airplane touches down is NOT the arrival time. The arrival time occurs when the aircraft reaches the gate AND a door opens.
As for changing your flight, no need really. If indeed:
1. your are seated near a door for quick egress on your flight from the US.
2. your airplane arrives early
3. the security line is short
4. the distance is not great between your arrival gate and departure gate.
You might make it. You lose nothing by trying (just don%26#39;t blame CDG).
Additionally there are probably a good number of follow-on CDG to Rome flights the day of your CDG arrival and Air France will indeed make sure you are on one of them (it%26#39;s in the fine print of the Contract of Carriage in effect when you purchased your tickets).
The real problem with these very short connect times is that they give false assurances of your being guaranteed a successful connect and not to mention the marketing departments like them. The problem is greater when connecting to North America as a missed flight often means waiting a day.
What to do?
Nothing, just keep realistic expectations and enjoy your trip.
|||
I have had two missed flights at CDG, one to Lisbon and one to Milan, and Air France gave us the next flights out , with no added charge and the luggage was at the arrival airport. True it is terribly inconvenient, but there is so little you can do about it, so it is not worthwhile working yourself up over it.
|||
Hello Barb111: I will never fly Air France again. We were stranded last year in Moscow for 8 hrs. because they suddenly cancelled a flight at the last minute with no announcement about when the next flight might be available, no offer of coffee, etc.
My worst travel experience ever. Nevertheless, that doesn%26#39;t solve your problem. I would offer the following:
Arrive at your original departure airport (I%26#39;m guessing that it is Boston or JFK)as early as possible and request seating as close to the front of the plane as possible. In that way you will be among the first to disembark.
Hopefully when you check in at your original point of departure you will be given your boarding pass not only for the 1st leg but also for the CDG to Rome leg of your trip, which will make the CDG time constraint a little easier.
Google CDG airport and get a map of the airport so you know where your going when you get there.
Keep in mind that all airlines build a little extra
time in their published schedules and often arrive some few minutes early. They do this so that they don%26#39;t show a history of arriving late. On overseas flights, I have often arrived 10 to 15 minutes ahead of schedule.
Finally, remember to use the restroom on the plane just before you expect the captain to direct passangers to prepare for landing. Most people wait until they land and head directly to the closest restroom which results in a long line, especially in the ladies room.
Good like.
|||
Thanks everyone for making me feel better, What bothered me the most was the possibility that I may have to pay to reticket if I get caught in the CDG chaos. That would be a huge chunk of money for our group of 4. We are in the middle of the plane as far as seating and we will have luggage checked all the way through and I believe boarding passes. It is just the long lines I keep hearing about that is worrying me. This is what Air France will not take into consideration for a late arrival at the gate.
Thanks, again!
Barb
|||
-:- Message from TripAdvisor staff -:-
TripAdvisor staff removed this post because it did not meet TripAdvisor's forum guideline with regards to harassment of another user. We will remove messages that include personal attacks or hostility directed at an individual user or group of users, threatening language or attempts to force a user to discontinue participation on our forums.
To review the TripAdvisor Forums Posting Guidelines, please follow this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/forums_posting_guidelines.html
We remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason.
Removed on: 7:28 am, November 15, 2008|||
Wow, Did you get up on the wrong side of the bed today? I didn%26#39;t think I was being as annoying as you made me out to be. I thought I was posting on a forum to ask a for assistance in sorting out a problem I was having. The purpose of Tripadvisor. Advise on trips. I have already booked with these connections and cannot pay to change the times. I was asking for assistance in what to do in case I encounter Air France not being willing to reticket. I have posted often over the years and have never encountered such a response.
Barb
|||
Barb, perhaps Kdk didn%26#39;t read your post carefully, and thought that you hadn%26#39;t already booked the tickets. Of course now that you are booked, saying %26quot; I told you so%26quot; is no help.
When booking tickets we tend to trust and beleive what we are told intially by the airline staff, unfortunately peole with experience soon learn that they can be full of baloney. I live in a small city and even to fly across my own country I would book a longer connection time, and , of course now you know that too from reading this site, unfortunately you learned too late!
The lady you dealt with was obviously an a**,, calling CDG a %26quot;manageble airport%26quot; , wonder what drugs she was on... LOL
Never mind, no point in stressing , its done, follow the good advice to get seated near front of plane( change seating if you can do that at all) . Go to bathroom on plane just before landing. And ,most important, get and study a map of CDG, know where you are going. They could change gates, but at least you will have the map with you ( pack in your carry on).
And lastly, run and get a bit pushy,, others will if they have too, you will never see these poeple again!
Good luck, and try not worry about what you can%26#39;t change now.
|||
Hey Barb, I just googled map of Charles de Gaulle, and it looks like 2e and 2f will be not too bad to travel between. I looks like you will dismebark on level 2 and need to go up one level to level 3 to board next flight, but thats just my interpetation. It looks like 2e and 2f are two half cirlces, and you will need to walk ( in one direction) around to other side of circle to find your gate.
Anyways, won%26#39;t involve alot of travel so you may be just fine, no shuttle or anything. Just print out a map and go.
|||
Thanks joan, for your response. You%26#39;re right. Nothing I can do about changing flights. I will hope for the best.
Barb
|||
Don%26#39;t worry Barb, don%26#39;t change a thing and even if you miss your connection they%26#39;ll just put you on the next plain. It has happened to me a few times.
I made it in an hour at CDG last July and my luggage made it too. When I booked I kinda hoped that we would not make it and would end up staying for the night at AFs expense, that has happened to me too, a couple of times.
Once, I fell asleep and missed my connection, that time I had too much time at the airport, I think I was there for 4 or 5 hours. Anyway, I negotiated and got sent out with the next flight with no added cost. They tell you that you are responsible so that you organize yourself and act responsibly that%26#39;s all.
No comments:
Post a Comment