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Concerns About Tight Layover: Valencia to Tokyo via Air France (sopuli.xyz)

submitted 2 months ago by [email protected] to c/aviation

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Hello, I hope this is the right community to ask this. I have a flight in December from Valencia (Spain) to Tokyo with Air France. I have a layover in Paris CDG.

The flight from Valencia to Paris arrives at CDG at 08:20 in terminal 2G. And the flight from Paris to Tokyo departs at 9:30 in terminal 2E.

I have been researching and I believe that this is not enough time to make the connection. I contacted Air France and initially they told me that it was not enough time, and they offered me some more expensive alternative flights, which I am not satisfied with, as I would arrive a day later. When I told them that their website states that they are responsible for making the connection possible, they started to say that the connection is indeed possible. I also tried to cancel the flight from Valencia to Paris and take another airline that arrives earlier, but they say that cannot be done without paying, as it is part of the same itinerary.

I don’t have much experience flying, and I would like to know your opinion.

Thank you very much!

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[–] PhatalFlaw 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

It seems that maybe not security, but there will be passport control according to this transfer guide from CDG

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (2 children)

So, I could arrive, right? It's much less time.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago

Assuming your plane lands on time (unlikely) and you deplane in 10 minutes (also unlikely), the website linked above shows the transit between 2G and 2E to be 30-40 minutes with the passport control. Let's say you catch the shuttle immediately so take 30 to be optimistic (also not likely)

So with everything going perfectly, you will arrive at your departure gate at 09:00, a half hour before departure and probably after boarding has already started

More likely is that your plane will be late landing, some guy will struggle getting his bags out of the overhead, you will just miss your shuttle, the person in front of you in line at passport control will not be able to find their proper documents and you will arrive at the departure gate to see your flight pulling away from the bridge.

[–] jqubed 1 points 2 months ago

It would be technically possible, but unlikely. You say you don’t have much experience flying, so that might make it less likely for you to succeed than a seasoned traveler. Personally I’ve been through CDG three times and found it one of the more confusing airports I’ve been to.

Are you planning to check luggage? Even if you make the connection your luggage might not.

The good thing is it’s okay to arrive at the gate after boarding has started, so you might have a slightly longer window to make it. The airline might stop allowing boarding at a certain point prior to departure, though, five or ten minutes, so you don’t have the full seventy minutes.

You also probably won’t have time to stop to use the toilet in Paris or buy any food/drinks for the flight. All of that is available on the plane but you’ll have more variety on the ground, and a normal restroom is generally nicer to use than the tiny one on the plane.

If I was traveling solo I might still chance it, but be prepared to not make it and have to wait an extra day in Paris, or not have any checked luggage make the transfer. But also I’ve flown internationally 7 or 8 times, so I’m a little more confident in my ability to run through an airport. I would prefer a minimum 90 minute window, though. Even longer if you’re changing airlines/separate itineraries.