Just back from my honeymoon so look out for my Hawaiian reviews!!!
Just back from my honeymoon so look out for my Hawaiian reviews!!!
Member since:14.10.2005
Reviews:64
Members who trust:6
I have been considering writing a review of ParisCharles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) for some time but have refrained; worried that it may be biased by factors outside of the airports hands. However, having had an 'unforgettable' trip through the airport on a day trip a couple of weeks ago, I felt it was time to put down my opinions!
CDG is one of a group of airports around the capital city of France, along with Orly, Le Bourget and Beavaus, but is the most likely point of origin for travellers from the UK. It was opened in 1972 as Le Bourget could not cope with the demands of modern aviation and has quickly become one of the busiest and most diverse airports in the world.
I first visited the airport a couple of years ago when my girlfriend and
I decided to visit the city for a few days holiday. We were flying from London Heathrow with bmi and, as a member of the Star Alliance; we were taken to terminal 1. The terminal itself is an odd design with a central hub leading to seven satellite terminals, which are accessed by moving walkways under the taxiway. It was on these walkways that I experienced my first example of poor planning in the French Customs department as there were too few desks open and very soon people were having to queue on a still moving walkway, quite dangerous!
Once through security baggage reclaim was quick and we were able to experience the best part of CDG, its transport links. Regular shuttle buses run from the terminal to the train station where you can catch direct RER trains into the city centre. With the exception of the customs desks, at this point I had seen no real problems with the airport, these started on my return.
On our return, we arrived early at the airport thanks to the trains being quicker than we had envisaged and we were soon checked in, unfortunately only to find that due to bad weather in the UK, our flight was going to be delayed by over an hour. Whilst in the city itself we had considered getting a bite to eat but had decided against as it was early and, "there was bound to be somewhere at the airport". However, having shot through security, we soon discovered that there was very little airside, especially in the food department! There did appear to be works going on at the time so perhaps today the facilities are better but I did get the feeling that CDG were happy to shun those who weren't Air France (or partners!!!).
I returned to CDG a couple of weeks ago and was hoping that my previous experience was down solely to tiredness and a delay making my experience worse. This time I was flying with easyJet from Luton so we went into terminal 3, a converted hanger designed primarily for low cost carriers. We were bussed to the terminal from the plane and once again, had to queue due to the lack of customs personnel. However, about 15mins after getting off the plane we were on our way to the station thanks to having hand baggage only. Once again, I was impressed by the train links, terminal 3 is actually walking distance from the station, although I felt that the prices had gone up since I was last there.
In the evening, we returned to the airport having spent much of the day outside in rain and getting soaked to the bone. Unfortunately, the rain had also managed to cause the ink to run on our boarding card printouts so after a short wait, we had to check in again at a desk, just to find out that our flight was delayed due to bad weather in the UK (anyone else getting the feeling of deja vu????).
Had we not been so cold and wet I think we may have headed off to find food elsewhere but tiredness meant that we just wanted to sit down. Terminal 3 is split in to two sections, one for Schengen countries and the other for all other flights. As we were flying to the UK, this meant that we were needed to pass through additional security and once again, my good friends the French Customs Department didn't let me down, only operating two desks. Combined with only one x-ray machine in operation, before we knew it the queue was out the terminal doors!
Finally after what seemed forever (probably wasn't helped by the annoying kids running around my feet!) we were through and went to settle down. Thankfully, the seating area was quite comfortable and we were able to settle down with an (overpriced) beer! Unfortunately, the selection of foods was once again a little poor (maybe I am spoilt by the airports I have flown from before?) but at least the duty free shop was still open and we able to sit down and indulge in Toblerone.
You can probably guess from my review that I am not really smitten with CDG due to the lack of decent facilities being enhanced by problems outside of the airports hands. I would be interested to hear from anyone who has been able to fly through terminal 2 in the past to see if my theory that Air France get the best facilities is correct but based on my knowledge of French aviation, it would not surprise me.
CDG has the potential to be a great airport if they could only sort out the problems that I have outlined as it does have the space and most importantly transport links. As someone who really likes the French Capital, I am sure that these two trips are not the only ones that I will take through the airport and hopefully one day my flight won't be delayed, helping my opinion improve!
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Advantages: Planes can land there. Planes can leave again. Disadvantages: Total chaos trying to navigate the airport. The moving walkways are a real danger to your health. Lack of information. Not enough multi-language speakers working there. The place is in need of some real modernising. The check-in desks need some real
Advantages: Good connections to many destinations Disadvantages: Too difficult to navigate, not suitable for disabled, badly signposted, filthy toilets.
exceptional by (4%):
very helpful by (96%):
