 | Paris Flights and Airline Tips | Tips 71 - 80 of 97 |  |
I caught the Easyjet evening flight from London Luton airport to CDG. Very simple procedure at both ends and at a low cost I shall be using them again. Leave a Comment |
A dear friend of mine is headed to Paris today, for the first time in 45 years! She's flying on Air France, first time for her on that airline, and she's a bet trepidatious. Hearing her concerns made me think of my very first trip "across the pond".
There are two options for direct flights from San Francisco to Paris; United and Air France. I'm not sure why we booked Air France for our first trip. No doubt it was less expensive. At any rate, Janet and I were excited, fearful, happy, and a host of other emotions as we borded the flight.
Shortly after takeoff, the French flight attendant was making his first pass down the aisle with the drink cart. "Wuuud you care for zee drink?" he asked with his very French accent. Janet looked over the cart and said "Yes, please, champagne!" The flight attendant held the mini bottle of champagne for her to inspect, as if it were a very special and pricey bottle of Domaine Chandon; "CHAMPAGGNNNNEEEE", he proclaimed! Janet nodded and he unscrewed the top and poured it into her plastic up.
Aha, now we are living the high life!
Note: Since that first trip I have become a United frequent flyer and am dedicated to the acquisition of miles and the world of upgrades and benefits one enters as they work their way up the status levels. On one other occasion I had to fly Air France for some forgotten reason. I found the service grumpy and poor and the bathrooms terribly dirty a short way into the flight. Other than that, the seats in cattle class are all too small, too close together and they only get smaller and closer as the miles tick by. Leave a Comment |
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Twice I have flown to Paris Beauvais with Ryanair and twice my return flight has been cancelled.
Incidentally, it was the same flight on the same day, one year apart (I had been visiting the Tour de France finale in Paris)
Very dodgy flight. The flight is due to take off at 10:45pm. However, the airport has a 11:00pm noise curfew so if your flight is more than 15 minutes late, you get cancelled. Theme: Airplane |
Beauvais Airport is located north of Paris....really north. About 70 kilometers or so. The airport itself is pretty cool historically, having been used in World War II. Not much has changed since then. The airport is used by discount airlines like Ryanair, Wizz, etc.
There is a charter bus you can take into Paris. It costs 13 euro's and leaves 40 minutes or so after a plane lands.
The bus will take anywhere between 45 mins to 3 hours (depending on traffic) to get into Paris, and drops you off in a parking lot outside the Porte de Maillot From there, it is a short walk to the Metro at Avenue de Neuilly or Neuilly-Porte de Maillot Palais des Congres. Leave a Comment |
Orly airport is located just outside of Paris (19 or so kilometers) and handles both discount and regular airlines. The airport is fully featured and modern. The easiest way to get there is to take a cab but only during non-traffic periods. Otherwise you will spend a small fortune. However if you don't care since you have so many bags - well, so be it.
Alternatively, you can take the Orlyval metro from Orly (a dedicated metro line that only goes between the Airport and the RER station at Arceuil called "Antony". From here take RER B (cost is about 4-5 euros iirc) and ride it for about half an hour to Chatelet Les Halles. This is the metro station Arrondissement 1 - so right downtown Paris. From here catch whatever line you need to get to your final destination. Since you are going from Train to Metro, you will have to buy a metro ticket (1.30 euros). Leave a Comment |
CDG is a fully featured airport located about 40 kilometers outside of Paris. Major carriers land here. The airport has all the features of a major airport you'd expect, including the bad parts. The airport has three terminals, all connected to each other by a series of buses that sometimes make sense, and at other times just baffle the mind.
To go between terminals, take Ligne 5. Otherwise, check the front of each bus for which terminals it services.
You can catch the RER at terminal 1 and at terminal 2. A train ride to Paris from CDG costs about 8 euros and takes about 45 minutes to get to Gare du Nord (from which you can grab a metro). Make sure to keep your ticket handy since you need it to exit the station.
You can take a cab from the airport but wow, if you're that rich, then you don't need VT to help you out. Enjoy your champagne in first class. :P Leave a Comment |
During my last 3 trips to Paris, I flew using Air France and Austrian Airlines. I arrived in Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). CDG is the largest airport serving Paris and the second busiest passenger airport in Europe, after London Heathrow. Located 23 kilometres (14 miles) north-east of Paris, Charles de Gaulle Airport offers numerous transport links to Paris by road and rail.
After collecting our luggage, we took the airport bus to the city. The drop-off point was near the Paris Opera House. From there, we took the Metro to our hotels. Theme: Airplane |
I was able to snag a Business Class seat on the IAH to CDG flight. The food was good, eventhough I had been disappointed in the past. This year BOM to CDG flight also had some good food:
Tonights dinner included:
Hornard poche et mangue
Filet de cabillaud poele, saute d'artichauts au basilic et crocoli
biscuite breton vanille
Fromages
Two glasses of champagne to begin with: Bollinger Special Cuvee and with dinner, Pessac-Leognan Chateau Coucheroy 2004 Lurton
10 mg Zolpidem after that and in no time, the plane landed at CDG. A quick 8 hr 40 minute flight Leave a Comment |
I am partial to Continental Airlines Business First, first for their professionalism, second for the food in the cabin. I like to joke to my american friends that the best food in America that I have tasted is in the Business Class section of Continental Airlines.
The food this time was not a disappointment: Salmon, Champagne, desserts. Good service as well.
The international concierges of Continental Airlines are friendly, the best are the Japanese Concierges at IAH, EWR and NRT. The concierge at HKK was a chinese speaking Hindoo, who later sent me personalized luggage tags compliments of HKK staff. The one in Paris was intolerable and arrogant ( looked filipina) and for her bad behaviour, I was credited with 3000 FF miles by concierge at EWR!
I highly recommend Continental Airlines for flights to and fro USA, among all the american airlines that fly there. Leave a Comment |
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If you are a member of the Skyteam FF system, you may wish to fly Air France while flying out of Charles de Gaulle in Paris.
There are many AF agencies in town, the one I use is in the building at La Defense just close to FNAC.
Before lunch there are fewer people and you are well attended to and your questions are answered.
what are the advantages?
you can book and hold the reservation which you cant do on AF website. The prices are just about the same, eventhough the agency might charge you 30 euros service fee per ticket.
You are able to find out the price for complex itineraries which you can t do on AF website.
If you are flying CDG to MIA and then on to SFO and back to CDG, it is easier to talk to the agent, face to face. Leave a Comment Theme: Airplane |
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