Charles de Gaul vs Schipol

[mertziek]

Looking ahead to routing for a flight to Copenhagen.  We depart from Madison and route through Detroit with plenty of layover there before departing for Copenhagen.  We can route through either Amsterdam with 1 h, 25 min layover there or Paris also with 1 h, 25 min layover to catch final flight to Copenhagen.  No longer layover options available.  Which routing would you select and why?  TIA

[MichiganBound]

AMS is an easier hub to transit through than CDG...by far.  I don't know if the "COVID rules" vary at all between the two however.  That could weigh on your decision.

[Yinster]

Personally I prefer Schiphol than CDG. Also would you final trip be slightly shorter if you went there.

[mertziek]

50 minutes ago, Yinster said:

Personally I prefer Schiphol than CDG. Also would you final trip be slightly shorter if you went there.

Is 1 h, 25 min enough time to transit in Amsterdam?  It seems like it always took us more than 2 hours.

[AtlantaCruiser72]

Amsterdam all day every day - Mostly friendly staff who generally speak excellent English, well signed, all in one interconnected terminal complex. 

Paris is my least favourite connecting airport in Europe - Quite a few rude staff who pretend not to speak English, poorly signed, multiple physically separate terminals with shuttle bus connections that are time consuming and confusing. 

[The Traveling Man]

Absolutely Amsterdam.  The terminal area is much easier to navigate.  There's no need for a shuttle bus between terminals as sometimes is the case in Paris.  The staff is more friendly and helpful.

[Travelers56]

29 minutes ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

Amsterdam all day every day - Mostly friendly staff who generally speak excellent English, well signed, all in one interconnected terminal complex. 

Paris is my least favourite connecting airport in Europe - Quite a few rude staff who pretend not to speak English, poorly signed, multiple physically separate terminals with shuttle bus connections that are time consuming and confusing. 

all of the above and then some......CDG is a tough one to navigate-  even on a good day.

Definitely Schipol

[hallasm]

Personally I would chose a flight with layover is US rather than Europe - possible through ORD.

[FlyerTalker]

Well, since you don't provide flight dates, times, flight numbers and routings.....

 

All we can give you is very generalized info.

 

And why do you say those are your only options.  Not interested in a one-connection itinerary via ORD?

[CruiserBruce]

I am assuming you are doing this routing to be loyal to an airline? Otherwise, if you can get over to Toronto, there is an Air Canada non-stop to CPH. I am doing SFO-Toronto-CPH next July.

[zekekelso]

LOL. This is the airline equivalent of asking which school has a better football program, Ohio State or Northwestern. 

[mertziek]

7 minutes ago, zekekelso said:

LOL. This is the airline equivalent of asking which school has a better football program, Ohio State or Northwestern. 

Yup.  But I did learn that I don’t have to transfer terminals in Amsterdam so that sounds like it’s easier to navigate.  Unfortunately it’s not airline loyalty but where we live and limited airline options that make our routing so dicey.  Thanks for all opinions.

[Zach1213]

Another vote for Schipol. I personally think it's a bit overrated as far as connectivity goes (it's no Munich of Frankfurt in my book), but it's definitely on that "next best" list, and better than CDG. 

 

31 minutes ago, zekekelso said:

LOL. This is the airline equivalent of asking which school has a better football program, Ohio State or Northwestern. 

 

That's easy though, Ohio State. 

 

[hallasm]

55 minutes ago, mertziek said:

Unfortunately it’s not airline loyalty but where we live and limited airline options that make our routing so dicey

Then I really believe you should look at routes with only one stops in US and direct from US to CPH - except if there is a huge price difference, I’m still in favor of United MSN - ORD - CPH - layover in ORD 1h40min - depending on travel dates.

[FlyerTalker]

59 minutes ago, mertziek said:

Yup.  But I did learn that I don’t have to transfer terminals in Amsterdam so that sounds like it’s easier to navigate.  Unfortunately it’s not airline loyalty but where we live and limited airline options that make our routing so dicey.  Thanks for all opinions.

 

Madison to Chicago to Copenhagen.  One connect in Chicago.  Many folks would kill for that kind of simple connection.

 

So how come you can't take that routing?

 

There's more to this story, but we aren't getting the scoop.

[MamaFej]

21 hours ago, Travelers56 said:

all of the above and then some......CDG is a tough one to navigate-  even on a good day.

Definitely Schipol

I've breezed through Schiphol, I've never been to CDG. My son has, and tells me it's as though M.C. Escher designed an airport. 

[kochleffel]

I would choose AMS, because CDG is so difficult to get around in, but DTW-AMS flights are operated by Delta, while DTW-CDG flights are operated by Air France. I have found Air France ground staff difficult and intransigent, but not the cabin crews, and the food would probably be better.

[bennybear]

Agree,  Amsterdam over Paris CDG.   We too have encountered rude ground staff.  But I would explore the other one stop routes.  

[Zach1213]

1 hour ago, kochleffel said:

I would choose AMS, because CDG is so difficult to get around in, but DTW-AMS flights are operated by Delta, while DTW-CDG flights are operated by Air France. 

 

DTW-AMS is operated only by Delta; DTW-CDG has both Delta and Air France operating. For example, today, DTW-CDG is operated by Delta on an A330 at 5:55pm (DL98), and by Air France on a B789 at 9:10pm (AF377). I believe, however, that Delta's DTW-CDG is daily, whereas Air France's is 5-6x weekly, so there's a day or two when the AF flight does not operate.

[mertziek]

5 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Madison to Chicago to Copenhagen.  One connect in Chicago.  Many folks would kill for that kind of simple connection.

 

So how come you can't take that routing?

 

There's more to this story, but we aren't getting the scoop.

There is nothing more to the story.  I would take a non-stop flight from Chicago but it does not come up on my search for a Sunday departure.  What airline?

[FlyerTalker]

18 minutes ago, mertziek said:

There is nothing more to the story.  I would take a non-stop flight from Chicago but it does not come up on my search for a Sunday departure.  What airline?

 

What dates?   You never mention Sunday, in fact you never mention the many details that could help with providing info.

 

It's there.  If you can't see it, perhaps it's the tool you are using to look for it.  But we don't even know that.

 

Meet us halfway.  If you're going to keep dates and the like secret, well maybe we'll keep the airline for the one-stop secret.  (This isn't the Manhattan Project or Operation Overlord)

[AtlantaCruiser72]

51 minutes ago, mertziek said:

There is nothing more to the story.  I would take a non-stop flight from Chicago but it does not come up on my search for a Sunday departure.  What airline?

It may have been discontinued but SAS used to operate daily ORD-CPH.  They also used to offer daily IAD-CPH on SAS and seasonal EWR-CPH on either SAS or United. Copenhagen is the main hub for SAS (Scandinavian Airlines) which is a Star Alliance/codeshare partner with United.  
 

International flights schedules for summer 2022 are far from complete and a fraction of what they were pre-COVID., so that could play into flight options as well. 

Edited September 1, 2021 by AtlantaCruiser72

[mertziek]

37 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

What dates?   You never mention Sunday, in fact you never mention the many details that could help with providing info.

 

It's there.  If you can't see it, perhaps it's the tool you are using to look for it.  But we don't even know that.

 

Meet us halfway.  If you're going to keep dates and the like secret, well maybe we'll keep the airline for the one-stop secret.  (This isn't the Manhattan Project or Operation Overlord)

Well this all started out as a question regarding transferring either in Charles de Gaulle or Schiphol. Did not feel details of actual flights would be that important since my main concern was plausibility of transfer in these two airports with layover of 1 h, 25 min.   Date of departure is flexible but Sunday works best for our itinerary.  Looking at September 2022 but searching for routing and price expectations is too early since I realize I cannot yet book flights.  I have used a variety of search engines with Travelocity, Expedia, etc plus looked at Delta, American and United themselves since they are the main airlines available to us from Madison.

 

Now why you chose to be condescending and insulting is beyond me and you can keep your non-stop airline info to yourself for all I care since I'm mainly interested in opinions/experiences in the two different airports given limited layover time.

 

Thank you to those who answered my original question.  Think we will go with the Amsterdam routing and hope longer layover options become available when we are closer to actually booking.  We've been through there several times but were unfamiliar with de Gaulle.

Edited September 1, 2021 by mertziek

[MamaFej]

@mertziek, when you get to the point on the calendar when you can actually book, you might also consider matrix (dot) itasoftware (dot) com 

 

It's a bit slower than most search engines, but, in my experience, it shows options not always available on other sites.

 

Best of luck to you. 

[hallasm]

2 hours ago, mertziek said:

I would take a non-stop flight from Chicago but it does not come up on my search for a Sunday departure.  What airline?

SAS is operating non stop flights ORD to CPH during summer 2022.