Italy Apr.: Arriving in Paris Charles de Gaulle, Roissy France (CDG) from Genoa, Italy (GOA)

27APR08 Paris Charles de Gaulle, Roissy France (CDG)

As we touched down, on the left, you could see one of Continental Boeing 777-200ER at the gate in Terminal 2A.

Of course there were several Air France jets there as well. Terminal 2D was full of primarily Air France airplanes, plus one Northwest (NW) Airbus A330 and two Delta (DL) airplanes.

As we waited to cross the active parallel takeoff runway, two Air France Regional Embraer ERJ-145 took off as well as a Luxair Embraer ERJ-145 and another Air France Regional Fokker 70. It was pretty cool to watch them take off right before my eyes.

We then crossed the runway and taxied to a hard stand near Terminal 2F.





It still amazes me as despite the size of de Gaulle airport, we still have to get bussed to the main terminal from time to time. Once we all deplaned, we boarded the waiting bus and headed for Terminal D. There were several other Bombardier CRJ-700s as well as an Air France CityJet ARJ-85 in that hard stand area.














At Terminal D, we just went through Baggage Claim and then entered France.

We then headed for Terminal 2A where we checked in a little earlier than normal for our 12:55p flight as we had no bags to check and had already checked in online. Armed with our standby boarding passes, we went towards the French Immigration desk. A friendly airport staff told us to use the other area as it was less congested than the one we were trying to use.

We took the walk down to the other area, going through the congested narrow check-in area of Terminal A. There was no line so clearing French Immigration and security was a breeze. Off we went to the Continental Lounge.

We had a little issue gaining access, but it all worked out in about ten minutes or so. This Lounge used to be an Air France Lounge and was at one time used for Concorde. I can remember using it and seeing Concorde outside the window.

We settled in and had some refreshments as we waited for the flight.

As I waited, I saw Continental’s flight 10 from Houston arrive at 10:48a. I guess it is ontime/early today. Time dragged on very slowly, but it was good to see airplanes coming and going outside the window.

At noon, we departed the Lounge for gate A37, the Lounge and he gate are at opposite ends of the terminal. As we neared the gate, we heard the agent page us to approach the podium. We paid the departure tax and collected our boarding passes. I was lucky enough to get an aisle seat albeit in the very back of the airplane.

I also saw another of my colleague, he was also on the flight on Friday having spent the weekend in Paris, his home. It was time to board so we did, showing our passports and boarding passes as we did so.