Flying IAH to Edinburgh in September.
One of the more attractive flights is Air France (houston-paris-edinburgh) However, layover in Paris is only 1 hour and 30 minutes. That sounds like cutting it way too close.

What minimum layover time should I consider?

I wouldn't do 90 minutes in CDG but that's mean. I usually aim for at least 2. LHR 3. Some airports are way more efficient than others.

I've been to CDG once (well, twice since it was round trip to/from Paris) and it was a cluster****. We had VIP service to bypass lines on the way in, which was nice. The lines looked pretty long. Going home, however, we stood in the regular lines and it took us over 1.5 hours just to get thru passport control. Then we still had to go to the train and security by the gate. I'm not sure how layovers work but if you have to go thru the outside lines like regular departures, be prepared to wait or pony up for VIP.

CDG is a nightmare. I avoid it at all costs. I would plan a minimum of 3 hours.

Well, that eliminates Air France

JMac03 said:

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I wouldn't do 90 minutes in CDG but that's mean. I usually aim for at least 2. LHR 3. Some airports are way more efficient than others.

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Agreed on CDG.

Been in and out of Frankfurt more than any other and all things considered it seems to be the most efficient European hub.

Would probably rank as follows:

Any Scandinavian hub

Zurich / Geneva / Basel Euroairport

FRA

AMS / Brussels

LHR and CDG towards the bottom.

malenurse said:

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Flying IAH to Edinburgh in September.
One of the more attractive flights is Air France (houston-paris-edinburgh) However, layover in Paris is only 1 hour and 30 minutes. That sounds like cutting it way too close.

What minimum layover time should I consider?

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I know United did IAH-ORD-EDI when I flew there a few years back.

Try KLM. That's what I flew to Edinburgh.

One thing to consider is the UK is not a Schengen country. So, you don't do border control once you land in Europe, you do it once you land in the UK.

Research as it's been 10+ years since the UK was my final destination.

But when I flew through Schipol (Amsterdam), I merely walked off the plane and to my next gate. Then did passport control in Edinburgh which was very easy and stress free.

Now, some of those crazy ass airports don't have the ability to "keep you inside security" and will force you to do both, potentially.

Schipol is big but it's built like that originally. CDG and LHR are monstrosities that have been Frankensteind over the years.

I'd rather connect in the States. Much less hassle and the return trip is a breeze with Global Entry. We're looking at Delta for a Barcelona trip just to avoid a connection overseas.

BSD said:

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I'd rather connect in the States. Much less hassle and the return trip is a breeze with Global Entry. We're looking at Delta for a Barcelona trip just to avoid a connection overseas.

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United will also have connections in IAD & EWR for BCN. Laid over there going/coming from BCN and MAD.

I also suggest, if you can't find a good itinerary and don't mind seeing another city… terminating your flight at wherever you stop in Europe. Spend a day or two there, then fly EasyJet or some cheap euro airline to your main spot.

Certainly takes the stress out.

Then come back the night before you depart as most of those flights home are earlier in the day.

AF has always dropped me off on the tarmac in Paris front the states the. You have to catch a bus to terminal and do immigration. We had a 90 minute connection years ago and we were running to our gate as they were calling our names

Agree with everyone else, CDG is a nightmare. An hour and a half is cutting it way too close. I had a layover there a few weeks ago, and it probably took an hour and a half from landing to get to the new terminal/gate with walking long distances, long lines, immigration etc. I would only do a layover there of 2.5-3 hours.

redaszag99 said:

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AF has always dropped me off on the tarmac in Paris front the states the. You have to catch a bus to terminal and do immigration. We had a 90 minute connection years ago and we were running to our gate as they were calling our names

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We missed our connection on our honeymoon at CDG.

90 minute layover and didn't even get through immigration by the time our flight had left.

Saturday morning. Middle of summer. Red eye flights landing in abundance. 2 desks open in immigration.

I curse the French now for that experience. The people working those desks didn't have a care in the world with hundreds of people pleading they speed up or add more folks.

We spent the night in Paris as there were no more flights on AF to Munich (our final destination) that day.

Put us on a 8am flight the following morning with no remorse on us having to pull our bags from baggage claim (took almost 2 hours) and never received any comp for lodging that night.

I must live life more dangerous than some. I take many international flights a year and most have 70-90 min layovers at best. Havent had any issues in a few years. My trip to Bangkok in a few weeks has a 70 and 80 min layover in DEN and ICN.

Hoyt Ag said:

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I must live life more dangerous than some. I take many international flights a year and most have 70-90 min layovers at best. Havent had any issues in a few years. My trip to Bangkok in a few weeks has a 70 and 80 min layover in DEN and ICN.

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You're just lucky.

We've all been to rodeo, some of us just haven't placed.

It's tight but doable at CDG.

CDG is similar to FRA, don't try to understand why the signs are telling you to go where you're going, just go there and it'll somehow work out even though you'll go through security 2-3 random times for no apparent reason.

Hoyt Ag said:

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I must live life more dangerous than some. I take many international flights a year and most have 70-90 min layovers at best. Havent had any issues in a few years. My trip to Bangkok in a few weeks has a 70 and 80 min layover in DEN and ICN.

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Having a layover at CDG is a lot different than having a layover at any other international airport. CDG is a complete cluster f and **** show. Its the worst airport Ive ever been to and will actively avoid flying there if I can.

bthotugigem05 said:

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It's tight but doable at CDG.

CDG is similar to FRA, don't try to understand why the signs are telling you to go where you're going, just go there and it'll somehow work out even though you'll go through security 2-3 random times for no apparent reason.

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This is spot on lol. When I was there a few weeks ago I kept thinking to myself, wow nothing makes sense here. but just kept following the signs.

Couldn't agree more. None of it makes sense.

Rule of thumb: if you can avoid layovers in a major European airport, do. it is usually not worth the stress.

Update: I have several options, it all boils down to Airline and type of plane. All flights are 1 stop. Similar in length. And close in price. Will be either basic economy or economy +

United via either Dulles or Newark. on 757
Delta via Atlanta on 767
BA via London (several hour layover) on 777
KLM via Amsterdam on 747
Lufthansa via Frankfurt on 747

Which would you choose?

KLM through Schipol

KLM or Lufthansa

No plan should involve Newark or atlanta.

I'm biased because they're the only ones I've ever flown to Europe, but United or Lufthansa.

Pretty sure KLM does not fly 747 IAH-AMS
Have flown a few times. We really like the connection
CDG is just awful

Stat Monitor Repairman said:

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KLM or Lufthansa

No plan should involve Newark or atlanta.

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This.
F United. I hate flying that airline more than any other.

TellMeMore said:

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Pretty sure KLM does not fly 747 IAH-AMS
Have flown a few times. We really like the connection
CDG is just awful

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Google flights shows a 747, but KLM website shows Airbus 330

That 757 isn't a wide body. Just choose the one that gives you most benefits. That 777 is a nice ride. If you can get on a 747 I'd do that. Just because they are rare nowadays

TTT for an additional question.

I haven't traveled internationally since 2017. Who are the go-to companies for travel insurance and medical insurance?

My favorite for clients is Arch RoamRight.
Other good ones:
Allianz
Travel Guard
Travel Insured

Happy to give you a free quote if you want to email me.

malenurse said:

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Update: I have several options, it all boils down to Airline and type of plane. All flights are 1 stop. Similar in length. And close in price. Will be either basic economy or economy +

United via either Dulles or Newark. on 757
Delta via Atlanta on 767
BA via London (several hour layover) on 777
KLM via Amsterdam on 747
Lufthansa via Frankfurt on 747

Which would you choose?

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We've done Lufthansa and KLM out of IAH. Both on a 747. No complaints.

The Lufthansa is usually a code share with United, and you should be able to book with either airline. The Lufthansa flight also typically leaves around 3-ish in the afternoon, getting you to FRA around 8-ish am. At that hour of the day, where you land and go through passport control should be pretty quiet and you should not have any issues. The rest of the airport will be busy, but an early AM landing gives you the most options for a connecting flight.

We flew KLM a while ago, so IDK what the current schedule is. We did land early, though, and same as above - that gave us lots of options for the connecting flight. Coming home through AMS was a nail biter. Passport control was a zoo. We made our flight, but barely. And this was long before Covid.

Lufthansa tends to be expensive when you need to connect elsewhere in Europe, but I'd go with FRA over AMS.

Thanks for the info. The biggest issue now, is all the return flights leave very early in the morning. Trying to find something that doesn't leave before 8:00 am that isn't Delta. (which would put us through ATL which I hate)

Why would you do basic economy and not regular economy? Basic you don't get baggage. You can't select your seats. You can't make changes. I for sure would recommend regular economy (or as you mention, economy plus). The only way I would ever book basic is if it was very last minute, didn't need a bag and it was a short flight within the US.

I was just using those numbers for comparison amongst the different carriers