Back in May, I flew to Paris for a few days to get a behind-the-scenes tour of Charles de Gaulle’s new terminal 2E – the S4. It was really frustrating because it was so beautiful but they wouldn’t allow us to take photos. Well, today they just released their own images as it’s going to officially open next week (June 28). Here’s what you can expect:
- A 3,000 square meter lounge which will be the largest on the Air France network
- 100,000 square meters terminal for international passengers flying with Air France and its SkyTeam partners.
- 7.8 million passengers will pass through each year
- The S4 offers passengers 6,000 square meters of shops, bars, and restaurants and 25,000 square meters dedicated to the boarding lounges, the equivalent of 128 tennis courts.
- The water walls are designed by Taro Suzuki. There’s also wooden patios, plant walls inside and out, and trees.
- A museum will be opening shortly presenting original works from famous museums in Paris.
- S4 cost 580 million euros
Johnny,
This coming September, we are flying Zurich-Paris-Toronto via AF. As far as I know, we arrive from Zurich at Terminal 2F, and depart for Toronto from Terminal 2E S4.
Our total transfer time (if the Zurich flight arrives on time) is one hour 55 minutes. However, I believe that only leaves us with 55 minutes to make the transfer due to the check-in cut-off times for the Toronto bound portion of the flight.
We’ve always flown back from Europe direct, this is the first time we’ve ever transferred, and reading comments from others has us nervous about making this transfer via CDG. Hoping you might be able to answer some questions:
1) Will our bags be checked through, or will we need to claim them at 2F arrivals and re-check them in at 2E?
2) Can we obtain our boarding passes for the Paris-Toronto portion of the flight when we check in at Zurich?
3) What is the fastest way to reach 2E S4 from 2F? Looking at various websites, it appears that it is fastest to walk from 2F to 2E. Then we need to take a tram to S4. Do we need to go through AF flight check-in desk, passport control and then security first before we get on the tram? Or is all that done after we reach 2E S4?
4) In your opinion, is 55 minutes plenty of time to get from 2F to 2E S4?
Many thanks if you can help.