Air France has recently launched what seems like a smart initiative for its Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) hub, helping those with short connections make their next flight…
Air France’s new “Short Connection Pass” concept
Air France-KLM and Groupe ADP have partnered to make connections at Charles de Gaulle Airport easier, as part of a larger initiative called “Connect France.” Air France transports around 140,000 passengers per day, and roughly half of those passengers are connecting at the airport.
Airlines try to make connections as efficient as possible — they have a fairly short minimum connection time, though of course the issue becomes that any sort of a delay can cause travelers to miss their connection.
With the goal of minimizing operational issues, a new program named “Short Connection Pass” allows those with short connections to use the priority security and immigration lines, to maximize their odds of making their connecting flight.
When a connection falls below a certain threshold, a priority process is automatically triggered for those passengers, with no action required on their part:
- No later than when the passenger arrives at Paris Charles de Gaulle on their inbound flight, they’ll receive a text message and email informing them that they are eligible for priority access at security and border control
- When passengers arrive at the security and border control checkpoints, their boarding passes are scanned, and priority access will be offered to them
The system relies on real time information that factors in estimated walking time, time needed to complete security screening and border formalities, and the updated departure time of the next flight. For example, if connecting in Paris while flying between Toulouse and New York with a change from Terminal 2F to Terminal 2E Hall K, a minimum connection time of 45 minutes could trigger this service.
This seems like a smart initiative, with one catch
Ultimately it’s in everyone’s best interest for passengers to make their connecting flights as much as possible. Passengers want to get to their destination, and airlines also don’t want to pay unnecessary compensation to passengers for delays, if it can be avoided.
Airlines always push their luck a bit with scheduling. They create very short minimum connection times to make overall journeys seem short, and to maximize banked hubs, but often even a small delay can trigger a misconnect.
So this actually seems like a smart initiative. If there’s a 30-minute line at security and skipping that line would allow someone to make their connection (due to a delay outside of their control), then that seems like an overall positive.
The only thing I’d note is that I hope that this doesn’t impact the experience for premium passengers who have access to priority services. It sounds to me like passengers are being sent to the “Access No. 1” fast track lanes, which are otherwise open to select premium passengers and elite members. It would be a shame if that experience is materially devalued, especially on a day with irregular operations.
Bottom line
Air France has introduced a new “Short Connection Pass” for its Paris Charles de Gaulle hub. With this program, those with short connections are automatically routed to priority security and immigration lines, with hopes of that helping people make their connections.
This seems like a logical initiative, and in some ways, I’m surprised we don’t see this at more airports. I’m curious to see this in action, the next time I pass through the airport…
What do you make of Air France’s new initiative at CDG?
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