Air France charged shuttle between connecting airports

Laz123

I bought online return air tickets to Sao Paulo in Brazil. The outward flight was from Heathrow to Paris Charles Degaulle, then to Sao Paulo.
The return flight was Sao Paulo to Paris Charles Degaulle, then on to Orly then fly to London City. I didn't mind too much about the extra hassle because it was a good price - £1140. I assumed it was all inclusive.
When I got on the shuttle, which turned out to be over an hour's journey, I had to pay 20 euros. Nowhere in the small print or anywhere else does it forwarn me that this charge will be incurred, or even that I had to take a shuttle bus.

Is it a breach of contract and can I claim this back via the Small claims court?

WTFH

The two airports are at opposite sides of Paris.
Who did you book the flights with? Was it direct with AF, or through a third party?

jacques_chirac

Why did you assume it was all inclusive, were you told the transfer was included? Not sure who you booked it with but the AF website states the transfer is not included.

JReacher1

I thought this was standard practice. I booked flights with BA that landed in Gatwick but the connected flight was from Heathrow. I had to pay for the shuttle

I think the point is that the shuttle is optional so you don't have to use it (although you don't really have any choice)

JReacher1

Also when you've paid £1140 for flights does an extra €20 really matter. Its only about £14. Going to court for the money would be a bit ridiculous. Just write it off as part of the flight costs.

earthstorm

JReacher1 wrote: »

I think the point is that the shuttle is optional so you don't have to use it (although you don't really have any choice)

other choices

1) normal public transport
2) taxi
3) walking

just a lot more convenient using the shuttle

Laz123

Thanks for your replies.

WTFH wrote: »

The two airports are at opposite sides of Paris.
Who did you book the flights with? Was it direct with AF, or through a third party?

Booked with Air France.

Air France; and not everyone like your good self knows the georaphy of Parisian airports.

jacques_chirac wrote: »

Why did you assume it was all inclusive, were you told the transfer was included? Not sure who you booked it with but the AF website states the transfer is not included.

I assumed because I've made a contract with AF to take me from London to Brazil and back again that everything was all-in. Plus, in all the 40 years of long-haul travel I've never come acroos this anomily before. I'd be grateful if you could give me a direct link which states this.

JReacher1 wrote: »

I thought this was standard practice. I booked flights with BA that landed in Gatwick but the connected flight was from Heathrow. I had to pay for the shuttle

Wow, that's inredible. What were the details of your flights?

JReacher1 wrote: »

Also when you've paid £1140 for flights does an extra €20 really matter. Its only about £14. Going to court for the money would be a bit ridiculous. Just write it off as part of the flight costs.

I suppose it's the principle really. I had no Euros to pay and luckily I had a credit card otherwise I'd have been !!!!!!ed and have to have unloaded all my stored luggage from the bus, go back inside the airport, find a Bureay de Change, change one of the 2 currencies I had being Sterling and Reals, then go back and wait again. Now, I've been on a 10 hour + flight, with a baby crying incessently, a selfish !!!! chatting most of the night eventhough people are trying to sleep, I've queued up and gone through 2 sets of security and passport control, had to collect my luggage from Charles D G (which on a connection is usually automatically transfered as it was on the way over, so I think I've got every right to be a mite arsed that I've got to fork out again for something I wasn't informed about on my contractual tiicket which gives me no information about the shuttle nor that it is going to charge me for this added hassle and inconvenience.

Also, it would be interesting to find out how much profit AF is making from this shuttle service for not only shunting weary travellers across the other side of their capital because they can't organise themselves enough to provide the self same return travelling plans as the outgoing one.

Laz123

earthstorm wrote: »

other choices

1) normal public transport
2) taxi
3) walking

just a lot more convenient using the shuttle

Not many foriegners would know which bus to take and where to change in a different country.

Taxis, as we all know, extract the urine when it comes to pricing. In fact, and don't pick me up on the fact I doled out more on this than the shuttle fare, I had to fork out £35 for a black cab from London City to waterloo station. There again what bus do I take, where do I change, and I'm a Londoner.

I'd still be walking and knocking over annoyed Parisians by lugging 2 large suitcases behind me.

So basically, what we're talking about is a cartel. And my point still remains that if I book a flight which is a return which should mean it gets me from A to B and from B to A for no extra transport costs.

neilmcl

Laz123 wrote: »

I bought online return air tickets to Sao Paulo in Brazil. The outward flight was from Heathrow to Paris Charles Degaulle, then to Sao Paulo.
The return flight was Sao Paulo to Paris Charles Degaulle, then on to Orly then fly to London City. I didn't mind too much about the extra hassle because it was a good price - £1140. I assumed it was all inclusive.
When I got on the shuttle, which turned out to be over an hour's journey, I had to pay 20 euros. Nowhere in the small print or anywhere else does it forwarn me that this charge will be incurred, or even that I had to take a shuttle bus.

Is it a breach of contract and can I claim this back via the Small claims court?

That was your mistake right there. With the absence of anything in writing don't assume anything.

OlliesDad

Laz123 wrote: »

Also, it would be interesting to find out how much profit AF is making from this shuttle service for not only shunting weary travellers across the other side of their capital because they can't organise themselves enough to provide the self same return travelling plans as the outgoing one.

I'm not sure that AF actually own Paris

As you have discovered, this shuttle bus provides a more convenient, better valued alternative to the ones Earthstorm suggested.

Also, I don't think its a case of them not being organised enough.. its just to do with passenger numbers and the most convenient plane routing. I have several times flown from one London airport but returned to a different one.

earthstorm

Laz123 wrote: »

Not many foriegners would know which bus to take and where to change in a different country.

Taxis, as we all know, extract the urine when it comes to pricing. In fact, and don't pick me up on the fact I doled out more on this than the shuttle fare, I had to fork out £35 for a black cab from London City to waterloo station. There again what bus do I take, where do I change, and I'm a Londoner.

I'd still be walking and knocking over annoyed Parisians by lugging 2 large suitcases behind me.

So basically, what we're talking about is a cartel. And my point still remains that if I book a flight which is a return which should mean it gets me from A to B and from B to A for no extra transport costs.

my reply was to show other choices available and a direct reply to

Originally Posted by JReacher1
(although you don't really have any choice)

so you have at least another 3 choices, but a shuttle bus is the better option and 9/10 these are private companies contracted to the airport authorities and not to an airline.

so OP paid for his flights to AF and the Airport is not owned or run by AF.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_de_Gaulle_Airport

Management of the airport is solely under the authority of A!roports de Paris (ADP), which also manages Orly, Le Bourget, Marsa Alam in Egypt, and several smaller airports in the suburbs of Paris.