QUALIFY IT
One ticket, final destination
The connection must be on one booking. AF/KLM and their SkyTeam partners through-ticket freely, so most agency-booked CDG connections qualify. A self-built connection on two PNRs does not, and rebooking is at the client’s cost.
Delay is measured at the final destination. A 35-minute feeder delay from Nice that misses the CDG–Boston departure and lands the client in Boston at midnight is a €600 claim — the transatlantic band, because the journey is Nice–Boston.
The claim is against the operating carrier of the delayed feeder. If a Delta-operated first leg caused it, the claim is Delta’s and the direction matters; if AF fed it, AF pays.
THE MONEY
What is it worth?
€250
Under 1,500 km
€400
1,500–3,500 km
€600
Over 3,500 km
Per passenger, measured on the journey’s great-circle distance.
Band by the whole journey: most CDG connections to the Americas, Asia and Africa are €600s; intra-Europe connections are €250s or €400s. The feeder’s own short distance never caps it.
THE PUSHBACK
What Air France will say
AF’s reply treats the feeder delay in isolation: 35 minutes late, no claim. Restate Folkerts in one sentence — the arrival at the final destination is the measurement — and give the final-destination time.
The second letter says the connection time was too short. If AF sold it, AF vouched for it; a minimum-connection-time booking is AF’s risk, not the client’s.
THE EDGE
What’s specific to Air France
CDG’s Terminal 2E–2F transfer with a security re-clear is where AF connections die. Bookings at the published minimum connection time through 2E are the ones to watch — and the ones that pay.
File on the final-destination arrival, citing Folkerts. AF’s form has one delay field; enter the end-of-journey delay and explain it.
Five-year limitation and MTV apply. AF settles Folkerts claims more often after the mediation reference than before it.
Reading this as the passenger, not the agent? The plain-English version for your own trip: missed connection compensation, explained.
THE PLAY
How do you file it?
Confirm one PNR covers both flights.
File on the final-destination arrival delay, naming the delayed feeder and citing Folkerts (C-11/11).
Attach both boarding passes and the rebooked itinerary AF issued at CDG.
Diary eight weeks for MTV.
FLYING IT YOURSELF?
Check what Air France owes you — free, two minutes. $39 only if the airline pays.
Check my flight →TRAVEL AGENTS · Forward the booking and this claim is prepared for you. Start watching client flights →
AGENTS ASK
Questions agents ask
The feeder was 40 minutes late; the client arrived home 5 hours late. Which delay counts?
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Five hours — the final destination. That is the whole point of Folkerts.
AF rebooked them the next day with a hotel. Still claimable?
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Yes. Care doesn’t offset compensation. Next-day arrival is a maximum-band claim.
Two PNRs because the client booked the feeder on a cheap fare. Any claim?
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Not for the missed connection. The feeder alone, if 3+ hours late, is claimable on its own.
The connection was AF to Delta at CDG, Delta was on time — who owes?
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AF, for the feeder that caused the miss. The band follows the whole journey.
Does the minimum connection time matter?
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Only to AF’s defence, and it fails: a connection AF sold is a connection AF vouched for.
General information for travel professionals, not legal advice. Compensation depends on the facts of each disruption and the airline’s evidence. MyAirAdvocate prepares claims; it does not represent passengers and takes no percentage of any compensation.