Flying from Florence to Atlanta with a connection in Paris, our flight was delayed for reasons that…read moreinvolved a water pump and some weather that we never saw, causing us to miss our connecting flight. Every time this has happened in the past, crew members always tell everyone that when they arrive late not too worry, they will be greeted by staff members who will direct them to their next flight or help them book another flight. The person we spoke to upon arrival was completely clueless and knew nothing about our flight. We might have made it, if given the bare minimum of direction. Instead, we were stuck in a miserable line for people who had missed their flights. After an hour when we were at the front of the line, we were told that they were closing and we would have to go across the airport to a much larger line.
These Air France employees in the M terminal of Charles De Gaulle, in front of gate M-41, who handled rebooking in the afternoon of July 17, couldn't have been anymore rude to everyone. I understand that this is a crummy job, but there is no excuse for treating people as if you could care less about them. After waiting in the other line, we were rebooked for the next day and given a hotel voucher. But there were others who didn't fare so well. An older couple who missed the same flight as us never made it to this desk and we wondered what happened to them. A group of people that were booked as we were, for a connecting flight with Delta, though different flights, were told to wait to the side. Then after an hour, they were told that the Delta employee had left and they were on their own and could return the next morning when the employee showed up. I have no idea why they were handled this way flying Air France and then Delta, as we were. Both companies are partners. These people were stuck overnight in the airport with zero information.
Overall, I would say that Air France's handling of missed connections is utterly rotten and for the elderly and for parents with small children, it would probably be a good idea to avoid Air France altogether.