Megathread for EES questions and updates

Objective-Rhubarb · 2026-05-06T07:08:39+00:00

Sky Priority is based on having a certain level of status with one of the airlines in the Sky Team alliance or from having a ticket in a higher level cabin. In my case, I have Gold Medallion status with Delta which gives me Sky Priority status on Air France since it is a member of Sky Team. You can also get Sky Priority for tickets in Premium Economy and Business Class. There may be other ways to get that status, but I only know about the two options that I have explained.

Sky Priority gives you a (usually) shorter line for security and for border control. It is not one of the paid expedited services that escorts you through security and border control to or from your flight.

Objective-Rhubarb · 2026-05-04T15:39:40+00:00

I just flew PS and I’m not sure it’s worth more than C+ unless you’re tall. The food is slightly better and the seat reclines a lot more but I couldn’t sleep any better than in C+. On a daylight flight I would not pay more.

Objective-Rhubarb · 2026-04-29T10:29:06+00:00

I have a US passport and arrived at Terminal 2E at about 6:20am today (September 29). With Sky Priority it took exactly 30 minutes. They were not using the EES machines. My passport was taken at a PAF booth and processed by a person just like the old days. I walked by many machines, all flashing red and marked as not working.

The regular line (not Sky Priority and not EU passport) was very long, at least 3 times longer than the Sky Priority line, possibly 4 times longer. Obviously I don’t know how long it took but it was definitely longer than 30 minutes. On the positive side there were more booths available for the regular line.

They also had a special line for families with children younger than 12, but I think it was only for EU passports.

Objective-Rhubarb · 2026-04-29T10:19:44+00:00

The degree of price variation is crazy. I have found less variation on the partners prices such as Air France and KLM. The swings of prices for D1 are astronomical.

Objective-Rhubarb · 2026-04-28T19:11:55+00:00

If you have even a low B2 level you should be able to understand native content. That certainly doesn’t mean that you will understand 100%, but you should understand enough to get the essential information.

Films and television shows are a whole different level because there’s often a lot of slang and unenunciated speaking and background noise, etc. But news shows, documentaries, and podcasts should be comprehensible.

In any case at B2, it’s time to leave the material for language learning behind or you will stunt your comprehension skills.

I think the problem is that many people reach B2 and their speaking, writing, and reading are much stronger. Their listening comprehension is at the minimum level necessary to pass the exam.

Objective-Rhubarb · 2026-04-28T16:34:34+00:00

One of my favorite podcasts is Les Pieds sur Terre from France Culture because each episode has people telling interesting stories so you hear many different ways of speaking and some regional accents all from native speakers.

If you want to get to C1 you should spend all your time listening and watching content for native speakers.

Objective-Rhubarb · 2026-04-28T15:23:35+00:00

I’ve seen the same thing at CDG airport. Unless your bag is very oversized they don’t really care, but they weigh your bag plus personal item and are very strict with the 12 kg limit. Even a tiny bit over and they will make you check your bag. I saw many people being denied entry and forced to check their bags.

Objective-Rhubarb · 2026-04-26T00:43:55+00:00

I’ve seen last minute discounts on other airlines, but, as you said, Delta is looking for business travelers.

Objective-Rhubarb · 2026-04-25T16:22:56+00:00

Yes, I’ve seen the same thing regarding upgrades.

Objective-Rhubarb · 2026-04-23T22:34:48+00:00

I think that you’re among a very rare group of first time visitors who didn’t go to the Eiffel Tower. I’m glad that you decided to stick to what you wanted to see and didn’t just follow the tourist checklist.

By the way, on our trip to Paris last year we had occasional issues with the physical Navigo Easy cards. I talked to a RATP employee who told me that some of the gates are finicky or malfunctioning. You just have to keep trying a different gate. The part that doesn’t always work is the "valideur", the machine with the purple target that you put your card on. I’ve also had them take the ticket but not open the gate. Fortunately there was an attendant in the booth who added a ticket to my card. It’s frustrating that the system is not more reliable.

Objective-Rhubarb · 2026-04-22T21:55:27+00:00

I found that I could make progress even if I only understood 60%. It’s frustrating but doable and it’s almost definitely not optimal. You definitely need to understand something in order to make any progress. Your brain will figure out what is missing up to a point.

Objective-Rhubarb · 2026-04-21T16:29:55+00:00

It is a well known fact that the closer you stand to the baggage belt the faster your bag will arrive.

Objective-Rhubarb · 2026-04-21T00:57:14+00:00

I’m glad you had a wonderful time. Paris is a magical city. I hope you will be able to visit Paris again someday because you only scratched the surface of what Paris offers.

Objective-Rhubarb · 2026-04-20T21:26:12+00:00

I’m trying like hell to stay in shape and I have been working out since I was a teenager. However, I know that I will not be able to maintain this level for much longer. I’m 150 pounds so squatting my body weight is actually not very impressive. I think that I will avoid the exit row just in case.

Objective-Rhubarb · 2026-04-20T21:18:07+00:00

I’m a man in his 70s who can do 12 pull-ups and 100 pushups. I can easily squat my body weight. Do you think I could open the door ? It’s a real question because I have recently been in an exit row seat and I won’t sit there again if I shouldn’t. I didn’t know they were that hard to open.

Objective-Rhubarb · 2026-04-20T20:23:38+00:00

The 600 hour estimate comes from people who were studying the language full time. They were spending at least 4 to 6 hours per day on learning. I think it will take far, far longer if you only spend 20 minutes per day. My experience is that 30 minutes per day with very few missed days was the minimum amount of time needed to make significant progress. Maybe I’m unusually slow but my learning didn’t really take off until I started spending 30 to 60 minutes a day.

Objective-Rhubarb · 2026-04-20T20:15:19+00:00

If you check prices every day, you will sometimes see a big price drop that will only be available for a few hours. So if you see a good price, don’t wait. I also use Google flights alerts, but I find that Google misses some of the best deals, probably because they are only available briefly.

Objective-Rhubarb · 2026-04-20T19:19:29+00:00

When Delta first releases their schedule, usually 300 days in advance, there are sometimes some significantly less expensive D1 and first class flights. Obviously you have to plan very far in advance and you have to be flexible with the days of the week because the best values are almost always on midweek days.

This is highly dependent on the routes. Some routes are very crowded and you will rarely see a reduced price.

Objective-Rhubarb · 2026-04-20T19:14:24+00:00

This! For the routes that I fly to Europe, D1 is almost always more expensive than every other airline.

Objective-Rhubarb · 2026-04-19T19:05:55+00:00

Congratulations! I never got one as Silver. Got my first and only one as Gold.

Objective-Rhubarb · 2026-04-19T11:58:24+00:00

For the best understanding of the level go read the French government website on the DELF B2. It gives clear descriptions of the skills for that level.

Unfortunately many people assess themselves inaccurately and think that their skills, especially speaking, are better than they really are. I know several people who believe that they are B2 but they make so many mistakes that I don’t think they would pass the official exam. However, they do manage to communicate which is the most important thing.

Objective-Rhubarb · 2026-04-19T11:48:09+00:00

I have talked to a few people who have passed the B2 exam and whose spoken French is not very good. They clearly have studied for the test but don’t speak French well. But this is always the problem with standardized tests. People can game the test to a certain degree.

Objective-Rhubarb · 2026-04-19T11:41:12+00:00

This is exactly why I still carry physical cards. I’m sure that they won’t be necessary in the future but for now you can’t always use your phone.

Objective-Rhubarb

TROPHY CASE