platbrownguy
Aug 9, 12, 4:14 pm
I took advantage of the €1300 upgrade CDG-IAD (Washington Dulles) a week or so ago, and I wanted to post here to share my experience. My itinerary was MUC-CDG-IAD, with CDG-IAD on the A380.
I will share my thoughts on the whole experience here; please skip to the bottom for the section on ground services at IAD.
Upgrade procedure
I received the email exactly seven days prior to my flight. I responded to accept the offer. While €1300 is not cheap, I had saved a considerable sum on the J ticket by finding a low-mileage award on Delta SkyMiles (100k roundtrip), and I would not likely have another occasion to fly AF in P. I flew Premiere on AF several years ago JFK-CDG-TNR-CDG-MIA on Delta miles and was looking to trying out the new product on a relatively new plane. I received the phone call two days later. At first, I missed the call. I responded by email with a better time to call, and Stephen called me then to complete the payment and confirm my seat selection.
MUC-CDG
Our flight was running late leaving MUC due to something or other at CDG. The FA went seat to seat finding maps of 2E and explaining to everyone the best way to get to their connections. I had just woken from a nap, she says, "Don't worry sir, you will be taken care of." ^ #1.
On arrival
Friendly FA says she sees my car but not my escort. After a few pax deplane, my escort arrives and she lets me out. Instead of 1.5 hours at CDG, we now have under an hour, but I still want to see the lounge, so I ask to be last onboard. The escort happily obliges and drives us to the lounge. We went to, but not through, a passport control desk on the way there. I wasn't quite sure what to make of it, but it was no big deal.
At the lounge
It was breakfast time, so the menu was nothing special. The omelet was quite good, but the star of the show was the healthy portion of smoked salmon from the self-serve area. I had 20 or 25 minutes to eat, and then the escort returned to drive me to the A380. We had some sort of exit passport control on the way out of the lounge. Three others from the lounge were headed to the same flight.
Onboard
Overall, I really liked the product - I do not want to be cooped up in a "suite" for 8 or 9 hours, so the SQ/EK products do not appeal to me, especially on a day flight. Pajamas, pillows, and amenity kits were distributed. The captain came out to make small-talk with the passengers and introduce himself. One semi-surprise was that the cabin was full. Evidently there were several op-ups. This was confirmed for me when I arrived at work on Monday and one of the women in a neighboring office recognized me from the flight! Evidently she was in 3L; I was in 3A. She has status and buys J, said it was the first time she'd received such an upgrade.
The flight crew was exceptionally friendly. The FA came around to ask how I wanted to organize my flight. I wanted to work for 2 hours, then eat (it was a 1035 flight), then sleep until 1730 Paris time, then wake to eat again. Everything went flawlessly.
The wine selection was meager compared to an extensive list that I've seen elsewhere on here. There was only one champagne (Lanson), one white, one sweet white, and two reds. I had the Mersault with the lobster penne. The penne was terrible, but the lobster was a healthy serving. I then had the foie gras terrine (yes, backwards) and the gazpacho. The gazpacho was outstanding. The changing room and amenities onboard were quite nice. The IFE was not so great - cumbersome system, small screen - although Bruce Springsteen was a welcome music selection. I am not big on IFE, and perhaps the headphones were good quality, but I expected a better (and faster) system. Finally, the large desk/table that pops up was very useful. I had a fair amount of writing to accomplish, and the ample space compared with J was welcome.
Arrival at IAD
We arrived and parked at the gate without difficulty. 2 or 3 AF staff with the red scarves met the plane and escorted P passengers down the jetway. We took an elevator instead of going down a ramp with the rest of the J passengers. The elevator took us to a private van, where the 7 of us loaded on (2 of the pax had stayed behind, perhaps because they were traveling with others in J). The van drove us to a special immigration entrance, where we each had our pick of the immigration booths. How AF manages to pull this off, I have no idea, but it is quite the service!
P bags were among the first to appear (it looked like crew bags came out at the same time), and within minutes we were out the door. Meanwhile, the rest of the A380 was just beginning to queue up for a potentially long wait. While this appeared to be a low-volume period, I can imagine that being escorted to the front of the immigration line could save hours in some cases.
Conclusion
CDG transfer experience, onboard service, bed/duvet, and ground services on arrival all met or exceeded my expectations.
Breakfast selection in the lounge, onboard food/beverage, and in-flight entertainment did not meet my expectations.
If I were on a similar award ticket in the future, I would likely upgrade again for a US-bound day flight.
I will share my thoughts on the whole experience here; please skip to the bottom for the section on ground services at IAD.
Upgrade procedure
I received the email exactly seven days prior to my flight. I responded to accept the offer. While €1300 is not cheap, I had saved a considerable sum on the J ticket by finding a low-mileage award on Delta SkyMiles (100k roundtrip), and I would not likely have another occasion to fly AF in P. I flew Premiere on AF several years ago JFK-CDG-TNR-CDG-MIA on Delta miles and was looking to trying out the new product on a relatively new plane. I received the phone call two days later. At first, I missed the call. I responded by email with a better time to call, and Stephen called me then to complete the payment and confirm my seat selection.
MUC-CDG
Our flight was running late leaving MUC due to something or other at CDG. The FA went seat to seat finding maps of 2E and explaining to everyone the best way to get to their connections. I had just woken from a nap, she says, "Don't worry sir, you will be taken care of." ^ #1.
On arrival
Friendly FA says she sees my car but not my escort. After a few pax deplane, my escort arrives and she lets me out. Instead of 1.5 hours at CDG, we now have under an hour, but I still want to see the lounge, so I ask to be last onboard. The escort happily obliges and drives us to the lounge. We went to, but not through, a passport control desk on the way there. I wasn't quite sure what to make of it, but it was no big deal.
At the lounge
It was breakfast time, so the menu was nothing special. The omelet was quite good, but the star of the show was the healthy portion of smoked salmon from the self-serve area. I had 20 or 25 minutes to eat, and then the escort returned to drive me to the A380. We had some sort of exit passport control on the way out of the lounge. Three others from the lounge were headed to the same flight.
Onboard
Overall, I really liked the product - I do not want to be cooped up in a "suite" for 8 or 9 hours, so the SQ/EK products do not appeal to me, especially on a day flight. Pajamas, pillows, and amenity kits were distributed. The captain came out to make small-talk with the passengers and introduce himself. One semi-surprise was that the cabin was full. Evidently there were several op-ups. This was confirmed for me when I arrived at work on Monday and one of the women in a neighboring office recognized me from the flight! Evidently she was in 3L; I was in 3A. She has status and buys J, said it was the first time she'd received such an upgrade.
The flight crew was exceptionally friendly. The FA came around to ask how I wanted to organize my flight. I wanted to work for 2 hours, then eat (it was a 1035 flight), then sleep until 1730 Paris time, then wake to eat again. Everything went flawlessly.
The wine selection was meager compared to an extensive list that I've seen elsewhere on here. There was only one champagne (Lanson), one white, one sweet white, and two reds. I had the Mersault with the lobster penne. The penne was terrible, but the lobster was a healthy serving. I then had the foie gras terrine (yes, backwards) and the gazpacho. The gazpacho was outstanding. The changing room and amenities onboard were quite nice. The IFE was not so great - cumbersome system, small screen - although Bruce Springsteen was a welcome music selection. I am not big on IFE, and perhaps the headphones were good quality, but I expected a better (and faster) system. Finally, the large desk/table that pops up was very useful. I had a fair amount of writing to accomplish, and the ample space compared with J was welcome.
Arrival at IAD
We arrived and parked at the gate without difficulty. 2 or 3 AF staff with the red scarves met the plane and escorted P passengers down the jetway. We took an elevator instead of going down a ramp with the rest of the J passengers. The elevator took us to a private van, where the 7 of us loaded on (2 of the pax had stayed behind, perhaps because they were traveling with others in J). The van drove us to a special immigration entrance, where we each had our pick of the immigration booths. How AF manages to pull this off, I have no idea, but it is quite the service!
P bags were among the first to appear (it looked like crew bags came out at the same time), and within minutes we were out the door. Meanwhile, the rest of the A380 was just beginning to queue up for a potentially long wait. While this appeared to be a low-volume period, I can imagine that being escorted to the front of the immigration line could save hours in some cases.
Conclusion
CDG transfer experience, onboard service, bed/duvet, and ground services on arrival all met or exceeded my expectations.
Breakfast selection in the lounge, onboard food/beverage, and in-flight entertainment did not meet my expectations.
If I were on a similar award ticket in the future, I would likely upgrade again for a US-bound day flight.