Better than LH F? AF La Premiere JFK-CDG-JNB RT w/ Meal Videos
Dec 12, 2016, 12:27 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Seat 1A
Programs: Non-status paid F/J (best value for $$$)
Posts: 4,124
Better than LH F? AF La Premiere JFK-CDG-JNB RT w/ Meal Videos
Lufthansa First Class has long been my preferred way to travel on transatlantic journeys. Part of the reason is the First Class Terminal in Frankfurt where you get to be driven to the plane in a private chauffeur driven car. Also, if you flight arrives at a remote position, you get driven to the terminal.
For the last couple of years, it has come to my attention that Air France also excellent ground services for their La Premiere First Class passengers. This included being escorted from check-in through security, immigration while skipping lines and the use of the La Premiere lounge at the Paris CDG airport. To add to this, you are driven in a car to and from the plane as well.
Due to Air France having only recently completed the refurbishment of La Premiere product on their 777-300ER, I was hesitant to try them until recently when I was assured that there are no longer any 777-300ER with the old first class configuration. It would surely be disappointing to be told that due to an equipment change that I would be sitting in the old first class!
The new La Premiere configuration consists of a single row of 4 first class seats. Two window seats and a pair of center seats. Each seat can be turned into a private suite by closing the curtains. However, this can have its disadvantages as well. Due to a design flaw, only the window seats on each side have overhead bins. This means that if somebody sitting in one of the center seats has stowed their carry-on in the overhead bin across the aisle, he/she would have to yank open the curtains to access the overhead bin should the person sitting in the window seat be sleeping and have the curtains closed!
Planning
The planning of this trip started after coming home from one of my usual LH F trips. Since I’ve flown LH F so many times that it started to get boring and I’ve decided to try something new. Perhaps AF P?
Having no status (well, maybe just the lowest elite status level on a couple carriers) with any frequent flyer program is very liberating. I am able to choose whichever carrier I want without having to worry about earning enough miles to remain a status member. I normally take 2-3 long haul trips in paid F/J a year on whatever carrier I feel like. Some people have told me that if I stuck to the same alliance that I would have status with one of the programs. But I disagree, I like to have freedom! While I do earn some redeemable miles on my trips, I tend to use those towards positioning flights. When I booked this trip, I was a SkyTeam nothing member (now I am DL Silver)!
Originally, I intended only to fly AF La Premiere from JFK-CDG-XXX, where XXX= European destination just to try out La Premiere. However, looking through the various fares, I found a good AF F (on AF, “F” is discounted “P”) fare going JFK-CDG-JNB round trip. Since not having been to Africa before, I decided to give it a try. Plus, I get to fly AF La Premiere long-haul 4 times vs. 2 times only for a bit more!
On the advice of a co-worker who mentioned a few years ago that I should visit Cape Town in South Africa as it is a beautiful city, I said to myself, “why not?” as I now get to do it via AF La Premiere.
Itinerary
AF P JFK-CDG
(13 hour connection)
AF P CDG-JNB
(2.5 hour connection)
SA C JNB-CPT (not reported)
(1 week)
SA C CPT-JNB (not reported)
(1 night)
AF P JNB-CDG
(10 hour connection)
AF P CDG-JFK
While one can easily book the AF ticket JFK-CDG-JNB online, I decided to use a travel agent so that the SA C segments JNB-CPT and CPT-JNB can be included on a single PNR and issued on the same ticket. While I had to pay the travel agent some $s in ticketing fees, I was surprised that adding the additional JNB-CPT-JNB segments did not cost much more.
Since I live in YVR, I had to redeem some of my BA Executive Club miles (earned mainly via AMEX MR) for two one-way CX F positioning flights to JFK.
New York to Paris (AF 11) (w/ inflight meal video)
I spent a night in New York before my JFK-CDG flight. This was during the week of the 2016 presidential elections and there were protests on 5th Avenue. As my hotel was on 5th Avenue, I decided to leave for the airport earlier at around 4PM. I took an Uber Black and the doorman had to carry my bags all the way to Madison Avenue just to meet the driver. I didn’t arrive at the airport until 5:45PM due to the traffic.
Upon arrival at JFK Terminal 1, I approached the AF La Premiere counter and was quickly checked-in. The check-in agent who also doubled as a La Premiere personal assistant escorted me through security while skipping all the lines and to the Air France lounge. La Premiere passengers were taken directly to a small room on the second floor of the lounge. This room had a dining area setup where La Premiere passengers could order pre-flight dining a la carte. However, outside the room, there was another dining area for Business Class passengers (pre-flight dining for evening flights). I decided to have some dinner which I regretted later (the food was nothing to write home about) as it made me too full for the meal on the flight resulting in me having to skip some of the courses of the inflight meal.
After dinner, I used the shower to freshen up before my flight. The decor of the shower rooms resemble those of a 1* hotel! Air France really should consider renovating the shower rooms.
As the flight was ready to board, myself and two other passengers (3/4 on flight before boarding) were escorted to the gate. As the personal assistant explained, door 1L is for La Premiere passengers only so that’s why it is roped off. Now that’s exclusive! However, at the last minute, a women was upgraded from Business Class while her husband wasn’t (full flight).
The following is a YouTube video I made from a series of photos taken of the menu and the courses I decided to order for dinner on the flight. Also included are some bonus scenes from my trip to Cape Town.
Long Connection in Paris
Upon arrival in Paris, each La Premiere passenger was handed over to separate personal assistants at the jet bridge who would then drive them to the terminal.
I asked my personal assistant that as I had a 13 hour layover whether I can get a day room instead of having to wait 13 hours in the lounge. She then made the necessary phone calls and drove me to arrivals, escorted me through immigration and took me to the La Premiere check-in area on the departures area. Once at the La Premiere check-in area, I was presented with a voucher for a day room at the Sheraton CDG. I later learned that La Premiere passengers with a connection time of more than 6 hours (must not be deliberate and instead must be caused by AF’s scheduling) are entitled to the use of a day room.
The personal assistant then accompanied me to the Sheraton CDG via chauffeured driven car and asked me what time I would like to be picked up for my flight. Although my flight to JNB did not depart until 23:30, I asked to be picked up at 18:00 so that I can have dinner in the AF La Premiere lounge.
Upon check-in at the Sheraton CDG, I was presented with additional meal vouchers. One for lunch and another for dinner (which I didn’t use). I regretted using the lunch voucher in the hotel restaurant after my work out at the fitness center as the quality food at the Sheraton CDG was not up to par!
While I was packing up and getting ready to leave my room, I got a call at 18:00 from the front desk advising me that an Air France representative was waiting for me in the lobby. Once I went down to the lobby to check-out, the Air France representative who was a La Premiere personal assistant accompanied me to a chauffeured driven car to Terminal 2E. She then escorted me through security and passport control while skipping the lines and onwards to the La Premiere lounge where I had dinner at the Alain Ducasse restaurant, took a shower and relaxed before boarding my flight to Johannesburg. My only complaint was that the service was slow in the La Premiere lounge and it took forever to find a waiter. Also, given that Air France flies to many international destinations, they should at least have some international food options in addition to French cuisine on their menu in their lounge. At least when flying Lufthansa, they have items such as “Tom Kha Gai” on their menu in the First Class Terminal.
Paris to Johannesburg (AF 990) (w/ inflight meal video + bonus scenes from Cape Town)
As this flight was boarding from Terminal 2E today, there was no need to be driven to the plan. Instead, when it was time to board, the La Premiere personal assistant escorted another passenger and myself to the gate. We were told that the flight would be booked 2/4 in La Premiere and that “no shows” were common on this route (there were two cancellations earlier). However, shortly after boarding, two other passengers (presumably upgrades from Business Class) occupied the two other seats making it 4/4 (full house in La Premiere).
The following is a YouTube video I made from a series of photos taken of the menu and the courses I decided to order for dinner on the flight. Since I wanted to have more time sleeping, I decided not to have breakfast.
Connection in Johannesburg
Upon arrival in Johannesburg, La Premiere passengers were met by separate personal assistants. My personal assistant escorted me through immigration (skipping the lines) and to baggage claim to pick up my checked baggage. Even though my bag was checked through to Cape Town, as Johannesburg was the first stop in South Africa, it had to be cleared through customs. The personal assistant then took me to the South African Airways baggage transfer desk (yes, this is another alliance – but since AF has an interline agreement with them and everything is on a single booking, it didn’t matter) to have it dropped off. She then took me upstairs to the domestic terminal to clear domestic security. As the personal assistant indicated that she couldn’t go through the domestic security checkpoint, she took me to the staff/crew security checkpoint instead! Once through security, the personal assistant then escorted me to the SLOW lounge. However, since I was flying South African Airways to Cape Town, I was refused entry and went to the South African Airways lounge instead. This is where Air France (or their ground handlers in JNB) needs to train their staff. Passengers connecting to another alliance have different lounge access.
Johannesburg to Cape Town (Not reported)
1 Week in Cape Town (Not reported)
Cape Town to Johannesburg (Not reported)
For the last couple of years, it has come to my attention that Air France also excellent ground services for their La Premiere First Class passengers. This included being escorted from check-in through security, immigration while skipping lines and the use of the La Premiere lounge at the Paris CDG airport. To add to this, you are driven in a car to and from the plane as well.
Due to Air France having only recently completed the refurbishment of La Premiere product on their 777-300ER, I was hesitant to try them until recently when I was assured that there are no longer any 777-300ER with the old first class configuration. It would surely be disappointing to be told that due to an equipment change that I would be sitting in the old first class!
The new La Premiere configuration consists of a single row of 4 first class seats. Two window seats and a pair of center seats. Each seat can be turned into a private suite by closing the curtains. However, this can have its disadvantages as well. Due to a design flaw, only the window seats on each side have overhead bins. This means that if somebody sitting in one of the center seats has stowed their carry-on in the overhead bin across the aisle, he/she would have to yank open the curtains to access the overhead bin should the person sitting in the window seat be sleeping and have the curtains closed!
Planning
The planning of this trip started after coming home from one of my usual LH F trips. Since I’ve flown LH F so many times that it started to get boring and I’ve decided to try something new. Perhaps AF P?
Having no status (well, maybe just the lowest elite status level on a couple carriers) with any frequent flyer program is very liberating. I am able to choose whichever carrier I want without having to worry about earning enough miles to remain a status member. I normally take 2-3 long haul trips in paid F/J a year on whatever carrier I feel like. Some people have told me that if I stuck to the same alliance that I would have status with one of the programs. But I disagree, I like to have freedom! While I do earn some redeemable miles on my trips, I tend to use those towards positioning flights. When I booked this trip, I was a SkyTeam nothing member (now I am DL Silver)!
Originally, I intended only to fly AF La Premiere from JFK-CDG-XXX, where XXX= European destination just to try out La Premiere. However, looking through the various fares, I found a good AF F (on AF, “F” is discounted “P”) fare going JFK-CDG-JNB round trip. Since not having been to Africa before, I decided to give it a try. Plus, I get to fly AF La Premiere long-haul 4 times vs. 2 times only for a bit more!
On the advice of a co-worker who mentioned a few years ago that I should visit Cape Town in South Africa as it is a beautiful city, I said to myself, “why not?” as I now get to do it via AF La Premiere.
Itinerary
AF P JFK-CDG
(13 hour connection)
AF P CDG-JNB
(2.5 hour connection)
SA C JNB-CPT (not reported)
(1 week)
SA C CPT-JNB (not reported)
(1 night)
AF P JNB-CDG
(10 hour connection)
AF P CDG-JFK
While one can easily book the AF ticket JFK-CDG-JNB online, I decided to use a travel agent so that the SA C segments JNB-CPT and CPT-JNB can be included on a single PNR and issued on the same ticket. While I had to pay the travel agent some $s in ticketing fees, I was surprised that adding the additional JNB-CPT-JNB segments did not cost much more.
Since I live in YVR, I had to redeem some of my BA Executive Club miles (earned mainly via AMEX MR) for two one-way CX F positioning flights to JFK.
New York to Paris (AF 11) (w/ inflight meal video)
I spent a night in New York before my JFK-CDG flight. This was during the week of the 2016 presidential elections and there were protests on 5th Avenue. As my hotel was on 5th Avenue, I decided to leave for the airport earlier at around 4PM. I took an Uber Black and the doorman had to carry my bags all the way to Madison Avenue just to meet the driver. I didn’t arrive at the airport until 5:45PM due to the traffic.
Upon arrival at JFK Terminal 1, I approached the AF La Premiere counter and was quickly checked-in. The check-in agent who also doubled as a La Premiere personal assistant escorted me through security while skipping all the lines and to the Air France lounge. La Premiere passengers were taken directly to a small room on the second floor of the lounge. This room had a dining area setup where La Premiere passengers could order pre-flight dining a la carte. However, outside the room, there was another dining area for Business Class passengers (pre-flight dining for evening flights). I decided to have some dinner which I regretted later (the food was nothing to write home about) as it made me too full for the meal on the flight resulting in me having to skip some of the courses of the inflight meal.
After dinner, I used the shower to freshen up before my flight. The decor of the shower rooms resemble those of a 1* hotel! Air France really should consider renovating the shower rooms.
As the flight was ready to board, myself and two other passengers (3/4 on flight before boarding) were escorted to the gate. As the personal assistant explained, door 1L is for La Premiere passengers only so that’s why it is roped off. Now that’s exclusive! However, at the last minute, a women was upgraded from Business Class while her husband wasn’t (full flight).
The following is a YouTube video I made from a series of photos taken of the menu and the courses I decided to order for dinner on the flight. Also included are some bonus scenes from my trip to Cape Town.
Long Connection in Paris
Upon arrival in Paris, each La Premiere passenger was handed over to separate personal assistants at the jet bridge who would then drive them to the terminal.
I asked my personal assistant that as I had a 13 hour layover whether I can get a day room instead of having to wait 13 hours in the lounge. She then made the necessary phone calls and drove me to arrivals, escorted me through immigration and took me to the La Premiere check-in area on the departures area. Once at the La Premiere check-in area, I was presented with a voucher for a day room at the Sheraton CDG. I later learned that La Premiere passengers with a connection time of more than 6 hours (must not be deliberate and instead must be caused by AF’s scheduling) are entitled to the use of a day room.
The personal assistant then accompanied me to the Sheraton CDG via chauffeured driven car and asked me what time I would like to be picked up for my flight. Although my flight to JNB did not depart until 23:30, I asked to be picked up at 18:00 so that I can have dinner in the AF La Premiere lounge.
Upon check-in at the Sheraton CDG, I was presented with additional meal vouchers. One for lunch and another for dinner (which I didn’t use). I regretted using the lunch voucher in the hotel restaurant after my work out at the fitness center as the quality food at the Sheraton CDG was not up to par!
While I was packing up and getting ready to leave my room, I got a call at 18:00 from the front desk advising me that an Air France representative was waiting for me in the lobby. Once I went down to the lobby to check-out, the Air France representative who was a La Premiere personal assistant accompanied me to a chauffeured driven car to Terminal 2E. She then escorted me through security and passport control while skipping the lines and onwards to the La Premiere lounge where I had dinner at the Alain Ducasse restaurant, took a shower and relaxed before boarding my flight to Johannesburg. My only complaint was that the service was slow in the La Premiere lounge and it took forever to find a waiter. Also, given that Air France flies to many international destinations, they should at least have some international food options in addition to French cuisine on their menu in their lounge. At least when flying Lufthansa, they have items such as “Tom Kha Gai” on their menu in the First Class Terminal.
Paris to Johannesburg (AF 990) (w/ inflight meal video + bonus scenes from Cape Town)
As this flight was boarding from Terminal 2E today, there was no need to be driven to the plan. Instead, when it was time to board, the La Premiere personal assistant escorted another passenger and myself to the gate. We were told that the flight would be booked 2/4 in La Premiere and that “no shows” were common on this route (there were two cancellations earlier). However, shortly after boarding, two other passengers (presumably upgrades from Business Class) occupied the two other seats making it 4/4 (full house in La Premiere).
The following is a YouTube video I made from a series of photos taken of the menu and the courses I decided to order for dinner on the flight. Since I wanted to have more time sleeping, I decided not to have breakfast.
Connection in Johannesburg
Upon arrival in Johannesburg, La Premiere passengers were met by separate personal assistants. My personal assistant escorted me through immigration (skipping the lines) and to baggage claim to pick up my checked baggage. Even though my bag was checked through to Cape Town, as Johannesburg was the first stop in South Africa, it had to be cleared through customs. The personal assistant then took me to the South African Airways baggage transfer desk (yes, this is another alliance – but since AF has an interline agreement with them and everything is on a single booking, it didn’t matter) to have it dropped off. She then took me upstairs to the domestic terminal to clear domestic security. As the personal assistant indicated that she couldn’t go through the domestic security checkpoint, she took me to the staff/crew security checkpoint instead! Once through security, the personal assistant then escorted me to the SLOW lounge. However, since I was flying South African Airways to Cape Town, I was refused entry and went to the South African Airways lounge instead. This is where Air France (or their ground handlers in JNB) needs to train their staff. Passengers connecting to another alliance have different lounge access.
Johannesburg to Cape Town (Not reported)
1 Week in Cape Town (Not reported)
Cape Town to Johannesburg (Not reported)
Dec 12, 2016, 12:29 am
#2
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Seat 1A
Programs: Non-status paid F/J (best value for $$$)
Posts: 4,124
Were they flirting? or just being French?
Leaving South Africa / Johannesburg Airport
One of the reasons I planned my return flight to be exactly one week after arriving in Johannesburg was that Air France did not operate their Boeing 777-300ER on a daily basis in November. Instead, the CDG-JNB-CDG route was operated on most days by the Airbus 380-800 meaning that I would have to fly on the older La Premiere product. So to ensure that all my flights were on the new La Premier product, I had to plan my flights carefully.
Not wanting to risk missing my connecting flight, I decided to fly from Cape Town into Johannesburg the night before my JNB-CDG flight. In addition, I wanted to join an organized tour of SOWETO (South Western Townships) in the morning before my flight. Although Johannesburg is not known to be a tourist city, this was highly recommended to me by a co-worker who used to live in South Africa. It was meant to give me an insight on how the majority of the population lived after having visited Cape Town which was one of the nicer parts of the country.
The night before my flight, I was staying at the Intercontinental OR Tambo Airport Hotel which is directly across from the international arrivals area at Johannesburg International Airport. As an Ambassador member, I was guaranteed late check-out to 4PM. This allowed me time to go on my tour to SOWETO during the day and to freshen up in the afternoon before heading to the international departures terminal.
Having spent a week in South Africa and dealing with friendly staff of African descent at the luxury hotels I was staying and the tour guides on my various day trips, it caught me totally off guard as I was pushing my luggage cart from the Intercontinental Airport Hotel to the International terminal. I was approached by a young African male in his 20s asking which airline I was flying. I told him “Air France” and followed him. At first I thought he worked for the airport, but in fact he was a tout looking to make some tips. As soon as I realized that I didn’t have any more South African Rands on me (I tend to use the last of my foreign currency in whichever country I visit to pay for my hotel bill at the last hotel I am staying), I quickly pushed my luggage cart in the opposite direction towards the elevator and went upstairs to the domestic check-in area just to get him out of sight. I waited a bit before going back downstairs to the international check-in area.
As I approached the Air France check-in area, the La Premiere personal assistant who greeted me when I arrived in Johannesburg a week before immediately recognized me. She took my check-in bag to have it wrapped in plastic saran wrap before having another agent check me in. Once checked in, the La Premiere personal assistant took me through immigration and security while skipping all the lines and on to the SLOW lounge which Air France and a few other international airlines use.
La Premiere passengers get access to a smaller “VIP” lounge located inside the SLOW lounge. A dedicated lounge staff is assigned to man the entrance to the VIP lounge.
The food offerings in the VIP lounge were minimal and consisted only of cheese, crackers, fruit and select South African wines. One would have to go out to the buffet area in the main lounge for more options.
Was he (they) flirting with me? Or was it just a cultural misunderstanding of the French?
Don’t flame me on this one as I consider myself to be socially awkward and have a next to non-functioning gaydar. Although at the risk that this thread might get sent to OMNI, would any FTers care to give me their opinions on this one?
While I was going about my business and drinking soup at one of the dining tables in the VIP lounge, the two other La Premiere passengers who consisted of a French gay couple arrived. One of the men (the younger guy) was in his 30s and was travelling with is partner who was in his 40s to 50s (the older guy).
Upon entering the VIP lounge, the younger guy smiled at me as if he had seen me before and said “hello”. I did not think much of it at that time. However, upon sitting down at one of the loungers and going on my business, the younger guy walked by a few times and started smiling. He even said “bon appetite” to me as I was preparing to eat my cheese and fruit. All this happened while the older guy did not notice (or pretend not to notice).
The “flirting” continued on the flight where this younger guy who sat directly across the aisle seemed to have taken a few more glances at me and smiled. Then suddenly, while the younger guy was in the lavatory, the older guy stared at me and smiled. This might have happened a couple of times.
As I was starting to eat my dinner on the flight, the younger guy once again walked near my seat (if I remember correctly, he just went to the lavatory to put on his pajamas) and said “bon appetite” to me while smiling. All I did was say “thank you” in response.
Upon arrival in Paris, I saw this couple again in the La Premiere lounge. This time they seemed a bit cold and pretended not to have known me. I wonder why.
So were they flirting with me? Just being friendly in a “French” way? Or am I just socially awkward and unable to pick up on these signals properly? Note that no other guy has sent these signals to me before. Most men (including those in France) I see in first and business class lounges while travelling seem to go about their own business and not pay attention to other passengers.
Johannesburg to Paris (AF 995)
When the flight started to board, the La Premiere personal assistant came to the VIP lounge to escort the other two La Premiere passengers and myself to the gate. Once again, door 1L was roped off and off limits to the Business Class passengers. This is where Air France excels!
Once on board, champagne was served as a welcome drink. This time, the champagne served was Krug instead of Cristal which I had on the inbound flight. Initially, I assumed that Krug was just being used as the pre-departure champagne and Cristal would be served after take-off. However, upon inquiry with the flight attendant, I was wrong. Apparently while Air France rotates their La Premiere champagne every 10 days, they don’t update their printed wine lists as often!
Instead of the usual crackers and other savoury snacks that Air France serves with their pre-departure champagne, the flight attendant serving the La Premiere cabin this flight has decided to pair it with freshly cut fruit.
As this is the third of my fourth La Premiere flights, I am now getting used to the Air France La Premiere service and starting to get bored. However, the “flirtatious” gay couple on the flight did seem to make everything more enjoyable!
Since I may have read in other trip reports or have heard from acquaintances that the inflight catering ex-JNB no matter which airline is bad, I was already expecting the worse. However, I am not so sure. All I remember, was that course after course I tasted during my dinner seemed to taste rather bland. Perhaps I had been eating too much springbok and kudu biltong in South Africa?
At the same time, my now previously favourite champagne, Krug did not taste as great as I expected. I kept getting a sour aftertaste after each sip. Perhaps the bottle wasn’t chilled properly (or even worse, opened since the inbound flight)? Or maybe because now that I have tasted Cristal that my tastes have gotten more expensive and Krug does not make the cut for me anymore?
As the flight was coming to an end, I had realized that I have left my iPhone switched off and packed away in my carry-on bag throughout the flight. Because of this, I wasn’t able to take any pictures of the meal or the flirtatious couple (they seemed to be taking pictures throughout the flight – perhaps they are bloggers or FTers?).
A typed version of the menu (or even a video of it) for the flight is available upon request…
To be continued…
One of the reasons I planned my return flight to be exactly one week after arriving in Johannesburg was that Air France did not operate their Boeing 777-300ER on a daily basis in November. Instead, the CDG-JNB-CDG route was operated on most days by the Airbus 380-800 meaning that I would have to fly on the older La Premiere product. So to ensure that all my flights were on the new La Premier product, I had to plan my flights carefully.
Not wanting to risk missing my connecting flight, I decided to fly from Cape Town into Johannesburg the night before my JNB-CDG flight. In addition, I wanted to join an organized tour of SOWETO (South Western Townships) in the morning before my flight. Although Johannesburg is not known to be a tourist city, this was highly recommended to me by a co-worker who used to live in South Africa. It was meant to give me an insight on how the majority of the population lived after having visited Cape Town which was one of the nicer parts of the country.
The night before my flight, I was staying at the Intercontinental OR Tambo Airport Hotel which is directly across from the international arrivals area at Johannesburg International Airport. As an Ambassador member, I was guaranteed late check-out to 4PM. This allowed me time to go on my tour to SOWETO during the day and to freshen up in the afternoon before heading to the international departures terminal.
Having spent a week in South Africa and dealing with friendly staff of African descent at the luxury hotels I was staying and the tour guides on my various day trips, it caught me totally off guard as I was pushing my luggage cart from the Intercontinental Airport Hotel to the International terminal. I was approached by a young African male in his 20s asking which airline I was flying. I told him “Air France” and followed him. At first I thought he worked for the airport, but in fact he was a tout looking to make some tips. As soon as I realized that I didn’t have any more South African Rands on me (I tend to use the last of my foreign currency in whichever country I visit to pay for my hotel bill at the last hotel I am staying), I quickly pushed my luggage cart in the opposite direction towards the elevator and went upstairs to the domestic check-in area just to get him out of sight. I waited a bit before going back downstairs to the international check-in area.
As I approached the Air France check-in area, the La Premiere personal assistant who greeted me when I arrived in Johannesburg a week before immediately recognized me. She took my check-in bag to have it wrapped in plastic saran wrap before having another agent check me in. Once checked in, the La Premiere personal assistant took me through immigration and security while skipping all the lines and on to the SLOW lounge which Air France and a few other international airlines use.
La Premiere passengers get access to a smaller “VIP” lounge located inside the SLOW lounge. A dedicated lounge staff is assigned to man the entrance to the VIP lounge.
The food offerings in the VIP lounge were minimal and consisted only of cheese, crackers, fruit and select South African wines. One would have to go out to the buffet area in the main lounge for more options.
Was he (they) flirting with me? Or was it just a cultural misunderstanding of the French?
Don’t flame me on this one as I consider myself to be socially awkward and have a next to non-functioning gaydar. Although at the risk that this thread might get sent to OMNI, would any FTers care to give me their opinions on this one?
While I was going about my business and drinking soup at one of the dining tables in the VIP lounge, the two other La Premiere passengers who consisted of a French gay couple arrived. One of the men (the younger guy) was in his 30s and was travelling with is partner who was in his 40s to 50s (the older guy).
Upon entering the VIP lounge, the younger guy smiled at me as if he had seen me before and said “hello”. I did not think much of it at that time. However, upon sitting down at one of the loungers and going on my business, the younger guy walked by a few times and started smiling. He even said “bon appetite” to me as I was preparing to eat my cheese and fruit. All this happened while the older guy did not notice (or pretend not to notice).
The “flirting” continued on the flight where this younger guy who sat directly across the aisle seemed to have taken a few more glances at me and smiled. Then suddenly, while the younger guy was in the lavatory, the older guy stared at me and smiled. This might have happened a couple of times.
As I was starting to eat my dinner on the flight, the younger guy once again walked near my seat (if I remember correctly, he just went to the lavatory to put on his pajamas) and said “bon appetite” to me while smiling. All I did was say “thank you” in response.
Upon arrival in Paris, I saw this couple again in the La Premiere lounge. This time they seemed a bit cold and pretended not to have known me. I wonder why.
So were they flirting with me? Just being friendly in a “French” way? Or am I just socially awkward and unable to pick up on these signals properly? Note that no other guy has sent these signals to me before. Most men (including those in France) I see in first and business class lounges while travelling seem to go about their own business and not pay attention to other passengers.
Johannesburg to Paris (AF 995)
When the flight started to board, the La Premiere personal assistant came to the VIP lounge to escort the other two La Premiere passengers and myself to the gate. Once again, door 1L was roped off and off limits to the Business Class passengers. This is where Air France excels!
Once on board, champagne was served as a welcome drink. This time, the champagne served was Krug instead of Cristal which I had on the inbound flight. Initially, I assumed that Krug was just being used as the pre-departure champagne and Cristal would be served after take-off. However, upon inquiry with the flight attendant, I was wrong. Apparently while Air France rotates their La Premiere champagne every 10 days, they don’t update their printed wine lists as often!
Instead of the usual crackers and other savoury snacks that Air France serves with their pre-departure champagne, the flight attendant serving the La Premiere cabin this flight has decided to pair it with freshly cut fruit.
As this is the third of my fourth La Premiere flights, I am now getting used to the Air France La Premiere service and starting to get bored. However, the “flirtatious” gay couple on the flight did seem to make everything more enjoyable!
Since I may have read in other trip reports or have heard from acquaintances that the inflight catering ex-JNB no matter which airline is bad, I was already expecting the worse. However, I am not so sure. All I remember, was that course after course I tasted during my dinner seemed to taste rather bland. Perhaps I had been eating too much springbok and kudu biltong in South Africa?
At the same time, my now previously favourite champagne, Krug did not taste as great as I expected. I kept getting a sour aftertaste after each sip. Perhaps the bottle wasn’t chilled properly (or even worse, opened since the inbound flight)? Or maybe because now that I have tasted Cristal that my tastes have gotten more expensive and Krug does not make the cut for me anymore?
As the flight was coming to an end, I had realized that I have left my iPhone switched off and packed away in my carry-on bag throughout the flight. Because of this, I wasn’t able to take any pictures of the meal or the flirtatious couple (they seemed to be taking pictures throughout the flight – perhaps they are bloggers or FTers?).
A typed version of the menu (or even a video of it) for the flight is available upon request…
To be continued…
Last edited by daniellam; Dec 13, 2016 at 10:01 pm Reason: Adding content
Dec 12, 2016, 5:14 pm
#4
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: JNB
Programs: Flying Blue, Miles and Smiles, Hhonors, ICHotels
Posts: 1,307
Great TR so far. Pity about the SLOW lounge in JNB though, but as far as I am aware, AF partners with both SAA and BA on the Domestic routes, so some pax would use the SLOW Lounge (for BA), and others the SAA Lounge for SA connections.
But you are correct, the PA should have read your BP properly. Anyhow, I trust that are having a good time in Cape Town.
But you are correct, the PA should have read your BP properly. Anyhow, I trust that are having a good time in Cape Town.
Dec 12, 2016, 10:59 pm
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Seat 1A
Programs: Non-status paid F/J (best value for $$$)
Posts: 4,124
See post#2 for more of the trip report.
The next section will contain another meal video.
As I am new to writing trip reports, any feedback on my writing style is appreciated.
Thank you.
The next section will contain another meal video.
As I am new to writing trip reports, any feedback on my writing style is appreciated.
Thank you.
Dec 13, 2016, 11:33 pm
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Seat 1A
Programs: Non-status paid F/J (best value for $$$)
Posts: 4,124
There's a man with a gun in the AF Lounge!
Connection in Paris – Passenger with a Gun?
Upon arrival in Paris, La Premiere passengers were once again met by separate personal assistants at the jet bridge. One of myself and another for the French couple travelling together. The personal assistant meeting me was the same one who had previously met me on arrival of m JFK-CDG flight. Seems like Air France likes to assign the same personal assistants to the same passengers over and over again.
With a 05:45 arrival and an onwards connection to New York not departing until 15:30, this meant I had a connection of 9 hours and 45 minutes. As such, I asked my personal assistant on the possibility of getting a day room at the Sheraton CDG. She made a few calls and told me that a day room would not be available until 08:00. Given that I learned my lesson from the previous time (mediocre food at the Sheraton CDG), I decided that since I wanted to eat lunch at the Alain Ducasse restaurant in the La Premiere lounge, I needed to be back at the airport by 12:00 and spending 4 hours at the Sheraton CDG was not worth it.
As such, I asked my personal assistant to drive me to the La Premiere lounge. Since I would be flying on a connecting flight later in the day, I had to clear security before going into the lounge.
Once in the lounge, my personal assistant suggested that I book a 30 minute complimentary treatment at the in lounge spa. Apparently, the spa therapist only works from 08:00 until approximately 17:00. As such, it would appear that La Premiere passengers with flights departing in the evening may be out of luck. I opted to have a 30 minute foot massage at 09:00.
After arriving from a long flight, the first thing on my mind was to take a shower. Unlike other first class lounges such as Lufthansa’s First Class Terminal or Cathay Pacific’s The Wing / The Pier lounges, the Air France La Premiere lounge does not even have shower attendants on duty. In order to take a shower here, one would need to fend for themselves and look for an unoccupied shower room that has already been cleaned and stocked with towels and toiletries. Air France should at least hire some low paid new immigrant workers to work as shower attendants in the lounge!
Once all freshened up, I headed to the Alan Ducasse restaurant to have some breakfast. Again, I had to wait a while before a waiter even showed up. It appears as if most of the other passengers were simply eating food that was set out in the self-serve buffet and didn’t even bother to order their breakfast a la carte. Perhaps Air France is trying to cut costs by stiffing passengers who don’t fly La Premiere often and/or not savvy enough of the full dining privileges?
One of the advantages of the Air France La Premiere lounge in Paris is that it is reserved only for passengers (and maybe a guest) actually flying La Premiere. This makes the lounge less crowded and with lots of seating available to choose from. The First Class lounges of other carriers such as Lufthansa, British Airways and Cathay Pacific are often overrun with top tier elite frequent flyer members who often outnumber actual first class passengers. These include HON Circle Members (Lufthansa First Class Terminal), BA Gold Members with Concorde Room Cards (British Airways Concorde Room) and Marco Polo Diamond / Oneworld Emerald (Cathay Pacific The Wing/The Pier First Class lounges).
After breakfast, I relaxed in the lounge which catching up with my e-mails and at 09:00 went for my foot massage. Having been to many spas around the world, the massage was nothing special and I could have simply passed.
At 12:00, I went to lunch at the Alain Ducasse restaurant. As the lounge was not as busy during this time, the service seemed to be much quicker.
Somehow, my time spent in the lounge passed by rather quickly. During this time, passengers arrived and left. I even spotted a man with a gun sticking out of his pocket while he was deciding which magazine/newspaper to read. To this day, my question has remained unanswered as to who he might be.
Could he be an air marshall? Could he be a personal bodyguard protecting a head of state or famous celebrity? I will probably never know. All I know was that he was not on my flight.
As the lounge seemed to get quieter, I tried to make out which of the passengers might be on my flight. However, none of the passengers I saw were on my flight. This was approximately 2 hours before departure at around 13:30.
Paris to New York (AF 10) w/ meal video
Eager to board my flight (departing 15:30), I had to approach the lounge staff a couple times to ask whether the flight has started to board yet. They said that they were still waiting for two passengers.
At approximately 14:45, a woman and her daughter (or colleague) appeared through the elevator at the front of the lounge with their La Premiere personal assistant. Apparently, they would be on my flight as I would later find out.
Perhaps frequent La Premiere passengers always show up at the last minute?
Unlike what would have happened if I were to fly Lufthansa First Class (if they have lots of first class passengers on the same flight, they would wait for them and drive them in a van to the aircraft), Air France assigned me with my own personal assistant who drove me directly to the aircraft in a sedan.
When the car arrived at the aircraft, I was led up the emergency exit stairs of the jet bridge and through the emergency door into the jet bridge.
Once onboard the aircraft, I was given a glass of champagne as my pre-departure beverage. As with the previous flight, Krug instead of Cristal was served. Since I wasn’t hungry after having lunch at the Alain Ducasse restaurant in the lounge, I told the flight attendant that I would be eating much later in the flight.
Today, the load in the La Premiere cabin was only 2/4. Myself, and the woman who arrived late at the lounge. She sat in the other window seat while her daughter was in Business Class. As there were only two passengers on the flight (both sitting in the window seats), the flight attendant closed the curtains around the two center seats. This created separate “private cabins” for each of us. I even joked to the flight attendant that this kind of reminded me of a hospital room. He replied and said “well, you won’t get food like this in a hospital!” as he later served my meal.
The menu on this flight was similar to that of my CDG-JNB flight with a few additional items added. Also, instead of breakfast, a light meal is served prior to arrival in JFK. Apparently, Air France also allows you to select a main course online prior to your flight. However, when I previously looked online, the options were for, Thai, Korean and Indian dishes. Not knowing the quality of the catering from Paris for ethnic cuisines, I decided to give it a pass and stick with French food on Air France.
Prior to the meal, like my CDG-JNB flight, there was a caviar service. I asked the flight attendant as to the origin of the caviar, but he seemed rather unsure and said it was “French caviar” while pointing to the menu. Compared to other airlines, Air France does not seem to do a very good job in their caviar service. Still a bit full from my lunch, I decided to go “healthy” this time and had soup, a lobster appetizer, a salad and a vegetable dish.
The following is a youtube video of the menu and some pictures I took of my meal. Note that as I didn’t feel like eating, I skipped the light meal prior to arrival.
Arrival at New York JFK
Due to strong tailwinds, the flight arrived in New York approximately one hour early. Because of this, it was a mad scramble for the La Premiere personal assistants in New York. They had to handle check-in for the 7PM A380 flight while trying to attend to my flight arriving early. According to the La Premiere personal assistant, almost all their flights have been arriving one hour early for the past week!
As a Canadian Nexus member, I had Global Entry privileges and did not really need the help of the personal assistant to help me skip the immigration lines. However, he was rather helpful at the baggage claim where he helped remove the plastic wrapping that was added to my bag when it was checked-in in Johannesburg.
Once through customs, he helped me to the passenger pick-up area to meet up with my Uber Black SUV driver who would take me to my hotel in Manhattan.
The End.
Upon arrival in Paris, La Premiere passengers were once again met by separate personal assistants at the jet bridge. One of myself and another for the French couple travelling together. The personal assistant meeting me was the same one who had previously met me on arrival of m JFK-CDG flight. Seems like Air France likes to assign the same personal assistants to the same passengers over and over again.
With a 05:45 arrival and an onwards connection to New York not departing until 15:30, this meant I had a connection of 9 hours and 45 minutes. As such, I asked my personal assistant on the possibility of getting a day room at the Sheraton CDG. She made a few calls and told me that a day room would not be available until 08:00. Given that I learned my lesson from the previous time (mediocre food at the Sheraton CDG), I decided that since I wanted to eat lunch at the Alain Ducasse restaurant in the La Premiere lounge, I needed to be back at the airport by 12:00 and spending 4 hours at the Sheraton CDG was not worth it.
As such, I asked my personal assistant to drive me to the La Premiere lounge. Since I would be flying on a connecting flight later in the day, I had to clear security before going into the lounge.
Once in the lounge, my personal assistant suggested that I book a 30 minute complimentary treatment at the in lounge spa. Apparently, the spa therapist only works from 08:00 until approximately 17:00. As such, it would appear that La Premiere passengers with flights departing in the evening may be out of luck. I opted to have a 30 minute foot massage at 09:00.
After arriving from a long flight, the first thing on my mind was to take a shower. Unlike other first class lounges such as Lufthansa’s First Class Terminal or Cathay Pacific’s The Wing / The Pier lounges, the Air France La Premiere lounge does not even have shower attendants on duty. In order to take a shower here, one would need to fend for themselves and look for an unoccupied shower room that has already been cleaned and stocked with towels and toiletries. Air France should at least hire some low paid new immigrant workers to work as shower attendants in the lounge!
Once all freshened up, I headed to the Alan Ducasse restaurant to have some breakfast. Again, I had to wait a while before a waiter even showed up. It appears as if most of the other passengers were simply eating food that was set out in the self-serve buffet and didn’t even bother to order their breakfast a la carte. Perhaps Air France is trying to cut costs by stiffing passengers who don’t fly La Premiere often and/or not savvy enough of the full dining privileges?
One of the advantages of the Air France La Premiere lounge in Paris is that it is reserved only for passengers (and maybe a guest) actually flying La Premiere. This makes the lounge less crowded and with lots of seating available to choose from. The First Class lounges of other carriers such as Lufthansa, British Airways and Cathay Pacific are often overrun with top tier elite frequent flyer members who often outnumber actual first class passengers. These include HON Circle Members (Lufthansa First Class Terminal), BA Gold Members with Concorde Room Cards (British Airways Concorde Room) and Marco Polo Diamond / Oneworld Emerald (Cathay Pacific The Wing/The Pier First Class lounges).
After breakfast, I relaxed in the lounge which catching up with my e-mails and at 09:00 went for my foot massage. Having been to many spas around the world, the massage was nothing special and I could have simply passed.
At 12:00, I went to lunch at the Alain Ducasse restaurant. As the lounge was not as busy during this time, the service seemed to be much quicker.
Somehow, my time spent in the lounge passed by rather quickly. During this time, passengers arrived and left. I even spotted a man with a gun sticking out of his pocket while he was deciding which magazine/newspaper to read. To this day, my question has remained unanswered as to who he might be.
Could he be an air marshall? Could he be a personal bodyguard protecting a head of state or famous celebrity? I will probably never know. All I know was that he was not on my flight.
As the lounge seemed to get quieter, I tried to make out which of the passengers might be on my flight. However, none of the passengers I saw were on my flight. This was approximately 2 hours before departure at around 13:30.
Paris to New York (AF 10) w/ meal video
Eager to board my flight (departing 15:30), I had to approach the lounge staff a couple times to ask whether the flight has started to board yet. They said that they were still waiting for two passengers.
At approximately 14:45, a woman and her daughter (or colleague) appeared through the elevator at the front of the lounge with their La Premiere personal assistant. Apparently, they would be on my flight as I would later find out.
Perhaps frequent La Premiere passengers always show up at the last minute?
Unlike what would have happened if I were to fly Lufthansa First Class (if they have lots of first class passengers on the same flight, they would wait for them and drive them in a van to the aircraft), Air France assigned me with my own personal assistant who drove me directly to the aircraft in a sedan.
When the car arrived at the aircraft, I was led up the emergency exit stairs of the jet bridge and through the emergency door into the jet bridge.
Once onboard the aircraft, I was given a glass of champagne as my pre-departure beverage. As with the previous flight, Krug instead of Cristal was served. Since I wasn’t hungry after having lunch at the Alain Ducasse restaurant in the lounge, I told the flight attendant that I would be eating much later in the flight.
Today, the load in the La Premiere cabin was only 2/4. Myself, and the woman who arrived late at the lounge. She sat in the other window seat while her daughter was in Business Class. As there were only two passengers on the flight (both sitting in the window seats), the flight attendant closed the curtains around the two center seats. This created separate “private cabins” for each of us. I even joked to the flight attendant that this kind of reminded me of a hospital room. He replied and said “well, you won’t get food like this in a hospital!” as he later served my meal.
The menu on this flight was similar to that of my CDG-JNB flight with a few additional items added. Also, instead of breakfast, a light meal is served prior to arrival in JFK. Apparently, Air France also allows you to select a main course online prior to your flight. However, when I previously looked online, the options were for, Thai, Korean and Indian dishes. Not knowing the quality of the catering from Paris for ethnic cuisines, I decided to give it a pass and stick with French food on Air France.
Prior to the meal, like my CDG-JNB flight, there was a caviar service. I asked the flight attendant as to the origin of the caviar, but he seemed rather unsure and said it was “French caviar” while pointing to the menu. Compared to other airlines, Air France does not seem to do a very good job in their caviar service. Still a bit full from my lunch, I decided to go “healthy” this time and had soup, a lobster appetizer, a salad and a vegetable dish.
The following is a youtube video of the menu and some pictures I took of my meal. Note that as I didn’t feel like eating, I skipped the light meal prior to arrival.
Arrival at New York JFK
Due to strong tailwinds, the flight arrived in New York approximately one hour early. Because of this, it was a mad scramble for the La Premiere personal assistants in New York. They had to handle check-in for the 7PM A380 flight while trying to attend to my flight arriving early. According to the La Premiere personal assistant, almost all their flights have been arriving one hour early for the past week!
As a Canadian Nexus member, I had Global Entry privileges and did not really need the help of the personal assistant to help me skip the immigration lines. However, he was rather helpful at the baggage claim where he helped remove the plastic wrapping that was added to my bag when it was checked-in in Johannesburg.
Once through customs, he helped me to the passenger pick-up area to meet up with my Uber Black SUV driver who would take me to my hotel in Manhattan.
The End.
Dec 14, 2016, 12:27 am
#8
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: MAN
Programs: FB Platinum
Posts: 500
The "man with the gun" was present when I was in the CDG lounge too. He fingered the magazines a few times and generally looked ill at ease. I supposed he was just part of the increased state of alert that France is under at the moment but his presence did seem incongruous with the ambience of the lounge - and that feeling was written all over his face throughout.
Oh - and excellent report. Pretty much summed up my experiences, at least those we had in common.
Oh - and excellent report. Pretty much summed up my experiences, at least those we had in common.
