nycflyer75

AIR FRANCE 276
From: Paris Charles De Gaulle, FR (CDG)
Terminal 2E S3 Gate: 57
To: Tokyo Narita International Airport, JP (NRT)
A380-800 Affaires
Seat: 70A upper deck
Departure: 1:33pm Actual: 1:50pm
Arrival: 9:10am Actual: 9:11am

As my transfer flight from BSL was late arriving I began to panic a little thinking I might not have much time to relax in the the Air France lounge so I rushed off the plane onto the tarmac and into the 2G terminal following the signs to the 2E transfer. Seconds later I was standing in front of an immigration officer who was waiting for passengers in a small booth shared with another immigration officer. A small waiting area was right behind their glass cubical. Passport scanned, stamped and I had officially departed France (French immigration officers don't speak or ask questions, just smile). I walked into the small waiting room and waited for a bus to take me directly to 2E.

Was it just that simple, for a moment I stood there thinking how awesome that was to arrive at 2G and go through immigration right there for my intercontinental flight at another terminal, almost felt like my own private waiting area. Ok maybe it's not like Lufthansa's First class terminal at Frankfurt (dying to experience that one day) but it sure beats a bustling crowd. There must have been only 5 people waiting for the bus...well until I was joined by the group of students going to Africa or was it South America, I really should have remembered that. They were so excited to travel! Well I was too!

I must have waited for about 2 minutes when the white bus rolls up and through the glass doors we boarded the bus. A friendly Haitian man helped everyone onto the bus and made sure we all knew where we were going and where to get off. He waved and wished us a wonderful onward journey.
There was going to be two stops. First stop was 2E S3 (newer satellite terminal) where I was going to get off and then the main terminal of 2E. Sweet!!! I was going to get there in plenty of time and I was much relieved. I wish they did the bus transfer between all the terminals so that you don't have to go through security every time.
We passed the new S4 terminal still under construction then drove past 2 Vietnam airlines 777's and their striking deep color scheme against a foggy Paris day. We then drove under the middle of the S3 terminal and were met by a gate agent to guide us up the flight of stairs from outside to directly into the S3 departure gate area. Again, I felt a little special, well its not like riding in porsche to the aircraft but still felt great or maybe it was that I was about to ride the A380-800. After this flight I would have traveled on all the Airbus planes. A300, A310, A318, A319, A320, A321, A330, A340, A380.

I quite like the look of the 3E S3 terminal with their big two level glass walls. But there was no time to walk around the terminal, I headed straight for the nearest Air France lounge. I took the elevator up to the lounge and was impressed with how big the lounge was with 3 seating sections. I was greeted by the desk agent and hurried to find a place to relax and have a glass of...yup, champagne! I wondered around and noticed there is a facial and massage room for passengers, bummed I wish I could have gotten there earlier and tried that. Next time!

Air France salon in quiet and has modern decor, the food selection has much to be desired especially for an intercontinental terminal, however there was a great selection of wine and champagne.













Boarding announcement was made in the Lounge at 12:55pm and by the time I arrived at the boarding area it was quiet. I can only assume La Première and Affaires had already boarded and there was a small trickling line for Economy. I walked straight up to the La Première/Affaires gate agents, boarding pass scanned and was wished a good day by the agent and off I went to take the escalators to the 2nd floor to board the A380-800 on the upper deck. Walking to the aircraft you immediately see outside of the air bridge as it's all glass, I really love that about CDG. Maybe all airports should have this too. You truly get to experience the magnitude of such a stunning aircraft like the A380. On entering the upper deck I was greeted by a French Flight attendant and a Japanese flight attendant, I turned right to the main Affaires cabin and took my seat 70A. Originally I was seated in the front cabin but changed seats once it was apparent it would be a light load on this Wednesday flight, so I could have the seat next to me free. I didn't realize until I was settled that in fact it was a very light load. There must have been 10 people in the main Affaires cabin. A few Passengers from the front were moved to the main Affaires cabin to give everyone more space. 3 non-revs , one being the daughter of the captain were later seated at the very back of the Affaires cabin. (I saw them all get on the crew's bus at Narita)

There was mixture of French and Japanese flight attendants on board obviously to attend to the Japanese passengers. I changed right away into comfortable clothes in the huge bathroom and settled into my seat. I do have to say it feels a little cramped once you first sit down in the Affaires seats. Maybe it was because I was in a bulkhead seat (Affaires 3B) from JFk-CDG and had gotten used to it. To my left was a large and deep window cabinet to put my clothes, toiletries, iPad etc and you could put your shoes in there too. (my shoe's had to go above because I was wearing my heavy snow boots for the Finland section of my my trip) I also love the fact there were slippers to put on which are really only for the flights to Asia nonetheless I donned them on and was settled in for a long 13 hour flight. Pre departure drinks were offered, champagne/orange juice/water about 10 minutes before departure. What do you think I chose....? Hum perhaps it was a glass of champagne haha. It felt like a private cabin as we had 4 flight attendants serving about a dozen people.


A380-800 at 2E S3 bound for Tokyo, Japan


Comfy slippers only for flights to Asia



We pushed back a little late on a dreary rainy day in Paris. Right away you notice that from the upper deck you don't hear the noise of the engines, well taxing I didn't hear them. I am trying to remember but I think we took off from 27L so we must have taxied for at least a good 10 minutes.
What's truly impressive is the forward facing camera mounted on the tail during take off. As we began our roll down the runway the usual high pitch noise was not to be heard, in fact what you really hear is the rattle of the fuselage rather than the actual engines. It must have been a truly light load because what should have been a long roll down the runway was instead a few seconds and we were airborne.

The route today was over Denmark, through Sweden, past Finland, then over the tip of Siberia, Russia down through the sea of Japan and land heading south into Narita. There was a bit of turbulence as we climbed over northern France so this time the seat belt sign was kept illuminated for a few minutes. Once the sign was turned off the flight attendant went to work. The male flight attendant on my side was exceptional, I do wish I had asked his name. (Air France flight crew don't have name tags) he made me feel like I was the only one in the cabin or maybe because I pretty much was lol. Menus were handed out and of course with a top off of champagne. He most certainly kept the champagne and exquisite red wine flowing. The menu on todays flight had a lot more choices. First up

L'AMUSE-BOUCHE
cream cheese
Salmon
otsumami おつまみ
Apéricrêpes

GOURMET APPETIZERS
Exquisite duck & goose foie gras terrine, scallop tartare, herb creme walnut, fig and chestnut loaf, fig chutney and baby spinach

MAIN COURSE
4 choices from "suggestions of the day"
Japanese Specialty
Duck with teriyaki sauce rice,
Chicken fricassee with Madagascar lime
Baked fillet of groupe
Polenta with vegetables

CHEESE
Camembert, comté

I decided to have the Japanese meal of duck in teriyaki sauce, rice and vegetables. The rice was served on some sort of baking sheet which probably was meant not to absorb too much of the teriyaki sauce. I paired the dish with Bordeaux Rouge "vintage 2007, will delight you with a smooth harmonious palate..." which really was the most incredible red wine I've ever had on an aircraft, followed by an amazing dessert selection

DESSERT
dessert trio:
Cappuccino parfait
Fig shortbread
Chocolate cake
Sorbet and ice-cream
Fresh fruit

EXPRESSO SERVED AT THE BAR
cappuccino, cafe au lait












Duck in Teriyaki sauce with rice, may not look as appealing but tasted great!


wonderful cappuccino, chocolate ice-cream and 3 little desserts


second section of the upper deck Affaires class. About to go to sleep

With the full meal service over I prepared to get some rest so off I strolled to the spacious bathroom, face cleansed (random question why don't they have Evian facial spray bottles, those are awesome!) and headed back to recline the seat to it's full flat position - almost (170 degrees) ear buds in, eye shade on and it was time to sleep. Once again the cabin was just too warm to sleep so I took the socks off and rolled up the track pants took a sleeping tablet and out I was for a full 6 hours of sleep. I woke to the aroma of coffee and breakfast as we were about an hour or so out of Tokyo. Some folks slept right till the cabin was prepared for final approach.

Side note; I would have liked to have tried the mid-flight buffet but sleep was a priority.

BREAKFAST
Fruit juice, tea, coffee, hot chocolate
Baked caramel apple with raspberry coulis
Cereal yogurt
Croissant butter and preserves

CHOICE OF ENTREE
omelette, ricotta cheese cream sauce with chives , cherry

Grilled chicken, ham with ricotta cheese,
Cucumber roulade with Boursin cheese, Gouda cheese,
Sun dried tomato, lambs lettuce

Once I sat up from my deep slumber, the male flight attendant appeared before me and cheerly asked if I would like some breakfast. As I wasn't very hungry and just needed some coffee I opted for the grilled chicken...what a mistake that was, talk about bland!
Coffee and croissant would have to do. After breakfast I used the spacious bathroom on the port side and changed back into my regular clothes freshened up, feeling vibrant, refreshed and ready to tackle a full day in Tokyo.

We began our final decent into Tokyo Narita on a gloomy day, guess we brought the weather from Paris with us. Landing on runway 16R. It's remarkable how soft and quiet the landing was, though we did take almost the entire runway to stop, exiting the 2nd last exit.
We parked at the gate and we waited for a few minutes for the upper Left door to open and then off the A380 wishing to fly her again (which was going to be in a few days) The walk towards immigration a bit long walking around the building through a long open air tunnel, down a few stairs and finally to the open Immigration hall. It was remarkable there was no one there at 9:15 in the morning. I stepped forward, presented my passport and landing card to the immigration officer who greeted me with a Good Morning and a smile. I had my photo taken and index fingers scanned. The immigration officer was so polite and it's the first impression of how courteous Japan is, efficient, precise and polite. It's good to be back in the land of the rising sun. Welcome to Japan. 日本へようこそ
5-10 mins after leaving the aircraft I was outside. I headed right to the limousine bus service, paid ¥6000 for a roundtrip ticket, first stop the ANA hotel in Akasaka where I would get off. Included in the fare was a two day unlimited subway rides on the Tokyo metro. This price is only for foreigners who present a foreign passport.

Off to Tokyo I go...


Breakfast - should have chosen something else!


Over Russia early morning


Front facing Camera from the tail

HD VIDEO TRIP REPORT AF 276
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmCjbZXV5VE&hd=1