OK,
The return portion of the trip.
TW 819 CDG-STL 767-200
We were originally scheduled to go through JFK to connect to STL, but a nice agent at the TWA CTO in Paris changed our reservation so that we could save several hours by taking the nonstop.
Arrived early at CDG due to a very fast cab ride from Paris. Check-in for the 855 AM flight opened a little before 7. TWA operates from Aerogare 1 at CDG, with separate ticket counters for the main cabin and TWOne. Check-in was efficient and accompanied by a battery of security questions. After finishing there, headed up to the Ambassadors Club located above the duty free shops. It's a pretty nice area, with an open-bar and those terrific chocolate croissants in the morning. Spent about an hour at the club before heading for the gate, and more security questions. TWA runs a very nice operation at CDG, probably from the days where the airline had a mini-hub at the airport.
The weather in Paris was foggy w/ a very low ceiling that morning. The inbound plane from New York was a little late, and we began boarding around 845, 10 minutes prior to departure. This time, the TWOne cabin had 17 passengers, with 5 being non-revs.
Prior to takeoff, a round of drinks were offered, as well as menus and movie selection cards.
Since it was a daytime flight as well as being longer than the Eastbound, there was more meal service featured, which I'll detail below. We were seated in row 3 this time, which did have quite a bit more legroom than the bulkhead row. The plane was painted in the nice, new TWA colors and in very good shape inside.
Lunch orders were taken right after takeoff, followed by the hot towels. Before the snack service started, a tray with linens and all the accompanying silverware, salt/pepper etc is wheeled around the cabin.
The "To start" snacks accompanying the post-takeoff drinks weren't all that good, but everything else I had was excellent. I had heard that the catering from CDG was among the best in the systen, and it certainly proved to be true.
Picked the chilled lobster and salmon appetizer over the escargots in puff pastry- both looked terrific. The salad was again served from a cart by your seat, this time with seasonal greens and accompaniments like chicken, fresh mushrooms, etc.
Main course selections were a New Zealand Rack of Lamb, Tenderlon of Beef, Breat of Quail, and a Seafood Bouillabaisse. I ended up w/ the lamb, which was cooked to order and quite good. I was tempted by the bouillabaisse just to see what it would taste like on a plane...A cheese board and a Pineapple and Kiwi Tart served as dessert, along with a basket of fresh fruit with the dessert tray.
About halfway through the flight, a movie snack of Haagen-Daz ice cream was served. Then, about 45 minutes prior to landing in STL a snack of chilled shrimp, prawns and scallops was served, accompanied by a warm Croque Monsieur (basically a ham, cheese and egg sandwish) This was followed by an extremely rich, warm Pear in Puff Pastry dessert.
Service was again very good, though not quite up to the standards of the STL-CDG flight. Again 3 F/A's working the FC cabin. My girlfriend slept through the lunch service, but when she woke up, an F/A came right and offered to make her a large salad, some cheese and fruit, etc...we watched the Replacements on the main screen and The Patriot on the personal tv (you can plug both headsets into one armrest for audio)- a nice feature for those traveling together and wanting to watch the same movie.
The flight was mostly smooth until we some pretty heavy winds coming down over Canada. Still not bad for this time of year. Prior to landing in STL, one of the F/A's came around to each passenger and thanked us for our business and wished us happy holidays and that they would see us again in the future.
We landed in STL in some light snow and low ceiling conditions about 30 minutes early. St. Louis has a very small immigration/customs area located below gate C32 (only a few gates are "sterile." Immigration was quick, bags came out relatively quickly, and we cleared customs within 15 or 20 minutes of landing. Unfortunately, due to the location of the customs facility in STL, even passengers terminating in STL must put checked bags back on a conveyor belt to reclaim in the general baggage claim area. I was told that this is because there is no space for a tunnel from C32 to the baggage claim (if you've been through STL, you know that it's a long way) and that checked bags can contain items not allowed in carry-ons, thus these bags cannot be taken through the passenger areas of the terminal.
Anyways, both flights were quite enjoyable and certainly made the entire trip all the more pleasant. TWOne is quite a nice product that is made even better by the quality of the crews.
[This message has been edited by socalterp (edited 12-28-2000).]
[This message has been edited by socalterp (edited 12-28-2000).]