Part 2: Paris CDG – Cairo in EgyptAir Business Class


With a short 85 minute layover at CDG, I was worried whether I’d make the connection or not. After notifying the purser on SK569 I was granted permission to de-board first. Fearing chaos at the terminal, I was surprised to find the place practically deserted. After leisurely strolling over to the EgyptAir check-in counters where I picked up a new boarding pass for the Cairo portion of the trip.

Having done that, I headed straight towards the non-Schengen satellite for security and passport control. Not wanting to risk missing my flight, I skipped out on the lounge this time. Passport control was empty, as well as the fasttrack security lane, and soon I stood face to face with the Triple-7 that would be doing the honours this afternoon.


Flight: MS800 CDG-CAI
Departure: 14.35
Arrival: 20.00
Duration: 4h 25m
Seat: 9A


The boarding was delayed by 20 minutes due to a late arrival of the incoming aircraft, but eventually a priority call was made from Gate 18. For some reason the agent manning the priority gate refused to let me pass, assuming that I didn’t look the part to be a *G or traveling in Business. Eventually he spotted the tag on my bag, and waved me over.

Once onboard, I got a somewhat cold reception from the crew. No welcomes or no smiles, just ”first aisle to the left, please”.



Business Class cabin during boarding.

As I entered the cabin, I was somewhat surprised that it had already began showing signs of age. Despite the plane being just two years old, the cabin could easily have been mistaken for a 10 year old plane. After stowing my trolley in the overhead bin, I settled down into the seat. The legroom was massive, perhaps a bit too much. They could’ve easily fitted a 5th row in the front cabin and still offer plenty of room. The crew was nowhere to be seen, as passengers began filling the cabin.



Plenty of legroom in those seats. Each row had 4 windows!

The seats were comfortable, offering an ample amount of storage space. Seat controls were plentiful, making it quite easy to find a comfortable lounging position.



15 inch IFE screen. The selection was fairly decent.



Seat controls. A massage feature was available as well.

Eventually all passengers had boarded, filling up the entire front Business Class section. The rear section was blocked off for the whole flight. Most of my fellow passengers were nouveau riche egyptians, with Louis Vuitton bags and expensive watches, including the woman next to me who, well was not the friendliest.

We eventually began our taxi, during which the young female flight attendant serving our row, began offering pre-departure beverages. Since EgyptAir is a dry airline, the choices were either OJ, water or Guava Juice.



I opted for the Guava Juice, which was served lukewarm in a plastic glass.

Soon our mighty Triple-7 reached the runway, before taking off with a great force.



Leaving CDG after using a third of the runway’s length.

The plane reached cruising altitude in no time at all, but despite that the crew were nowhere to be seen for the first thirty minutes of the flight. In the meantime I began watching Ruby Sparks on the IFE, a great film but with some hard-to-watch scenes.



The 777 Cabin, shortly after reaching cruise.

Eventually our flight attendant appeared from the galley with a tray of table linens. Without a word, she placed it on my table. No pre-meal drink orders were taken, and soon I was presented with my starter tray.



Starter consisting of foie grass, fig paste, spicy paprika and basil.

While the combination of sweet and salty flavours was strange, the taste was even stranger. The bread which the foie grass was served on tasted more like a sweet sponge cake. The foie grass was rather flavourless. The fig paste and paprika remained untouched.

So far, I was not impressed with the starter, and to make matters worse the flight attendant was in big hurry to serve the main course. I kindly asked to have it served a few moments later, which didn’t make her very pleased. So I opted for the fish, which she placed on the drink tray.



Main course of salmon, sweet rice, hollandaise sauce, steamed spinach and carrots.

Once again the main course didn’t impress either. The salmon was served lukewarm, the sweet raisin rice mixed terribly with the savoury sauce, spinach had a bitter taste, and the carrots were undercooked. And as if this wasn’t bad enough, the flight attendant was back five minutes later to collect the trays. Many of my fellow passengers handed away trays half-full with food. I on the other hand asked for some more time to finish the food, which was met with a deep sigh.

After the service was finished, the crew retreated into the galley, not to be seen again for the rest of the flight. It took quite some time before my tray was cleared and dessert was served.



Dessert consisting of a coconut cheesecake with caramel sauce.

The dessert which neither looked nor tasted like cheesecake, was overly sweet and served with a plastic spoon. I only took a few bites before deciding that this was too darn sugary for me.

All in all I can’t say that I was happy with the soft product that EgyptAir had to offer. The quality of the food was below what most airlines serve in Economy Class, and the same goes for the crew. Nevertheless my expectations for the airline were set quite low, so I wasn’t too disappointed.

With roughly two hours left of the flight, I put the seat in bed mode and watched a few TV-shows before falling asleep.



The seat in bed mode. It doesn’t go completely flat, but it’s comfortable enough.

Eventually we began our descent into Cairo International Airport, and soon enough our Triple-7 made a smooth touchdown, and an on-time arrival to the gate. Two jetways were attached to the aircraft, and Business Class passengers were allowed to de-plane from door 1L. Economy Class passengers were held in the aisle for a while until all Business Class passengers had de-planed.

At the customs hall I was met up with a representative from the Radisson Blu. He was friendly, and assisted me in all the procedures of obtaining a visa, collecting luggage and passing customs, before handing me over to the driver of the shuttle bus. For a chaotic airport like Cairo, it was an absolute bliss. The transfer service is available for $10, and I hugely recommend it for anyone staying at the hotel.


Radisson Blu Hotel Cairo Heliopolis


It took me one hour in total to reach the hotel, after disembarking the plane. At check-in an over friendly male receptionist decided to pre-authorise my card with $500 without my approval. Worse was the fact that I didn’t receive an upgrade either, since this hotel only upgrade Concierge Elite members. If there’s one thing I dislike about Radisson it’s their upgrade policy.



The fairly impressive Atrium.

For allegedly being a five star hotel, I wasn’t too impressed with the room. While it was clean and comfortable, it felt more like a Holiday Inn than a Radisson Blu. Being in the same price range as the Hilton, I would even recall the Radisson Blu offering less value for the money. If it wasn’t for the 2-for-1 rate of course.



My Standard Room at the Radisson Blu.



Average bathroom.

A welcome arrangement consisting of a large fruit plane and petit fours hand been placed on the coffee table, along with a hand written welcome card. In the end, the hotel managed to fulfil its basic need, and I was left pretty satisfied mainly due to the friendly staff and proximity to the airport.


To be continued soon. Comments are much appreciated!