Now that I've finally experienced this I think I'm qualified to respond/comment...
Originally Posted by
FrenchMerican
The ground experience is virtually flawless. One minor nitpick: When flying alone, ensuring each passenger has a separate car for the transfers would add to the exclusive feel of the product.
For my flight yesterday there were 2 singles and one pair so 3 cars were used. Perhaps they listened to you. My escort was most charming and amusing and checked up on me regularly during my 5 hour layover. He even took time out to show me where I could go for a smoke. 10/10
Originally Posted by
FrenchMerican
The hard product on the 777 is exceptional. I was wary of the curtain concept before trying it, and am deeply impressed at how spacious it remains while being private and very functional.
Agreed... mostly. I found the cabin to be a bit airless. A minor niggle really because everything else was just perfect.
Originally Posted by
FrenchMerican
Please get rid of the little crackers at the seat before takeoff. These feel decidedly non-premium.
No crackers for me until the delivery of the caviar.
Originally Posted by
FrenchMerican
Having invested so much in so many places, I'm surprised they can't manage a proper caviar service. For an airline which doesn't hesitate to serve Cristal onboard, this seems like a no-brainer, and would round out the indulgence factor. Indeed, having a few extra tins would really create a wow.
The caviar service was spot on imho. I'm no expert however... and I don't even like caviar.
Originally Posted by
FrenchMerican
While the food in the lounge is out of this world for airport fare, I find the menus onboard sparse in general in terms of variety, and the quality of catering ex-CDG is surprisingly average, (it seems consistently higher ex-JFK, except for the cheese.) Don't get me wrong....it's a solid offering, decent quality and plenty of food.....but it doesn't quite live up to the rest of the experience. More choice would be welcome.
I had a full choice of 4 for main course and 2 for the 1st. Just one soup (lentil) which was outstandaing but not to everyone's taste.
Originally Posted by
FrenchMerican
The wine quality is very good, though back in my heavy drinking days I would have been a little irritated at Bombay Sapphire in this setting. And being a French airline, please load a good vintage Calvados for heaven's sake!
I didn't see the gin. They could do better than Heineken for the beer though. The cognac was to die for. I thought the wine was average, high end average yes but that's still average. I never expect Chateau Latour but the estates the wines are sourced are a bit boring.
My trip was MAN-CDG-HND, there were minor complaints (see below) but the experience in total means I'm really looking forwards to the reverse trip in 3 weeks time.
Observed minor complaints: At MAN I had to use the Escape lounge - that's all there is; it took the dragons a wee while to figure out that I was La Premiere. They were fantastic once that was realised and I was shown to a table with fruit and papers then offered table service for my stay. There was no escort.
In the lounge; the Maitre D was ambivalent to those he didn't know; for example when I was giving him my order he just walked off to shake hands with a regular. I thought that was extremely rude. At no point during the meal was I offered wine - I eventually caught the eye of the lady working at the bar. When I asked for the food menu there was no acknowledgment of my request until the menu was dropped unceremoniously on my table. Upon the change of personnel service improved exponentially.