At Roissy CDG airport

Now the second part. We took flight 022 from AF to NYC. We had to come very early in the morning as it departed at 9:00 am. Before boarding, I visited a bit the brand new section of CDG airport, the S3 terminal. It was really magnificent, compared to the other parts of CDG airport (especially the awful Terminal 1). It had loads of shops (luxury ones for most of the time), comfortable seating, and a nice architecture.

boarding,seats, kits

Now the flight. We boarded a bit behind of schedule (I guess due to rainy conditions at CDG), but what I found strange is that at the security section I was the only one who was asked to remove his shoes (and we were 3), and this once during the security check, once prior boarding ! I didn't understand why. Today's aircraft was a B777-200ER, registration F-GSPK (built in 2000). Once onboard, I had the bad surprise to find that they put at the very last row. This meant that during they entire flight, the seats would not recline, and that every single turbulence would shaken us. Seating was a 3-3-3 arrangement. Soon after boarding we were distributes small amenity kits and there were already blankets on the seats. The kits were spartan, but adequate, as they contained some eyeshades, ear plugs and earphones. Still better than OA, which does not provide any, even in business class.

In-flight

Quite soon after take-off, we were distibuted some small menu cards, which indicated us today's selection. There was a brunch and a light meal prior landing, the brunch's main course having two choices, caramelised apples with pancake, or an omelette with ratatouille. I took the pancakes, which were pretty good. This meal was quite comprehensive, with also a yoghurt and other breakfast items and thus filling. I was somewhat astonished to see that they provided us with real cuttlery. The inflight magazine was quite good also. There was also the IFE screen which provided some entertainment. It was not AVOD, and I found the screen pretty small (not that I was expecting a 23in one) but there were some interesting features nevertheless, such as connecting flights info, movies, news in french and english, music, games, and so on. I saw the Zodiac and Michou d'auber. During the flight, they left some bottles opened near the galleys with ice and glasses, which was a good idea. As for the FA, they were good in general; only one stewart had a mediocre english. The flight was uneventful in general, but I noticed some turbulences over the atlantic. Around an hour before landing we were served the second meal, which was supposed to be a lunch. I found it to be very disappointing compared to the previous meal. It was a tiny couscous with a small salad and a drink. For an almost 8 hour flight, some more generous portions would have been welcomed !

Landing and JFK airport

Landing was not too hard, and soon we found ourselves in Terminal 1. To be honest, I was disappointed not to see more aircraft rather than just some Delta MD80s, and the Terminal itself could have been a little more arranged and decorated.

conclusion

This flight was ok, but I do not recommend taking it, because I found the meal service too light on this morning flight. There are many other flights from CDG to NYC later in the day, I recommend taking those instead.