Night Service (JFK)
Mar 11, 2019, 3:51 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2018
Location: NY
Programs: DL DM (ST E+), AA PM, UA GM
Posts: 79
Night Service (JFK)
Had my first opportunity to experience "Night Service" and it was really nice! What a pleasure to be able to eat my dinner in peace with plenty of space at a table and at my own pace... I was then able to board and simply go to sleep, maximizing my rest time on this overnight flight.
This is definitely a service that I will be utilizing on all my overnight flights...
This is definitely a service that I will be utilizing on all my overnight flights...
Mar 12, 2019, 7:11 am
#4
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 229
It's only available on AF 9 and AF 11, i.e. the post-19:00 flights from JFK to CDG. (I'm not familiar with BA's sleeper service so can't comment there.)
Mar 12, 2019, 7:48 am
#5
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Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: NYC
Posts: 27,231
BA's sleeper service is on most east coast redeye TATL's, where they encourage you to eat dinner in the lounge (usually a full hot/cold buffet), and offer minimal onboard services after takeoff. (I think you can usually get a semi-substantial hot snack if you want). This results in a quieter cabin for everyone. I think Virgin Atlantic does something similar (though they dropped their "snooze zone" years ago I believe, where there was NO service on-board).
My understanding about AF (and this wasn't offered to me in November, possibly as the AF lounge was closed for renovations) is that you have the option to have your meal served in the lounge instead of on board, but it's the same meal. But I'm happy to be corrected.
My understanding about AF (and this wasn't offered to me in November, possibly as the AF lounge was closed for renovations) is that you have the option to have your meal served in the lounge instead of on board, but it's the same meal. But I'm happy to be corrected.
Mar 12, 2019, 8:01 am
#6
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We have rumors in another thread that this service could come soon in IAD with the on-going renovation and lounge extension on another floor. I hope it’s true. They should also extend it to all JFK flights (not only 011/009) and to BOS and YUL.
Mar 12, 2019, 8:02 am
#7
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Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: New York, NY, USA
Posts: 12,482
That's correct. It is exactly the same main course as on board. AF lounge agent also marks your seat number so cabin crew knows that you have had your meal. I am not sure if you can have another meal on board as I didn't ask.
Mar 12, 2019, 8:12 am
#8
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Mar 12, 2019, 7:49 pm
#10
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: NYC
Programs: BA BAEC Gold (oW Emerald), AF/KLM FB Plat (ST E+), *Alliance Nada
Posts: 299
Same meal but with an extra choice of main course + you have access to the lounge buffet with some cold items.
We have rumors in another thread that this service could come soon in IAD with the on-going renovation and lounge extension on another floor. I hope it’s true. They should also extend it to all JFK flights (not only 011/009) and to BOS and YUL.
And then... on my AF019 (JFK-ORY) flight at 7:30pm three weeks ago, I was very surprised to see a menu on the table, and when I inquired the lounge waitress about it, she did tell me that I could order whatever I wanted. I ordered the fish and it was delicious.
However, that was not the same menu as on-board. Inflight, I was still hungry and got the meal service. The flight attendant could not have known I ate in the lounge anyway, because the waitress didn’t ask for my name or my boarding pass at all, unlike a year and a half ago, where there were agents filtering and checking in business class pax on the 2nd floor for the Night Service.
I have to admit I am totally clueless about those:
1. Was it random and I was lucky to get a menu on my table and happened to ask about it? I was the only one, it seemed, to have ordered a dish à la carte, and not the buffet, and a lot of passengers looked at me with envy when they saw me served a nice hot dish. Or is it a hidden perk, and people need to ask about it? Maybe someone can ask if you happen to visit the lounge.
2. Was it because a lot of us complaining about the service not available for earlier flights prompted AF to allow the lounge to serve pax, but only on a on-demand basis?
I noticed that when I left the lounge to board my flight, there were two AF “guarding” the entrance of the 2nd floor, probably checking-in pax for the “official” Night Service.
Conclusion is that, if you know about it, you can ask for the menu and a hot dish even if you are not on the AF011/AF009 flights. Just ask the lounge waitress for the menu, and you will be served your hot dish in the official AF china, and cutlery wrapped in the napkin with the grey/blue string, exactly like the onboard service.
Confirmation from a fellow pax needed though!
Cheers,
-vinnyc
Mar 12, 2019, 8:02 pm
#11
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Speaking only about my experience at JFK, I was indeed frustrated that the Night Service was only offered to the AF011 & AF009 flights, at least that was my experiences a year and a half ago when I flew AF011. I did complain about it not available to the earlier AF flights.
And then... on my AF019 (JFK-ORY) flight at 7:30pm three weeks ago, I was very surprised to see a menu on the table, and when I inquired the lounge waitress about it, she did tell me that I could order whatever I wanted. I ordered the fish and it was delicious.
However, that was not the same menu as on-board. Inflight, I was still hungry and got the meal service. The flight attendant could not have known I ate in the lounge anyway, because the waitress didn’t ask for my name or my boarding pass at all, unlike a year and a half ago, where there were agents filtering and checking in business class pax on the 2nd floor for the Night Service.
I have to admit I am totally clueless about those:
1. Was it random and I was lucky to get a menu on my table and happened to ask about it? I was the only one, it seemed, to have ordered a dish à la carte, and not the buffet, and a lot of passengers looked at me with envy when they saw me served a nice hot dish. Or is it a hidden perk, and people need to ask about it? Maybe someone can ask if you happen to visit the lounge.
2. Was it because a lot of us complaining about the service not available for earlier flights prompted AF to allow the lounge to serve pax, but only on a on-demand basis?
I noticed that when I left the lounge to board my flight, there were two AF “guarding” the entrance of the 2nd floor, probably checking-in pax for the “official” Night Service.
Conclusion is that, if you know about it, you can ask for the menu and a hot dish even if you are not on the AF011/AF009 flights. Just ask the lounge waitress for the menu, and you will be served your hot dish in the official AF china, and cutlery wrapped in the napkin with the grey/blue string, exactly like the onboard service.
Confirmation from a fellow pax needed though!
Cheers,
-vinnyc
Mar 12, 2019, 10:12 pm
#12
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: NYC
Programs: BA BAEC Gold (oW Emerald), AF/KLM FB Plat (ST E+), *Alliance Nada
Posts: 299
For AF023/007/019, there is indeed a menu available to order a main course and my understanding is that you are “on your own” for appetizer, cheese, desert and drinks using the buffet (while all those, including drinks, are served by the waiter at your table for AF011/009). There are some signs upstairs advertising the availability of hot main courses, but it’s not really advertised by the staff. So what you had is not an exception. It is available every day but in a more systematic fashion now since the renovation of the upper floor.
Makes totally sense now. It was indeed the first time I flew AF after a while, and especially after the renovation/reopening of the JFK Lounge.
Mar 13, 2019, 11:09 am
#13
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Champaign, IL
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Posts: 524
According to the maitre d' in the mezzanine, about 60% of the J PAXs dine there, but a fraction have another dinner aboard.
Mar 19, 2019, 6:48 am
#14
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: SEA once more (previously CDG and NRT)
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Posts: 2,450
For some reason, I thought they had gotten rid of this - glad to know it is still around, as I'm taking AF009 in a couple of weeks.