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So what is Tempo Challenge again?

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Old Sep 28, 2005, 2:54 pm
  #1  
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So what is Tempo Challenge again?

My BP said Tempo Challenge on today's CDG-NAP flight. The web says Tempo Challenge has...

# during your flight
You travel in a reserved area.

On arrival
# You have priority in disembarking.
# Your baggage is delivered in high priority.

Additional Miles
When traveling with Tempo Challenge, multiply your Fréquence Plus Miles by 1.5.

Meals

Beverages
Enjoy a wide choice of hot and cold beverages, including wines and apéritifs.
# All flights offer champagne, except at the breakfast hour.
# The wine selection is identical to that in l´Espace Affaires (Business) cabin class.

Meals
A hot or cold meal is served depending on the departure time and length of flight.
Between 55 mins. and 1 hr. 15 mins.
# Breakfast: tray with pastry, an open-faced sandwich, cup of milk, fruit salad and cream cheese, orange juice and hot beverages.
# Meals: small tray with open-faced sandwiches, pastry, and water.

Between 1 hr. 20 mins. and 1 hr. 55 mins.
Cold meal.

Greater than 2 hrs.
Hot meal.

Tableware designed by Radi Designer for Air France.

Entertainment

To complement your trip, the Tempo Challenge cabin offers you:
# a selection of French and international newspapers and magazines;
- video programming;
# stereo headphones for music and videos;
# duty-free shopping.



But I didn't seen any of that? It was just normal economy. It's too early for the miles to show up, but I wonder if I'll get the 50% bonus.
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Old Sep 29, 2005, 12:24 am
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You're right: on intra-european flights, Tempo Challenge (located just after the Biz area) is just the normal economy service, now reserved for the full fare paying passengers only. Behind the Tempo Challenge "cabin" (curtains, that is) is the discount-rate travellers area, where the service is more akin to that of a LCC.
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Old Sep 29, 2005, 12:50 am
  #3  
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So where was my selection of international newspapers? Stereo headphones and video programming? I saw none of that.
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Old Sep 29, 2005, 1:10 am
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Originally Posted by stimpy
So where was my selection of international newspapers? Stereo headphones and video programming? I saw none of that.
The program must have been "Gone with the wind"

But you'll get your 50% bonus miles.
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Old Sep 29, 2005, 3:26 am
  #5  
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Actually, this is pretty old information, anyway, pre March 2004, when there were substantial cutbacks

Originally Posted by stimpy
My BP said Tempo Challenge on today's CDG-NAP flight. The web says Tempo Challenge has...

# during your flight
You travel in a reserved area.
Well yes, there is a full curtain in front of you, and a half curtain behind you

On arrival
# You have priority in disembarking.
# Your baggage is delivered in high priority.

Priority disembarking, because you are closer to the front of the cabin

Additional Miles
When traveling with Tempo Challenge, multiply your Fréquence Plus Miles by 1.5.
True and great improvement : the class of service bonus is now 100% !!
Meals

Beverages
Enjoy a wide choice of hot and cold beverages, including wines and apéritifs.
# All flights offer champagne, except at the breakfast hour.
# The wine selection is identical to that in l´Espace Affaires (Business) cabin class.
Which is not much, nowadays, for flights shorter than 3 hours, but you do get Champagne

Meals
A hot or cold meal is served depending on the departure time and length of flight.
Between 55 mins. and 1 hr. 15 mins.
# Breakfast: tray with pastry, an open-faced sandwich, cup of milk, fruit salad and cream cheese, orange juice and hot beverages.
# Meals: small tray with open-faced sandwiches, pastry, and water.

Between 1 hr. 20 mins. and 1 hr. 55 mins.
Cold meal.

Greater than 2 hrs.
Hot meal.

Tableware designed by Radi Designer for Air France.
Well, replace all of that with hot meal for flights above 3hrs. For shorter flights, it is a cold snack, usually a small tray
Entertainment

To complement your trip, the Tempo Challenge cabin offers you:
# a selection of French and international newspapers and magazines;
- video programming;
# stereo headphones for music and videos;
# duty-free shopping.
I don't think there are onboard magazines any more for flights shorter than 3 hrs, but this is not documented. There might be newspapers, but they are usually available to everyone in the general boarding area
Although I have never experienced it, I suppose there might be IFE on the few remaining medium-haul equipped flights to the Middle East TLV, AMM, DAM)



But I didn't seen any of that? It was just normal economy. It's too early for the miles to show up, but I wonder if I'll get the 50% bonus.
Also, for non Elite + passengers, you have access to the CDG longes (documented) as well as to some UK lounges (documented in some UK brochures)

I see Tempo Challenge as a small welcome set of additional benefits which I enjoy when I have to pay full fare, for flexibility reasons. I do not see it as something I would pay for specifically, but for the same price, it is better than being on standard coach for AY or OS operated flights with an AF flight number.

Enjoy the 100% bonus, which counts for status (although the minimum mileage has been reduced from the time of good old F+ from 1,000 to 750 miles, so it does not make any difference for short flights)

Last edited by JOUY31; Sep 29, 2005 at 3:30 am
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Old Sep 30, 2005, 11:37 pm
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Originally Posted by stimpy
On arrival
# You have priority in disembarking.
On a recent MAD-CDG trip in Tempo (in 19A ) I was one of the last passengers to disembark. Mind you, I was also the last one to get on the bus to the terminal, and of course, the first one to get off the bus and eventually the first one in the arrival hall. ^
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Old Oct 1, 2005, 12:59 am
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Originally Posted by Falco Peregrinus
On a recent MAD-CDG trip in Tempo (in 19A ) I was one of the last passengers to disembark. Mind you, I was also the last one to get on the bus to the terminal, and of course, the first one to get off the bus and eventually the first one in the arrival hall. ^
isn't that why we like the bus?

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Old Oct 1, 2005, 1:26 am
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I think Jesus Christ did it before JJG, didn't He ?
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Old Oct 1, 2005, 1:35 am
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so Jesus knew already about CDG - thats what you want to say?
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Old Oct 3, 2005, 11:12 pm
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tempo challenge 100% bonus in Europe

Originally Posted by albireo
The program must have been "Gone with the wind"

But you'll get your 50% bonus miles.
I flyed from Paris CDG to TLV last july and the bonus was 100% in Tempo Challenge ( Israel is Europe for miles on AF ): 4082 qualified miles and 1581
for gold member. More than on CDG - YUL ( Montreal ) in Economy...
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Old Oct 4, 2005, 1:05 am
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I was on an LHR-CDG flight last thursday right down the back. There was a guy seated in the row immediately behind the Tempo Challenge curtain who was getting himself all excited and arguing with the FA because he had reserved Tempo Challenge and was sitting in Eco.

The reply from two different FA's - "But Sir, it's exactly the same".

Now, we were better off in economy (empty) than Tempo Challenge (full), but why would the Flight Attendants say that? Loud enough to hear three rows away? You could see the people sitting in Tempo Challenge wondering what they'd paid for (flexibility - I know, but I don't think they did)...
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Old Oct 4, 2005, 4:55 am
  #12  
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Originally Posted by jsfr
The reply from two different FA's - "But Sir, it's exactly the same".
If that is so, why would they not put cheap eco pax in tempo challenge when the tempo challenge cabin is virtually empty and the low-grade cattle class cabin full to the brim?

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Old Dec 9, 2005, 2:28 pm
  #13  
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They served a light meal on my recent Tempo (not Tempo Challenge) flight from CDG-MAD. and on another recent CDG-BOD flight, Tempo pax were served sandwiches, I was a bit surprised, is this common on their domestic flights?
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Old Dec 9, 2005, 2:51 pm
  #14  
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Originally Posted by SkyTeam777
on another recent CDG-BOD flight, Tempo pax were served sandwiches, I was a bit surprised, is this common on their domestic flights?
Only at meal times. Otherwise it is "Sucré ou salé ?", ie cookies or bretzels ?

Last edited by JOUY31; Dec 9, 2005 at 3:00 pm
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Old Dec 10, 2005, 2:19 am
  #15  
 
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Originally Posted by SkyTeam777
They served a light meal on my recent Tempo (not Tempo Challenge) flight from CDG-MAD.
It's because CDG-MAD is a rather long route (> 02:00). They don't serve these Tempo cold snacks (very much looking like Tempo Challenge's and... <cough, cough > l'Espace Affaires 'meals') on short medium-haul routes like LHR, LIN, HAM...

There is no official/public info (except on the US website which says 01:30) on the threshold for the 'cold snack' vs. 'sandwich' offer (I guess it's a little bit more than 01:30. TXL qualifies IIRC). There is also no official info on what 'meal times' are.

Otherwise you get (in Tempo Challenge) this disguting 1/6th of cold pizza along with 1 or 2 crappy cheese (or is it mushroom?) petits-fours. Champagne Gauthier-compatible I must say.
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