elitefreak

As part of my round the world Skyteam biz class itinerary (yes, actually for business, not a MR), I'm flying AF biz from CDG to NRT. Can anybody share their experiences? Do they have a decent Japanese bento meal or should I stick with the regular menu? How does the 772 compare to the 77W; is one aircraft better than the other?

Thanks.

zurichflyer

Since the 772 is still OTC, while the 77W is NTC, I would definitely take the 77W (midnight departure).

HB-IWC

All AF-operated CDG-NRT flights, including AF276 by B772ER are operated with NTC by now. The 6 weekly 11.45am departure AF272 uses a mixture of A332 and A343 right now, whereas the midnight departure AF278 goes with the B773ER. But all of them use the new C-class.

blairvanhorn

Flew this route last February with the non-refurbished Business cabins on the 777. Looks like all the flights are now on refurbished planes, according to a poster above. No bento meals on the flights I took.

I've flown many routes on AF in Business, and I was very surprised by the service on this route. The CDG-NRT flight was extremely mediocre. But the NRT-CDG flight was the worst (by far) I have ever experienced on AF in ANY class of service. I won't go into the details, but I just couldn't believe that first time Asian business travelers on AF (and there seemed to be quite a few of them in my cabin, judging from their lack of familairity with things like the seats/video, amenity kits, etc.) would ever try AF again after that flight.

I usually praise AF, but that flight was a shame for the company and their public image. I'm hoping it was just a strange coincidence (both flights to/from NRT being sub-par experiences) - AF surely can't afford that kind of service on that kind of route.

brunos

Flew CDG-NRT-CDG in June on the late flights (77W). I think that AF new seat is among the best of lie-flat seats. The problem with those late flights (departing at 23:25 from CDG and 21:55 from NRT) is that they use it as an excuse to only serve a "supper" rather than a regular "dinner". Hence you get limited choice (when choice is still available). Of course, there is no pre-flight dinner in the lounge, no warm food and only a couple of cheap sandwiches (but you have to be on the watch as they immediately disappear).My flight CDG-NRT was nevertheless enjoyable with good food and decent wines. Good service. I shared Blairvanhorn experience on the NRT-CDG flight. Poor food, poor service. I am not aware of any Japanese meal on either flight. The lounge in NRT is small and some pax could not find seats.

zurichflyer

My own NRT-CDG flight on the 77W in F this August was horrible as well. I regretted spending miles for the upgrade. Shortly before leaving, the flight still listed P7 and I was indeed the only one in the F lounge. Having had the very best service I've ever experienced on any airline on the CDG-NRT leg (the flight attendand's name was Hassan), I was looking forward to a nice flight back. Then when boarding the table next to the seat was broken - actually the whole cover was missing. When I asked to sit at a different seat the flight attendant said that all seats were taken since they were full, and indeed it turned out that there were 7 op-ups to F that all got the working seats while I had the broken one. Furthermore, the video screen also did not work since it wa stuck in the broken seat, with the only comment by the FA being that I was anyway not allowed to watch video during takeoff and landing. I am still pondering whether it's worth writing to AF and complaining about the experience.

So on one round trip in F I experienced the best and worst possible service I've had on AF. I guess you have to be lucky. Flying soon afterwards CDG-KIX-CDG in J at least I had consistent service, worse than the best of F service, but much better than the worst.

blairvanhorn

Yes, write to them and explain precisely what happened. AF will usually deposit miles into your FB account as a "commercial gesture" for an incident such as this .

Are you a diplomat? Or a politician?

zurichflyer

No, just getting sarcastic :-)

elitefreak

New acronyms on me, gang. OTC? NTC? I think you are referring to the old biz class vs the new.

BTW (that one I know), I'm on AF272. So is the consensus that I will enjoy the flight (sounds like a yes).

And no bento? That surprises me . . .

blairvanhorn

Yes, OTC = old cabins/seats NTC = new cabins/seats

Serpentos

I really second you on that ! I experienced absolutely the same thing in last April ! inboound was simply fantastic, the service was the highest I've ever ever seen on any airline in F (I have flown many) but the outbound was a complete disaster (the supper...in F...even the C dinner in NWA was actually better ).
I complaint and got some pretty good compensations. It worths a try.