SFO:
PClub, Suzanne was great as usual, sent some email, ate a bagel. Went through a zoo of a security line. Still had some time, so I went to the newly renovated BoardRoom, it was very nice, very stark and clean.. .scandanavianlike. Self service drinks including espresso/cappucino machine. breakfast pastries and fruit. Plasma TVs, no inet access. But very nice.
AS 876 SFO-LAX 3F (MD-80)
Aircraft was clean, on time, and quiet up front. Seats were clean and comfortable and the FA was very nice. Bottled water at the seats, she came by and got drink orders before we took off. The Baily's and Tea I ordered came separately, but that was good. She brought me a refill, and asked again if I'd like another, but 2 was good. and 2 packs of biscoffs.
LAX part I:
Waiting for a friend, I went up to the BR in LAX, which you have to go upstairs for, but it is very large, and quite nice. The agents were exceptionally friendly and helpful. Drank lots of Diet Coke. They had ethernet jacks but no wireless, and paid kiosks. The furniture was comfortable and clean.
interlude to in & out and starbucks
back @ LAX at 13:30. one person @ AF counter, he said they won't open check in until 3. So I walk to the international terminal check it out, walk around for a bit and then return at 14:40 to the F line, there is now quite a crowd, one lady ahead of me. More people pile in, including an ape-like guy behind me. Knowing all the threads on the subject, I didn't make any glances or remarks. 3:05 rolls around, and 2 people start manning the Y desks, and a lady grabs the first lady in line and asks "first class?" No. the people piled in front of the C line, No. She asks the guy behind me, nope, coach (thank goodness). I said I'm in F. She hands me off to a guy who clearly doesn't really know what he is doing. She then started helping a C class woman next to me. He was taking forever doing stuff, I gave him my CO card but he didn't type in the number, unfortunately... oh well. Then I hear her tell the lady that she is welcome to use the NW lounge (ick, I thought... ...... they had better not do that for us) fortunately, he told me we can use the Air NZ lounge. She reminded him to put a priority tag on my bag. And he said they'd send someone to escort me to the plane from the lounge. Security was a zoo of course, a little elf in a santa hat kept pulling up all the C/F/urgent pax to the front, including me. Got through there, went to the lounge and the lady told me they should have given me an invitation. I told them they were somewhat disorganized, and she said that's about par for the course. The lounge was very very nice, buffet with salad, cold cuts, fresh fruit, lots of wine and champagne, beers, soda, etc. I took a shower. They had internet terminals, no wifi, but they had cords you could borrow. At T-30 I didn't see the purported AF person, so I just went down. It was a zoo, and they decided not to bounce all the Y pax from the C/F line...
AF 69 LAX-CDG 777-200ER. (1L, Old F) The people sitting behind me in F were apparently rock stars, completely tattooed and multiply punctured with uncomfortable metallic objects. The seat was comfortable though my leg rest didn't go completely horizontal, making the sleeping position less comfortable by drooping down. No laptop power. AVOD with 5 movies (I chose the Island). Pre-takeoff was an offer of water. (yeah.. ) They handed out Christian Lacroix pajamas and slippers. The menu was small but cute, with a entree du jour( a curried chicken). I ordered the steak of course. Before take off, they brought out the hot (sopping wet) towels. First came an appetizer course of (not terribly good) rolls, with good butter and a small salad with this nice vinaigrette and olive oil. The foie gras was ok, not great. The salad my seatmate got looked ok. The steak was great, tender, but not very flavorful, but it was medium so it wasn't a piece of leather. The curry chicken didn't look so great. I moved on to the (very nice) bordeaux with the dinner. The cheese cart was great, I asked for a sampling and she gave me a lot of each of them. Unfortunately, they didn't have real baguette so I had to make due with the crackers and rolls. I ordered espresso which was fine. Then came the desserts which I picked a strawberry tart which was very good. Then I put on my PJs and went to bed. I slept OK I suppose. I woke up to breakfast an hour before landing. I asked for the omelette, which was more like nasty scrambled eggs with scallions mixed in. not good. They had some over-reheated croissants. We landed at CDG about an hour late. Nobody could tell me if my bags would go all the way through, but apparently they will because they didn't come out, and the lady at AF baggage told me it would go through. I hope she is right.
CDG. Yeah, its a crappy airport. While I was waiting to see (I had 3 hours till the next flight), if my baggage would come, it took about 35 minutes before the first bags came. After another 20 minutes or so, and everyone else mostly being gone, I asked baggage services what they thought... they told me not to worry and that it would be in ATH. OK, So I go to the other terminal for the next flight. I went through "security", I mean the TSA is a joke but at least they put on a decent show. these guys didn't even pretend to know what they were doing. I get through security and look for the lounge but surprise, its outside security. so I go back out and go up to the lounge. thank goodness they had internet but it was only on their terminals. The lounge was nice, a decent selection of liquor, including Sapphire
too bad I didn't feel like getting hammered. I didn't eat the snackie things. But I think I lost my iPod shuffle somewhere there
I got a massage, that was a nice feature. Then I went back thru "security" and onto the plane.
AF 2332 CDG-ATH A321 (C = Y with no more legroom, some better food, and a tray where the middle seat is). There are only 5 people in 'affaires', not surprising since its certainly not worth the $ if you're payin! Flight time 3 hours. Before departure, choice of OJ, champagne or water water offered. After departure, menus were handed out, though there was no choice. Free range chicken with mashed potatoes and eggplant, which turned out to be mushrooms and some squash thingy instead. There was a mini salad with shrimpies on top, and seeing as I hate shrimp, I skipped it. The FAs came around with mini baguettes which were far better than the ones on the LAX flight. Also on the tray was a cup of water, a dessert, which was not bad, 2 slices of cheese and butter. I had bordeaux with dinner and then tea for dessert. Service was friendly but terse. The chicken was eh. The rest of what I ate was fine.
The pilot came on the PA several times to point out the various cities we were passing over, in english and french.
transatlantic:
CO vs. AF
Check-In Service: CO
Lounge: AF (BF v F)
Boarding: CO
Preflight: CO (BF v F)
Amenity Kit: AF
InFlight Svc: CO (BF v F)
Appetizers: AF
Main Course: CO
Seat: AF (caveat emptor: no power !)
Cheese Course: AF
Dessert: Tie
Breakfast: CO
IFE: AF
price: CO BF ~3k, AF F 10k
ATH: The airport is pretty nice, very modern. Looks like it was done economically but very nicely. I think its a fine example of how an airport can be 'nice' without being extravagant. I was told I needed to be there 2 hours in advance (with LY... you never do know, so I wanted to be safe) the hotel told me to leave at 6, which I did and got to the airport at 6:30 though, checkin was painless of course, except they wouldn't upgrade my .... The airport has the check in area, then passport control, then beyond there is a duty free /food zone, and lounges. There was an Olympic airways lounge, the Swissport lounge and the BA Terraces. Unfortunately, with my measly Y ticket, none of my other cards would do the trick, Swissport would take 25eu, but I was feeling cheap. Alas, nothing beyond security but the seating area, so I went back out and am now sitting at the cafe sipping a cappuccino.