CDG-SIN-CDG, Air France New First Class and New Business Class
Jan 18, 2006, 12:22 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: JNB
Programs: Air France Platinum - Qatar Airways Gold
Posts: 1,659
CDG-SIN-CDG, Air France New First Class and New Business Class
Booking
15 weeks before the SIN Run, I booked a Flying Blue (FB) award ticket in AF l'Espace Affaires (business class), at the lowest redemption rate of 120,000 miles. Despite many of us had reported issues with the FB award booking engine, I was quite confident with my own online booking because it did not include any connection. The e-ticket was delivered by e-mail within a few minutes and I checked that the reservation status and cabin were OK. I decided a few weeks later to call Flying Blue to see if I could change the cabin of one of the 2 segments so that I could experience Air France's intercontinental First Class (l'Espace Premičre). I deliberately chose this 12 hr+ route operated with one of the B777-300ER on which Air France focus the roll-out of their New Travel Concept (NTC: new first and business class cabins, new F and C lounges at CDG2E).
At that time I didn't know what miles difference they would charge me for the change. I called Flying Blue and they immediately informed me there was plenty of availability in F for the CDG-SIN segment but that SIN-CDG was pretty full and had no A inventory (A is used for First Class awards). But they would only make an additional charge of 20,000 miles, thus at the lowest redemption rate for upgrading the ticket one-way, quite a good deal considering that a one-way upgrade on a paid ticket costs 40,000 miles for this Europe to Far East route. I also had to pay the official change fee of 40 euros.
Actually I got exactly what I was looking for: F experience in the new Premičre seats, very long flight, a visit to the l'Espace Premičre lounge at CDG2C (not 2E unfortunately) and a short stay allowing a careful comparison with Business Class (same crew on the inbound segment!).
The FB reservation centre also granted my request of being seated either in 1A or 1L. Though I was confident that the change had been made (seeing my new seat assignment on www.checkmytrip.com), I had to call them back later at least 3 or 4 times to make sure they would e-mail me the new e-ticket which finally turned up 2 weeks before the flight.
The total price of this award ticket was 140,000 miles + 122 € of taxes and an additional charge of 40 € for the cabin class change.
The same F/J ticket costs about 8,164 € (9,918 $) including 154 € of taxes and service fee.
15 weeks before the SIN Run, I booked a Flying Blue (FB) award ticket in AF l'Espace Affaires (business class), at the lowest redemption rate of 120,000 miles. Despite many of us had reported issues with the FB award booking engine, I was quite confident with my own online booking because it did not include any connection. The e-ticket was delivered by e-mail within a few minutes and I checked that the reservation status and cabin were OK. I decided a few weeks later to call Flying Blue to see if I could change the cabin of one of the 2 segments so that I could experience Air France's intercontinental First Class (l'Espace Premičre). I deliberately chose this 12 hr+ route operated with one of the B777-300ER on which Air France focus the roll-out of their New Travel Concept (NTC: new first and business class cabins, new F and C lounges at CDG2E).
At that time I didn't know what miles difference they would charge me for the change. I called Flying Blue and they immediately informed me there was plenty of availability in F for the CDG-SIN segment but that SIN-CDG was pretty full and had no A inventory (A is used for First Class awards). But they would only make an additional charge of 20,000 miles, thus at the lowest redemption rate for upgrading the ticket one-way, quite a good deal considering that a one-way upgrade on a paid ticket costs 40,000 miles for this Europe to Far East route. I also had to pay the official change fee of 40 euros.
Actually I got exactly what I was looking for: F experience in the new Premičre seats, very long flight, a visit to the l'Espace Premičre lounge at CDG2C (not 2E unfortunately) and a short stay allowing a careful comparison with Business Class (same crew on the inbound segment!).
The FB reservation centre also granted my request of being seated either in 1A or 1L. Though I was confident that the change had been made (seeing my new seat assignment on www.checkmytrip.com), I had to call them back later at least 3 or 4 times to make sure they would e-mail me the new e-ticket which finally turned up 2 weeks before the flight.
The total price of this award ticket was 140,000 miles + 122 € of taxes and an additional charge of 40 € for the cabin class change.
The same F/J ticket costs about 8,164 € (9,918 $) including 154 € of taxes and service fee.
^
Jan 18, 2006, 12:26 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: JNB
Programs: Air France Platinum - Qatar Airways Gold
Posts: 1,659
20:45: CDG Check-in
After a quick coach ride from Paris Porte Maillot with AF Coaches (30 min.), I arrived at CDG2C 3 hours ahead to my 23:15 flight to Singapore. CDG2C was still very quiet; Emirates' check-in for EK076 to Dubai had just closed a few minutes before. The 4 remaining flights from 2C were 4 AF flights to Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Sao Paulo, all scheduled at 23:15. About 60 people were already waiting in the line for the economy check-in to begin.
I headed towards the l'Espace Affaires / l'Espace Premičre check-in desks, a rather banal area of 50 m˛ delimited by pot plants. 2 AF pre-check-in agents with PDA were filtering the access. As I handed over my e-ticket receipt to her, one of the 2 agents didn't ask me in which class I was flying but questioned me about my Flying Blue status. I said 'Flying Blue Platinum'. She ignored the Platinum luggage tag (couldn't be an old one since FB was launched 6 months ago) and wanted to see the card. She then let me in into the check-in area and pointed me in the direction of the business class check-in desks. "Er, I said, I'm travelling in First Class". "OK then you may use the l'Espace Premičre check-in desks on your right" she replied without much enthusiasm. That shows they probably don't know all about booking codes (particularly when it comes to award booking codes: A for First Class, O for Business Class etc.). More surprising, AF e-ticket receipts (at least the ones issued by Flying Blue) don't say in which cabin you will be flying, they just mention the booking code.
There is nothing special to say about the check-in process in itself except that it was somewhat impersonal and technical, took about 3 minutes and was just like any ordinary Paris-Marseilles check-in. I would have liked a few congratulation words about my status, my F award or my business with Air France. I had only hand luggage (14 kg, slightly over the 12 kg limit) and the check-in agent didn't tag it with the dedicated l'Espace hand luggage tags. The boarding pass didn't show my FB number nor my status.
Immigration and security were a breeze (5 min including a search of explosive traces on my hand luggage), with absolutely no line. And I wasn't asked to remove my shoes or my belt. As the CDG2C airside area has nothing especially attractive, I decided to head straight to the l'Espace Premičre Lounge located downstairs.
After a quick coach ride from Paris Porte Maillot with AF Coaches (30 min.), I arrived at CDG2C 3 hours ahead to my 23:15 flight to Singapore. CDG2C was still very quiet; Emirates' check-in for EK076 to Dubai had just closed a few minutes before. The 4 remaining flights from 2C were 4 AF flights to Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Sao Paulo, all scheduled at 23:15. About 60 people were already waiting in the line for the economy check-in to begin.
I headed towards the l'Espace Affaires / l'Espace Premičre check-in desks, a rather banal area of 50 m˛ delimited by pot plants. 2 AF pre-check-in agents with PDA were filtering the access. As I handed over my e-ticket receipt to her, one of the 2 agents didn't ask me in which class I was flying but questioned me about my Flying Blue status. I said 'Flying Blue Platinum'. She ignored the Platinum luggage tag (couldn't be an old one since FB was launched 6 months ago) and wanted to see the card. She then let me in into the check-in area and pointed me in the direction of the business class check-in desks. "Er, I said, I'm travelling in First Class". "OK then you may use the l'Espace Premičre check-in desks on your right" she replied without much enthusiasm. That shows they probably don't know all about booking codes (particularly when it comes to award booking codes: A for First Class, O for Business Class etc.). More surprising, AF e-ticket receipts (at least the ones issued by Flying Blue) don't say in which cabin you will be flying, they just mention the booking code.
There is nothing special to say about the check-in process in itself except that it was somewhat impersonal and technical, took about 3 minutes and was just like any ordinary Paris-Marseilles check-in. I would have liked a few congratulation words about my status, my F award or my business with Air France. I had only hand luggage (14 kg, slightly over the 12 kg limit) and the check-in agent didn't tag it with the dedicated l'Espace hand luggage tags. The boarding pass didn't show my FB number nor my status.
Immigration and security were a breeze (5 min including a search of explosive traces on my hand luggage), with absolutely no line. And I wasn't asked to remove my shoes or my belt. As the CDG2C airside area has nothing especially attractive, I decided to head straight to the l'Espace Premičre Lounge located downstairs.
Jan 18, 2006, 12:29 pm
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: JNB
Programs: Air France Platinum - Qatar Airways Gold
Posts: 1,659
21:00, First Class Departure Lounge (CDG2C L'Espace Premičre Lounge)
"Welcome to the lounge, Sir. We apologize but there is a technical problem at the moment and you'll find it is quite hot in the lounge. ADP (Paris Airport Authority) should fix it within 4 days. Enjoy your stay."
Boy it *was* damn hot. At first sight the l'Espace Premičre lounge looked very much like l'Espace Affaires (business class) lounges (same furniture, same dirty beige colour schemes) except that it was much smaller. No risk of getting crowded, we were never more than 4 passengers staying there until boarding time (there were actually 4 longhaul flights departing from 2C at 23:15, 3 having a first-class cabin with 8 (777-300) to 12 (777-200) F seats per aircraft, so probably a maximum potential of 28 first-class clients). There was (only) one Mac with internet access and I decided to log on to FT to check the SIN Run breaking news. Was it the ambient heat? Unfortunately the Mac was switching off (at least the screen) every 5 min or so and would not start up again until I had made several attempts of frantic mouse shaking. The most surprising thing was that when it started up again, it was still displaying my latest FT page and I was still logged on. I finally logged out and decided it was time to inspect the lounge bar.
"Welcome to the lounge, Sir. We apologize but there is a technical problem at the moment and you'll find it is quite hot in the lounge. ADP (Paris Airport Authority) should fix it within 4 days. Enjoy your stay."
Boy it *was* damn hot. At first sight the l'Espace Premičre lounge looked very much like l'Espace Affaires (business class) lounges (same furniture, same dirty beige colour schemes) except that it was much smaller. No risk of getting crowded, we were never more than 4 passengers staying there until boarding time (there were actually 4 longhaul flights departing from 2C at 23:15, 3 having a first-class cabin with 8 (777-300) to 12 (777-200) F seats per aircraft, so probably a maximum potential of 28 first-class clients). There was (only) one Mac with internet access and I decided to log on to FT to check the SIN Run breaking news. Was it the ambient heat? Unfortunately the Mac was switching off (at least the screen) every 5 min or so and would not start up again until I had made several attempts of frantic mouse shaking. The most surprising thing was that when it started up again, it was still displaying my latest FT page and I was still logged on. I finally logged out and decided it was time to inspect the lounge bar.
Jan 18, 2006, 12:40 pm
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: JNB
Programs: Air France Platinum - Qatar Airways Gold
Posts: 1,659
CDG2C AF L'Espace Premičre (First Class) lounge wines (January 2006)
Champagne Gosset, Celebris 1996
Riesling Blanck, Grand Cru Schlossberg 2001
Château Bouscaut, Pessac Léognan 1998
Champagne Gosset, Celebris 1996
Riesling Blanck, Grand Cru Schlossberg 2001
Château Bouscaut, Pessac Léognan 1998
Jan 18, 2006, 12:47 pm
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: JNB
Programs: Air France Platinum - Qatar Airways Gold
Posts: 1,659
21:30, First Class Departure Lounge (cont'd)
I had a flute of Champagne Gosset that was crisp and kept remarkably cool in its ice bucket.
Plenty of booze: Cognac, Armagnac, Vodka, Ricard, Bombay Sapphire, Genlivet, Port, Martini, Campari, etc.
The food displayed on large steel plates was apparently heavily suffering from the ambient heat: small pieces of cheese that were somewhere between solid and liquid state, small and rather basic sandwiches (baguette with ham and cheese that was streaming with oily sweat, chicken and crudités sandwiches), sweet miniature pastries (I had some miniature Tartes Tatin that went well with the apricot and nectarine echoes to the off-dry yet mineral Schlossberg Riesling).
I then had a low fat Taillefine yogurt (to compensate for the Tarte Tatin miniatures), along with the subliminal message "You eat too much in our lounge", yogurt of which the carton said "Best before 13 January 2006". No problem, I thought, we were still on the 12th of January, and I would probably be taking off in 2 hours when the deadline was due to expire. It apparently occurred to nobody that they didn't necessarily need to store dozens of soda cans in the lounge fridges and that one of them would have been welcome for sandwiches and mini pastries.
The pantry's door remained wide open most of the time and I could enjoy the view over a (semi-) industrial dishwasher.
The final touch happened as I decided to visit the men's room. The rear door of the men's room was wide open on what looked like a secondary pantry where they stored er, food, next to the water heater (crisps and Granini kiwi juice as I far as I could see). So it probably meant they had to walk across the men's room every now and then with food boxes either to store them or to remove them before re-filling the lounge fridges and cupboards.
That was more than what I could decently endure and I resigned myself to leaving the lounge 30 minutes before check-in started.
I had a flute of Champagne Gosset that was crisp and kept remarkably cool in its ice bucket.
Plenty of booze: Cognac, Armagnac, Vodka, Ricard, Bombay Sapphire, Genlivet, Port, Martini, Campari, etc.
The food displayed on large steel plates was apparently heavily suffering from the ambient heat: small pieces of cheese that were somewhere between solid and liquid state, small and rather basic sandwiches (baguette with ham and cheese that was streaming with oily sweat, chicken and crudités sandwiches), sweet miniature pastries (I had some miniature Tartes Tatin that went well with the apricot and nectarine echoes to the off-dry yet mineral Schlossberg Riesling).
I then had a low fat Taillefine yogurt (to compensate for the Tarte Tatin miniatures), along with the subliminal message "You eat too much in our lounge", yogurt of which the carton said "Best before 13 January 2006". No problem, I thought, we were still on the 12th of January, and I would probably be taking off in 2 hours when the deadline was due to expire. It apparently occurred to nobody that they didn't necessarily need to store dozens of soda cans in the lounge fridges and that one of them would have been welcome for sandwiches and mini pastries.
The pantry's door remained wide open most of the time and I could enjoy the view over a (semi-) industrial dishwasher.
The final touch happened as I decided to visit the men's room. The rear door of the men's room was wide open on what looked like a secondary pantry where they stored er, food, next to the water heater (crisps and Granini kiwi juice as I far as I could see). So it probably meant they had to walk across the men's room every now and then with food boxes either to store them or to remove them before re-filling the lounge fridges and cupboards.
That was more than what I could decently endure and I resigned myself to leaving the lounge 30 minutes before check-in started.
Last edited by Falco Peregrinus; Jan 18, 2006 at 3:49 pm
Jan 18, 2006, 12:56 pm
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: JNB
Programs: Air France Platinum - Qatar Airways Gold
Posts: 1,659
22:00 Boarding of flight AF256 (QF3978, DL8406) to Singapore, gate C81
The whole boarding platform had become quite crowded now and I made my way to gate C81 to watch if everything went off smoothly. Despite the boarding area looked unorganized, there was actually a boarding line delimitated by a zigzag strip where almost everybody was standing waiting for the call. Boarding was delayed by 15 min. The first call for boarding took place at 22:40, inviting families with children to board first followed by passengers seated between rows 48 and 38 (something like 80% of the coach rear cabin according to my calculations). The gate's doors were eventually opened at 22:45.
Elite access took place on the right part of the boarding area, with boarding pass pre-inspection. Boarding was carried out quickly by 4 efficient gate agents. The boarding by row procedure was dropped as I didn't hear any further call for the remaining passengers. I decided to board the aircraft at 23:00 and noticed that the front jetway was in place but its door were closed, so that everybody had to use the second jetway leading to the business class section (between rows 4 and 5).
The whole boarding platform had become quite crowded now and I made my way to gate C81 to watch if everything went off smoothly. Despite the boarding area looked unorganized, there was actually a boarding line delimitated by a zigzag strip where almost everybody was standing waiting for the call. Boarding was delayed by 15 min. The first call for boarding took place at 22:40, inviting families with children to board first followed by passengers seated between rows 48 and 38 (something like 80% of the coach rear cabin according to my calculations). The gate's doors were eventually opened at 22:45.
Elite access took place on the right part of the boarding area, with boarding pass pre-inspection. Boarding was carried out quickly by 4 efficient gate agents. The boarding by row procedure was dropped as I didn't hear any further call for the remaining passengers. I decided to board the aircraft at 23:00 and noticed that the front jetway was in place but its door were closed, so that everybody had to use the second jetway leading to the business class section (between rows 4 and 5).
Jan 18, 2006, 1:03 pm
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: JNB
Programs: Air France Platinum - Qatar Airways Gold
Posts: 1,659
23:00 Boarding of Falco Peregrinus
As soon as I entered the First Class cabin, I was greeted by the First Class FA who assisted me in storing my rather heavy bag in the overhead compartment. He did not tell me his name at that time and I had to ask the purser later during the flight. He offered to take my coat and my suit and put various accessories (Lacroix pajamas, slippers and FC amenity kit with 4 samples of Clarins products) in the drawer under the small leather ottoman facing my seat; I inquired about a suit cover (that I would be able to keep as a souvenir), a perk I had discovered somewhere in the commercial documentation but unfortunately he said that it was not available.
The layout of the First Class cabin of these B777-300 ER, seating only 8 passengers, is really stunning: an ideal combination of light-colored wood, beige leather and a deep red for the curtains and accessories (merino blankets, amenity kit, pillow and shoe cover). Looking back on it I thought there was some involuntary irony in the intention of the designers to create a First Class cabin inspired by "a lounge atmosphere".
As soon as I entered the First Class cabin, I was greeted by the First Class FA who assisted me in storing my rather heavy bag in the overhead compartment. He did not tell me his name at that time and I had to ask the purser later during the flight. He offered to take my coat and my suit and put various accessories (Lacroix pajamas, slippers and FC amenity kit with 4 samples of Clarins products) in the drawer under the small leather ottoman facing my seat; I inquired about a suit cover (that I would be able to keep as a souvenir), a perk I had discovered somewhere in the commercial documentation but unfortunately he said that it was not available.
The layout of the First Class cabin of these B777-300 ER, seating only 8 passengers, is really stunning: an ideal combination of light-colored wood, beige leather and a deep red for the curtains and accessories (merino blankets, amenity kit, pillow and shoe cover). Looking back on it I thought there was some involuntary irony in the intention of the designers to create a First Class cabin inspired by "a lounge atmosphere".
Jan 18, 2006, 1:05 pm
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: JNB
Programs: Air France Platinum - Qatar Airways Gold
Posts: 1,659
23:15 Time to relax
A glass of Champagne Jacquesson Avize Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs 1996 quickly followed, as I was quietly waiting in 1L for the end of the boarding process. First class glasses are an interesting compromise between stemmed glasses and the more ordinary mug shape that ensures stability.
Somebody must have decided to open the front jetway since about 20 passengers boarded through the F cabin at the last minute. Doors were closed at 23:15 and engines started up at 23:20. Shortly before safety demonstrations, the purser made a PA introducing himself (Guy B.) and the Captain (Ivan D.). We took off from 26R/08L at 23:47. What? Runway congestion at almost midnight? Ah yes, all these longhaul flights scheduled at 23:15… Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Johannesburg, Tokyo, Sao Paulo, Santiago, Buenos Aires, Pointe Noire, Rio…
Relax. I was the only passenger travelling in l'Espace Premičre that night. Flying to the SIN Run.
(to be continued...)
A glass of Champagne Jacquesson Avize Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs 1996 quickly followed, as I was quietly waiting in 1L for the end of the boarding process. First class glasses are an interesting compromise between stemmed glasses and the more ordinary mug shape that ensures stability.
Somebody must have decided to open the front jetway since about 20 passengers boarded through the F cabin at the last minute. Doors were closed at 23:15 and engines started up at 23:20. Shortly before safety demonstrations, the purser made a PA introducing himself (Guy B.) and the Captain (Ivan D.). We took off from 26R/08L at 23:47. What? Runway congestion at almost midnight? Ah yes, all these longhaul flights scheduled at 23:15… Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Johannesburg, Tokyo, Sao Paulo, Santiago, Buenos Aires, Pointe Noire, Rio…
Relax. I was the only passenger travelling in l'Espace Premičre that night. Flying to the SIN Run.
(to be continued...)
Jan 18, 2006, 3:13 pm
#10
Moderator: Flying Blue (Air France & KLM), France and TravelBuzz!
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Paris, France, AF F+ Rouge pour toujours, Flying Blue whatever, LH FTL, HHonors Gold, formerly proud SCC Executive, now IC Ambassador, BA down to nobody, Grand Voyageur Le Club
Posts: 12,403
Originally Posted by Falco Peregrinus
The boarding pass didn't show my FB number nor my status.
. Looking forward to the next episodes. ^
