AF Y 777, from China to France and back
Jan 28, 2011, 6:07 am
#1
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Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 42,033
AF Y 777, from China to France and back
The main reason I'm writing this trip report is that I discovered there wasn't a whole lot of info on AF Y on the internet before my trip. Incidentally, my theory on this is that AF Y on 777s is such a traumatizing experience that many would be reporters simply block out their memories.
I've already reported on a part of my trip here (the train/plane connection on the way home), but would like to paint the rest of the picture here.
I found out 8 days ago that I needed to go to St Nazaire a week from tomorrow. Normally, in such situations, if the budget doesn't permit business class, I find a way to use miles. But, in this case, the taxes on an award ticket would have been $500, I didn't have time for any exotic routings, and I would have had to trade for Skyteam miles. To make a long story short, AF was the only logical choice. (Well, I would have preferred CA, but they would get me only as far as CDG and at twice the price of AF.)
Moving on, I woke up at around ten on Saturday, packed my bag, and headed off to the airport at noon. I decided to do the subway/train combo, which was kind of silly in retrospect because AF uses T2 and the train goes to T3 first (the final leg between T2 and T3 takes almost as long as Sanyuan Qiao to T3). I made it to the counter at T-65. The agent initially tried to give me a middle seat, but told me they would find me a better seat if I stuck around for 10 more minutes while they closed out the flight. I ended up with ~35a.
It wasn't until I was actually on the plane that I learned that AF stacks its 777s with a 10-abreast layout in Y... borrowing a page from fellow Skyteam patriot, CZ. Had I known this in advance, I might have pushed a bit harder for CA. If you check out the AF forum here, you will notice that a few threads touch upon this important issue in passing, but there isn't any sort of sticky.
I am not a fat person by any means, and I'm only slightly tall (just shy of 6'), but let me tell you, that seat was really, really tight. My left side was closer to the wall than I can ever recall being in an airplane. Meanwhile, it was difficult for me to avoid shoulder-to-shoulder contact with the guy to my right. Lest you think, "any airline that has the cajones to do 10-abreast in a 777 surely makes up for this shortcoming in the pitch department," this was not the case; my knees basically had to choose between the wall and the guy next to me.
The good news is that the cabin crew seemed fully cognizant of our plight. They were leagues ahead of United (all classes) and I'd even rank them ahead of CX business class. The IFE was also pretty cool; I don't notice IFE so much when I'm flying in C or F, but it comes in handy on daytime flights in Y. They bill it as "1001 distractions [from your otherwise unbearable experience]" and this description couldn't be more apt.
I enjoyed looking out the window on the flight over; there weren't many clouds and we followed the Trans-Siberian Railroad for 50% of the journey (as in I could look down and see the tracks).
Upon arrival in Paris, I did the border control thing, walked to the gate for my connecting flight, and waited for 2 hours. In spite of the fact that the terminal was exceptionally dreary, I was happy to have some room to stretch my legs. AF 7728 to NTE was uneventful and comfortable enough.
As far as France itself, the region I visited was kind of boring (perhaps the polar opposite of Beijing), but the food was amazing and my meetings were exceptionally productive.
I already wrote about the bulk of my return trip in the linked thread above, but I will add a bit more here. Seatexpert speaks fondly about 44B (the aisle side of the first 2 seat pair) so I snagged it. It was just as uncomfortable as 35a, but --based on the knowledge gleaned during my outbound flight-- I picked up some Ambien. Whether or not you like Ambien, I strongly recommend testing those waters if you ever find yourself booked in AF Y on a 777.
I've already reported on a part of my trip here (the train/plane connection on the way home), but would like to paint the rest of the picture here.
I found out 8 days ago that I needed to go to St Nazaire a week from tomorrow. Normally, in such situations, if the budget doesn't permit business class, I find a way to use miles. But, in this case, the taxes on an award ticket would have been $500, I didn't have time for any exotic routings, and I would have had to trade for Skyteam miles. To make a long story short, AF was the only logical choice. (Well, I would have preferred CA, but they would get me only as far as CDG and at twice the price of AF.)
Moving on, I woke up at around ten on Saturday, packed my bag, and headed off to the airport at noon. I decided to do the subway/train combo, which was kind of silly in retrospect because AF uses T2 and the train goes to T3 first (the final leg between T2 and T3 takes almost as long as Sanyuan Qiao to T3). I made it to the counter at T-65. The agent initially tried to give me a middle seat, but told me they would find me a better seat if I stuck around for 10 more minutes while they closed out the flight. I ended up with ~35a.
It wasn't until I was actually on the plane that I learned that AF stacks its 777s with a 10-abreast layout in Y... borrowing a page from fellow Skyteam patriot, CZ. Had I known this in advance, I might have pushed a bit harder for CA. If you check out the AF forum here, you will notice that a few threads touch upon this important issue in passing, but there isn't any sort of sticky.
I am not a fat person by any means, and I'm only slightly tall (just shy of 6'), but let me tell you, that seat was really, really tight. My left side was closer to the wall than I can ever recall being in an airplane. Meanwhile, it was difficult for me to avoid shoulder-to-shoulder contact with the guy to my right. Lest you think, "any airline that has the cajones to do 10-abreast in a 777 surely makes up for this shortcoming in the pitch department," this was not the case; my knees basically had to choose between the wall and the guy next to me.
The good news is that the cabin crew seemed fully cognizant of our plight. They were leagues ahead of United (all classes) and I'd even rank them ahead of CX business class. The IFE was also pretty cool; I don't notice IFE so much when I'm flying in C or F, but it comes in handy on daytime flights in Y. They bill it as "1001 distractions [from your otherwise unbearable experience]" and this description couldn't be more apt.
I enjoyed looking out the window on the flight over; there weren't many clouds and we followed the Trans-Siberian Railroad for 50% of the journey (as in I could look down and see the tracks).
Upon arrival in Paris, I did the border control thing, walked to the gate for my connecting flight, and waited for 2 hours. In spite of the fact that the terminal was exceptionally dreary, I was happy to have some room to stretch my legs. AF 7728 to NTE was uneventful and comfortable enough.
As far as France itself, the region I visited was kind of boring (perhaps the polar opposite of Beijing), but the food was amazing and my meetings were exceptionally productive.
I already wrote about the bulk of my return trip in the linked thread above, but I will add a bit more here. Seatexpert speaks fondly about 44B (the aisle side of the first 2 seat pair) so I snagged it. It was just as uncomfortable as 35a, but --based on the knowledge gleaned during my outbound flight-- I picked up some Ambien. Whether or not you like Ambien, I strongly recommend testing those waters if you ever find yourself booked in AF Y on a 777.
Last edited by moondog; Jan 28, 2011 at 9:52 pm
Jan 28, 2011, 10:08 pm
#3
Ambassador: China
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Malibu Inferno Ground Zero
Programs: UA AA CO
Posts: 4,836
-Zopliclone- branded here as Lunesta.
The back of the bus sucks, but not as much as the CC bill for C class, if its on your dime.
Jan 29, 2011, 10:17 pm
#4
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Oslo, Norway
Posts: 819
I flew Air France on Y CDG-LAX two weeks ago on their B772. I really liked the buffet midflight where you can go and take non alcoholic drinks and some snacks any time. Didn't find the seat very crampy (I am about 185 cm, but with long legs), but I choose one of the seats near the curtain between voyageur plus and the ordinary thing. The trick is to check in online and find a decent seat with extra legroom.
Jan 30, 2011, 8:09 am
#5
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 42,033
I flew Air France on Y CDG-LAX two weeks ago on their B772. I really liked the buffet midflight where you can go and take non alcoholic drinks and some snacks any time. Didn't find the seat very crampy (I am about 185 cm, but with long legs), but I choose one of the seats near the curtain between voyageur plus and the ordinary thing. The trick is to check in online and find a decent seat with extra legroom.
Feb 1, 2011, 2:05 pm
#6
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Oslo, Norway
Posts: 819
I don't have my boarding card here, but as far as I remember I picked 27B in the 772. The maps on Seatguru did not match the map on the online check in though. Strange you couldn't check in online, maybe it had something to do with a visa check? Seems weird though since you could check in online to the United States and if it is someone who has strict requirements about paperwork in order it is indeed the good ol' US.
