apodo77

United didn't look bad at all to this easy to please traveler.
Looking forward to the rest and hope you enjoyed the trip.

AtlFlyer123

I just want to you to know SFO you have hurt my feelings three times first you and Mrs SFO criticized Alaska then you criticized Joe Buck John Smoltz Tom Verducci and the rest of the fox sports guys and finally here you call Delta my hometown airline a POS airline

SFO777

Lounge hopping and an incredible easy connection at CDG Terminal 1


From the mini cabin near 2L, I was one of the first off the plane.



And headed down the marvel of French architecture known as Terminal 1. LOL.





I had assumed that I would go thru customs and check-in with Qatar as a departing passenger... until I spotted the Salons/Lounges sign.





And the Qatar Lounge. Really? Wow, wouldn't that be cool if I could just go and check in there.





Unfortunately, the Qatar Lounge didn't open for another 2 hours, so I decided to try to get into the Star Alliance Lounge.



I was at first denied as the lounge was apparently only for departing passengers. But the friendly lounge dragon mentioned that they were a Priority Pass lounge. Et voila, I was in.



The lounge has a First Class area, upstairs behind the check-in desk and the small Business Centre.



The larger Business Class Lounge was downstairs.







Which was pretty crowded when I arrived.



























But eventually thinned out an hour later.

SFO777

Just after 12:30pm, I headed down the hall to the Qatar Lounge, which was just opening. Pleasant QR rep indicated that while they were unable to issue boarding passes, they could check me in, and my boarding pass would be waiting for me at the gate. And that my e-ticket confirmation was all that I needed to get thru security and to the gate. Not as clean as I would have liked, but it sure beats the alternative. The Qatar Lounge is only about 6 months old and is quite lovely, reminiscent of the LHR lounge. And with the same wonderful service.















































I freshened up with a shower before we headed to lunch.











A glass of Billecart Salmon to start our lunch, which we ordered from the menu instead of the serve-yourself offerings. Our meze amuse bouche.





My cream of asparagus soup was tasty.



And the delicious lamb biryani... delicious.





Our fabulous server Vasanthi who insisted that we try a glass of the Chateau Peymouton St-Emilion Grand Cru. Just like in a government-subsized Delta Club. LOL.

m3red

I'm a big fan of the sfo777 trip reports - looks like a fun one, I like the comment re flying to no where - I think my wife would get on with yours

Looking forward to the EK leg - hope it was an enjoyable one - if not then the wine list more than makes up for it!

SFO777

Thank you SKYEG.

I would agree. A lot worse.

Thanks nequine.

LOL. Thanks very much JohnRain. Good question about the ranking. It's going to be close because the entire 48 hour experience was amazing. Each excelled in certain areas so my ranking would be based on overall F experience including hard product, soft product, food, wine as well as the ground experience.
Of the ME3, I'd rank them 1. Qatar, 2. Emirates, 3. Etihad. Globally, I haven't flown every F product, but here is how I'd currently rank the ones I flown with previous ranking from last fall.

1. Air France (1)
2. Garuda Indonesia (2)
3. Qatar (4)
4. Emirates (5)
5. Etihad (3)
6. Lufthansa (6)
7. Cathay Pacific (7)
8. Singapore (8)
9. Swiss (9)
10. ANA (10)
11. JAL (14)
12. Qantas (11)
13. Korean (12)
14. Malaysia (13)
15. Asiana (--)
16. Thai (15)
17. American (20)
18. British (16)
19. Air China (17)
20. United (19)

Thanks very much JALlover. I'll ranking them by element at the end but overall... QR, EK, EY.

Thanks so much thibderoc. That pic was a temporary one and indeed was a 777 pic. I've updated it with a much better one.

Thank you VH-RMD.

Thanks rosensfole. AF A380 Business Class is angle lie flat so that was a non-starter.
Plus the transfer from Terminal 2 to Terminal 1 would have been a lot more difficult.

Thank you Billiken. Interesting about the heavy glass bowls.

The Apartments is First Class. The Residence is a suite at the front left of the F cabin, with private sitting area, bedroom and lav/shower. Also, personal butler. At AUH, there is a special private Residence Lounge with butler. Your ticket also includes a suite at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi and double chauffeur drive service, one are for you, the other for your luggage. You can book award Residence travel on EY.com but the cost is 1,000,000+ miles one way.

Lots of points.

Yoshi212 has the correct scoop.

Thanks HawaiiTrvlr.

Thank you PilgrimsProgress. Totally agree.

Next year.

Thanks so much NoY.

Thank you CHOPCHOP767. Agree on the CLs. OMG, a Sunday at LAS. Can it get any worse. I thought that the SFO CL was pretty tame on Sunday.

Thanks apodo77. UA exceeded my expectations, but it helps when they weren't very high going in.

Thanks very much m3red. The EK flight was outstanding and very enjoyable.
We stayed up all night with a lot of time at the bar... and did some serious damage to the Paradis.

nequine

That does look like an easy transfer at CDG as I've heard from friends using it that it can be an absolute nightmare.

CHOPCHOP767

LOL! Bingo!


Yes, yes it can: paying through the nose for DL's government subsidized F class from LAS on Sunday
Bon voyage!

batmandds

I just wanted to add one thing to the QR F experience at CDG. Since I arrived at 7 AM from MSP, I decided to walk around Montmartre for a while before heading back to meet SFO777. When checking in for the flight landside, make sure to ask for an expedited passport control card. More specifically it's the "Access No 1" card. There had to be about 300 people in line for passport control around noon. With the card that the QR rep gives you, you simply scan it at the "Access No 1" access point and you skip the huge queue. There wasn't a single person in that line and it must have saved at least an hour. I'm not sure J pax get the card too but it's worth asking.
Another brilliant trip report. Looking forward to reading the rest SFO777!

Bretteee

I would love to get my hands on that raspberry tart.

Martina70

How exciting, I can't wait to read more.

skywardhunter

Not a regular purveyor of the TR forum but SFO777's threads have stood out to me before so I feel it's about time I mention my appreciation for these reports. Both he creativity of the routings, and the well-written reports which are relatively objective while incorporating enough personality to remain entertaining to read. ^

SFO777

Qatar A380 First Class from Paris to Doha


One of the lounge staff came around and announced that boarding had commenced, and we headed out to Gates 35 and 36.











Paris-Doha
Qatar QR 40
A380-800
4:00p-11:30p
August 21, 2017
Suite 2A

After a minor gong show at security due to my lack of a boarding pass with seemingly everyone being consulted, I was finally permitted to pass. My boarding passes were indeed waiting for me at the Gate 35 podium.



No doors, but what a gorgeous cabin, as Qatar passed on the doors and bling and opted for classy luxury. Despite no doors, the private screen afforded a good amount of privacy from other passengers. We opted for 2A and 2E and it was perfect for two people with only 2 other passengers today, in 1A and 1E.

























No showers but still quite nice.









No champagne for a PDB as apparently QR is reluctant to pay the French government any more taxes. My non-alcoholic mint drink was refreshing.





QR's cool Brics amenity kit.



With some usable take home goodies... what a concept.





My pre-departure Arabic coffee.







Noise cancelleing headsets...



But not Bose. Come on Qatar, just pay a little more.











Today's menu.









And respectable wine list.





















Shortly after take-off, we both started with a glass of Krug.





And then headed to the Business and First Class lounge behind the Business Class cabin towards the rear of the upper deck.



Our new friend.







batmandds and friend.









On our way back to the pointy end, wow the Business Class cabin looks really nice.









Meanwhile back in First, showtime!





batmandds started with caviar...







My amuse bouche, chicken with creme fraiche.









Then my lovely cream of asparagus soup.





My Grilled prawns with mango salsa and soba noodles were delicious.









Gorgeous presentation of my beef.





My main was tasty but unfortunately, the beef was well done.



For dessert, the Cherry and almond tart was sensational.





Our interesting flight path over Iran, since some of the Gulf States have restricted QR flyover rights during the current dispute.

SFO777

Especially transfer between terminals. Thank you nequine.

Ouch. Thanks CHOPCHOP767.

Thanks so much batmandds. It was great fun flying these with you, although the excitement of my misplacing my EK boarding pass at CAN was not fun.

It was soooo good. Thanks Bretteee.

Thank you Martina70.

Thank you very much skywardhunter for your most kind comments. I really appreciate them.

cmd320

Very excited to be reading through this one! Many great products to be sampled. QR F looks very refined and inviting.

DL's anti-competition ads are getting ridiculous, along with its blatantly false marketing.