Looks very nice. In retrospect, I should have added a beach volleyball ticket to my set. I just looked at perhaps early session tomorrow or late session tomorrow or Saturday (my train home isn't until 10pm) but all sold out, including resale... perhaps tomorrow morning something will go out.

We arrived pretty easily at CDG‘s Terminal 1, which the architectural nerd in me really likes a lot. Designed in the 60‘s by Paul Andreu, its design principles are also to be found at Centre Pompidou in Pari and the building even made it onto the cover of a 1977 Alan Parsons Project album…. but enough of that, lets walk through it towards the lounge.




We arrived right before the start of rhe evening bulk of flights and the checkin areas are full with long, long lines. But we can skip those and head straight to the security check in the satelite that LH is using. There are no lines at all there.

The LH lounge is quite underwhelming in Paris: it is downstairs, no windows and rather small with limited food offerings. But we wont be staying too long anways.

At arrival there, we are presented with a special „CDG 2024 Ducky“, which will be a nice addition to our collection of 25+ special edition duckies from the last 10+ years or so…

We just had some small sweet snacks and watched some more Olympics before it was time to board.



Off to the gate and onto the plane then, with a „first“ for me: a CRJ 900 at CDG, I only ever had A320/321‘s when going to Paris.



Luckily, we departed almost on time, as it meanwhile started to rain and some lightning could be seen in the distance. I was a bit concerned of a possible ground stop, but all good. Off we were…



The flight was completely full and went by super-fast, we spend less than 20 mins or so on cruising level. On arrival , they must have switched runways, cutting another 10 mins as we could land straight-in from west to east. Overflying the city of Mainz and the Rhine river on finals.



We landed 15 mins ahead of schedule and flying a CRJ900 always means a car transfer from the plane to the terminal. This time it was not a Porsche but a Volkswagen van- also fine for us, still a very comfortable (and time-saving) way of getting from the plane to the lounge. The ride was there already when we pulled into the stand.



Another perk of the personal HON transfer are the nice drives across the airfield - you get to see a lot of planes and activities on the ramp. I even had some drivers in the past who asked me if I would prefer a longer drive to the Terminal to see even more planes… I never said no to that 😊




As it was getting late and we did not have dinner yet, we decided to stop by the lounge in Concourse A quick for some dinner. One of my favorite PA‘s waa working there that evening and we talked quite a bit after we ordered our food. She must be working here for 10+ years and she always has great insights into Ops, things to change at the FCT / FCL and so on… always a nice chat.

Food for tonight was a starter of a Salad
Nicoise with tuna and then Wagyu Beef with green asparagus and fries, both from the special menue for the Olympics.




This really nice dinner then concluded a very nice trip to Paris - and no flights in the coming two weeks at all, as its vacation time, and this year we are just off to the Alps in the car for some hiking, sports, nature and wellness… loving the thought of no airports for the time being 😊

Excellent trip report, I thoroughly enjoyed tagging along with your travels.

That photo of the Paris-Brest has me craving sugar before breakfast, I love those pastries! The French duck is hilarious

Yes I've heard the commentators say how much some of the tickets for the swimming was costing and it was like !!!

We were "cheapskates" in London 2012 where I went for the cheapest tickets for the football being played at Hampden and rather than get the front/low seats with the crap view we got right up near the back of the stand with excellent views, so we weren't complaining!

Absolutely great TR, thanks for that. Is this duck available to all CDG lounge guests, or only HONs?

This is only for HON Guests, as per the lounge employee.

And First?

Not sure… I asked and she said „exclusively for our HON Guests this summer“.

Excellent TR - love the ground experience for HON and First customers. Was just in Paris also for work. Stayed at the Westin Place Vendome. Loved the vibe of the city with the Olympics and I have to say, CDG was very easy to navigate - plenty of additional staff to help direct passengers.