Airfrancefan

hello,
note: this is a pre-trip report real report still to come and pics to
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i am leaving tomorrow on AF to ATL here is my itin later on you will see a real trip report


6/2: Oudenaarde-Brussels Midi 8:32-9:19 IC L 2307 Poperinge-St niklaas
6/2 ZYR-CDG 10:43-11:59 AF 7179 TRN Comfort 1 seat?? OP BY 2H
6/2:CDG-ATL 15:55-19:35 AF 304 B772 Lespace Affaires seat 6G
10/2: ATL-CDG 16:15-6:30+1 AF 301 A343 Lespace Affaires seat 3F

Airfrancefan

hello,
In February I always have a week of from school and because my dad had to go to the US we once again went to ATL for a surprise visit

i woke up at 6:30 and we left our house at 8:00 to the oudenaarde station where whe met some friends of ours travelling to Cologne for the Carnival, I bougt myself a GO-PASS (trainpass in Belguim) because my old one was full here is a conversation:
Me: Hey, …….
Ticketing man(TIC): Good morning,…….
Me: may I have 1 GO-PASS please
TIC: where are you going today
Me: ATL
TIC: Wow,how far is that
Me: 7000kms
TIC: that is far, here is your GO-PASS that is €43 hope you enjoy your trip
Me: I sure will bye
TIC: bye

So then we went to platform 2 where we had a 10-minute wait until our train

IC L Poperinge-St Niklaas
Oudenaarde platf. 2 8:34 GMT+1
Brussels Midi platf. 9 9:19 GMT+1
2nd CLass/1st Coach
MS 80/337
left: 8:34
arrived: 9:19
load factor: 100%

Indeed the train was as full as it could be and the doorway was almost full of baggage (Cologne,ATL,…)plus there was a show in Antwerp what made the train even fuller whe arrived on time and went to the AF desk where we met a friendly agent who gave us our boarding passes for the ZYR-CDG leg and the CDG-ATL leg then whe went back to the mail hall to drink something where we noticed that both of our boarding passes had my name on it so we went to theAF counter again and got that changed it was 10:00 by now and I went trainspotting at 10:15 we went to platform 4 to meet thalys 4307 who was going to Marne la valee chessy at 10:25 whe brought our bags to the front door where they loaded it on the train

SU 6/2/2005
Airline+flight#: Air France 7179/Thalys 9952
Type+Registration: Train thalys 4307
Cabin+seat: Comfort 1/coach 1/seat 43 aisle
From: Brussels-Midi 4 10:43 GMT+1 … ZYR
To: Paris CDG 2TN 2 11:59 GMT+1 …. LFPG/CDG
left: 10:43
arrived: 12:00
Condoctur: MR ……
Attendent: MR frederic
Load factor in Comfort 1: 100%
Flight Time: 1hr 14mins
Slept: 0hrs 0mins

Once onboard we found our seats we sat down announcements where made in Dutch and French leaving BRU on time thru the HSL line at 11:15 our attendant gave us some oranje juice and some potato chips by the time that he was heading back I noticed that there where still a few Oj’s left
Me: excuse me may I have another Oj please
Attendant: No AF only pays for 1 drink a customer
Me: OK
So i went to the bar and I bought me something to drink (they had much more choiches than on my Eurostar trip in Dec) by then whe where already slowing down for CDG whe deplaned first and they trew our bags out of the train finally I got my bag and walked towards 2C while connecting I noticed I was in paradise: AF planes how far as i could see once in 2C it took a while to find the l’espace counters

Once there we where 1st in line for the L’espace Premiere/Affaires,Buisiness Elite after giving our bags we went to security now it is 12:40

I first saw N192DN operating DL 51 to ATL (DL B763ER) ,F-GSPD operating AF 6 to JFK(AF B772) and F-GZCD operating an AF flight to Asia then I went to the Lounge for 30 mins then I went spotting again I noticed a Vietnam B777-200 and a MU A340-600(thes things are long)ifcourse then at 13:30 F-GSPD pushed back and after than N192DN did together with a CO 762 then a pushback car towed F-GSPG in wich was my plane to ATL
I also saw F-GSPJ,F-GSPY,F-GSPA,…. (AF 777s)
F-GNIH (wich was bringing me back to CDG a few days later,F-GLZI,F-GLZU,…. (AF A343s
F-GZCD,F-GZCN,…. AF A332s
My first 773: F-GSQF and F-GSQB
F-GISA AF B74C operating AF 966 to MRU and a Air Maurituis A343 bound to MRU
We sat at our gate at 14:50 where I found on a screen a lot of information (flight time,entertainment,….)

At 15:15 we preboarded the plane

On my way they checked my bag (that had some WaR DVDs) but they let me thru for

SU 6/2/2005
Airline+flight#: Air France 304/Delta 8504
Type+Registration: Boeing 777-228ER F-GSPG
Cabin+seat: L’espace Affaires 6E Aisle,6A Window
From: Paris CDG 2C83 15:55 GMT+1 8L LFPG/CDG
To: Atlanta E14 19:35 GMT-5 8L KATL/ATL
Pushback: 15:55
Start Taxi: 16:02
Takeoff : 16:10
Landed: 19:10
At Gate: 19:20
CPT: MR Y Ferval
Purser: MR ……….
Load factor in L’Espace Affaires : 93%
Flight Time: 9hrs 25mins
Slept: 0hrs 45mins

I boarded thru the 1st door and my impression was (note I flew a year on a 767)
And I could not resist to say it
F/A: Good-Afternoon
Me: Good-Afternoon,WOW THIS PLANE IS HUGE
F/A: You don’t like this plane
Me: I sure do like it I just flew the 767 the past year
F/A: OK
I walked thru 1st class and found my seat 6E the plane started to fill up I asked an F/A if I could take a pic of L’espace Premiere and she said “sure go ahead” once back at my seat the purser walked to me and said
“Just for your information,that is the OLD FC the
Me: I know, they have them already on the 773s don’t they
Purser:correct,they will have them on these planes in April
ME: OK
………
I noticed 6A/6B where still available and I asked if I could sit there if they where empty she told me to wait until takeoff because these seats can be crewrests

We pushed back on-time and started to taxi and the safety demo started to play then the purser came back to me and said “if you want me to sit at the window you may” I replied “OK,thank you very much” and I went to 6A our 777 was right behind F-GLZI and at 16:10 our 777 gave full trust (cool)

The route today was leaving towards
St helier to Southampton arriving in Gander towards Boston and West of NY,Philly,and,DC to Roanke and to ATL

We first climbed up to FL 360 the captain walked thru the cabin and talked with the F/As then he sat in 6E (i.o 6A) to rest then the crew came by to give me a menu

Here where the choices
AF 316/304
From CDG to ATL

Choice of hors-d’houvre
Duck foie gras,green tomato marmalade and walnut bread

Shrimp marinated with sesame oil,vegtable mirepoix

Choice of main courses
Pan-seared noisette of lamb,herbed arichokes and simmered carrots

Grilled fillet of Salmon with pesto olive oil vinaigrette and mashed potatoes with olives

Fillet of guinea hen with fennel cream sauce

Our special selection of cheeses

Camenbert,comté,chčvre comté

Assorted Desserts
Chocolate puff pastry,pear tart,Sherbet served with cookies,choice of fresh fruit

The meal service was done by carts I chose the foie gras,Lamb and sherbert and the meal was delicious
At 13:00 ATL time I got up and walked around a little bit but then I felt turbulence so I went back to my seat then and F/A and the purser came up to me and asked if I was interested in seeing the cockpit and I answered sure and 5 mins later I met the 777 cockpit I asked about the details about the 777whe where still at FL 360 and cruising at mach .83 in the distance whe saw a AZ 767 below us and passed it does anyone know where that plane was going to
Shortly after that I returned to my seat now lets talk about the entertainment

The movie choices where ok (but no AVOD like the AF magazine says)
Video:
1: Bienvenue and news
2: Original version
3: News and Sports
4 : Rythmes and notes
5 : Arts and Voyage
6 : TV series
7: 36,quai des Orfčvres
8: Le carton
9:The Motorcycle diaries
10:The Bourne Supremacy
11:Alfie
12:Shark Tale
14:Comix
15:Geo Vision
Audio
3:Easy listening
4:JAPAN
5:Classic composers
6:Great voices
7:Kids Radio
8:French Favourites
9:JAZZ
10:NRJ selection
11:Tropical Music
12:RFM the best of music
14:Classical Highlights
16:Music on Air
17:North Africa/Middle east
18:Latin America
19:Relaxation Exercises
I listend to the NRJ selection a lot

After that I had a 30 min chat with the F/As
At 16:45 ATL time I took a 45 min nap

I woke up around 17:30 ATL time I opened the window and got a great view of NY by sunset at FL 380 10 mins later the meal service started again

Light Meal

Moroccan-style vegtable pie with lemon balm cream sauce

Yoghurt

Fresh fruit (these 3 came all togheter)

After the meal was done I thanked the purser for everything he did for me

The F/A on my dads side joked with my dad here it goes
Dad: Excuse me how long is the flight time until ATL
F/A: 4 hours
Dad: that Long!!!!!
F/A: we could not land in ATL due to the snow so we diverted to LAX instead
Dad: oh really we bought our bathing suits with us to swim

Then we got ready for our decent into ATL we flew over the Airport (it just looked lik Christmas there) and landed on 8L I Saw some DL birds once at the gate the puser and I talked for 1 minute
Purser:so you r now on vacation
Me: yes I am I am visiting my family in Anderson SC
Purser: did you take some pics of the cockpit
Me: I sure did but my battery was dead
Purser: you have another one don’t you
Me: sure then I can take some pics of my A340 flight on thursday
Purser: have a nice stay

Bagage,immergration and custums where a breeze due to our late arrival in ATL
After passing security I heard this announcement “Ladies and gentleman whe will be sarting our final boarding call for DL 124 with service to Brussels)this was at 19:40 DL 124 is supposed to leave at 17:55 I heard it finally left at 20:15 and arrived in BRU at 10:40 (i.o 17:55-8:30) this made DL 125 also late (10:35-14:35) became 12:40-15:30

At 20:10 we left the airport direction Anderson,SC and I was home at 22:30
more still to come

SMessier

By any chance, were Monsieur and Madame Wankeur amongst the passengers?

Airfrancefan

i would not have any idea of pax names

EchoVictor

Have you ever read "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon? It's like your trip report came from his character...you have a similar writing style and you're strangely amazing on the details. Impressive trip report...

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...books&n=507846

ylwae

Originally Posted by SMessier
By any chance, were Monsieur and Madame Wankeur amongst the passengers?

Fraser

LMAO!

couscous

any pics ?

Airfrancefan

hello,
after a short vacation but again funner than my trip in Jan I because I was not sick then

I woke up at 5 because I was still on belguim time after packing my bags and saying goodbye to my grandparents I left at 11:00 I checked how my incoming flight was doing (AF 316) that was 15 mins late (14:30)

On our way there we ate something at the Mac.Do we arrived in ATL at 13:20

We where first in line again AF flights operate at the South terminal (2 for l’espace,3 for TEMPO) after taking the train to the E concourse I went spotting (13:50)

There was just a few DL 738s and 752s and 763Ers (N152DL(flew on it in April)) N169DZ,…
Then at 14:25 I noiced our A343 out CDG arrive it was F-GNIH then went to the BE lounge where I was looking face to face @ my plane back to CDG
After that I looked around but nothing changed in the terminal except that the 2nd flight to CDG (DL 22@17:45) (N861DA)
D-AIGT to FRA LH A343
We sat at our gate at 15:10 where I found on a board a lot of information (flight time,entertainment,….)
Then I saw our crew approaching the A/C

At 15:30 we boarded the plane

TH 10/2/2005
Airline+flight#: Air France 301/Delta 8659
Type+Registration: Airbus A340-313X F-GNIH
Cabin+seat: L’espace Affaires 3F Aisle
From: Atlanta E11 16:15 GMT-5 27R KATL/ATL
To: Paris CDG 2C 06:30+1 GMT+1 27R LFPG/CDG
Pushback: 16:15
Start Taxi: 16:20
Takeoff : 16:30
Landed: 6:05
At Gate: 6:25
CPT: MR Christian villard
Purser: MS Pascaline blaise
Load factor in L’Espace Affaires : 100%
Flight Time: 8hrs 10mins
Slept: 4hrs 0mins

I boarded thru the 2nd door and my impression was i.o on the 777 “WOW THIS IS HUGE” it sounded more like “THIS PLANE IS NICE
I found my seat 3F more comfortable than the 772 seat I asked an F/A if I could take a pic of L’espace Premiere and she said “umm,ummm” then another F/A interrupted her and said “sure,go ahead” but I was not allowed to take a pic of Y

Our flight today was 100% full so I could not move there was also a nice welcoming music playing
We pushed back on-time and started to taxi and the safety demo started to play then I looked if the BRU plane was at its gate and it was (N156DL)(thanks luchtzak.be) we where in line before a few 767s,Md 80s and 737s of DL and at 16:30 our A340 gave full thrust (cool)

The route today was leaving towards
Leving to Columbia,Norfolk,east of NY,BOS, to Gandar arriving in Southampton towards Brest and CDG

We climbed up to FL 370 and I went out to explore the A340 a few minutes later I received a menu

Here where the choices
AF 301/307
From ATL to CDG

Choice of hors-d’houvre
Marinated salmon and smoked scallops accompanied by honey mustard sauce

Foie gras with dried fruit

Choice of main courses
Pan-seared tournedos of beef served with,Potato croquettes and French green beens

Sole roulade filled with crab and mushrooms accompanied by Chablis sauce,saffron rice and vegetable medley

Sautéed breast of duck with cranberries

Our special selection of cheeses

Camenbert,comté,chčvre comté

Assorted Desserts
Praline croquant,apricot clafouti,Sherbet served with cookies,choice of fresh fruit

The meal service was done by carts I chose the foie gras,beef and sherbert and the meal was delicious

The F/A working on my side was a little robotic but the F/A working on my dads side was very entertaining and funny here is a dialoge:
Dad: excuse me,have I been a bad boy because you forgot to give me bread 3 times
F/A: yes you have,but because it is you I will give you some
During the meal service:
F/A: I see you’ve already got your meal
Dad:yes but the F/A’s on the other side did bot give me anything to drink yet
F/A:never mind, the F/A’s on that side are not good
F/A 2:/Whe are good,we just wanted to give you some work
During the desert service:
F/A while passing thru the cabin: you want nothing,want nothing,…
Pax: what is that right there
F/A:tarte du apricote
PAX :excuse me
F/A: tarte du apricote,but you are not getting that because i don’t know the English name,Pascaline what’s this in English
Purser: It’s um…….. apricot
Pax: may I have a glass with that please
F/A: sure,Pascaline will you give me a glass please,and would you please put some ice in that,oh yes while your back there can you fill it up with some cognac
The whole cabin started laughing

The IFE was ok but again no AVOD like the AF magazine says)
Video:
1: Bienvenue and news
2: Original version
3: News and Sports
4 : Rythmes and notes
5 : Arts and Voyage
6 : TV series
7: Me and my sister
8: A fish called wanda
9:Cellular
10:A very long engagement
11:Without a paddle
12:Sideways
14:Comix
15:Geo Vision
16: connections
Audio
3:Easy listening
4:JAPAN
5:Classic composers
6:Great voices
7:Kids Radio
8:French Favourites
9:JAZZ
10:NRJ selection
11:Tropical Music
12:RFM the best of music
14:Classical Highlights
16:Music on Air
17:North Africa/Middle east
18:Latin America
19:Relaxation Exercises
I listened to the NRJ selection again

At 1:00 CDG time I went to sleep

I woke up around 5:00 CDG time we where then above Ireland at FL 370 and the crew just started to serve breakfast

Breakfast
International breakfast
Fresh orange juice Coffe,tea,hot chocolade,fresh fruit yoghurt

Choice of main courses
Omlette seved with bacon and roesti potatoes

French toast with cinnamon accompanied by peaches and maple syrup

Fresh bakery selection ,breakfast parstries,butter and preserves

Continental breakfast:
Fresh orange juice,your hot beverage selection,fresh fruit,yoghurt

Fresh bakery selection

I got the continental breakfast

The F/A on my dads side was again funny to the pax in front of us
F/A: hello,hello,hello
PAX: may I have the omlette please
F/A: no you can’t you’ve been snoring to much
…

Then we got ready for our decent into CDG and landed on 27R I Saw a lot of AF birds
We kept taxing and taxing and taxing finally we stopt in front of 2E

Where we walked down stairs to a bus and at 6:40 we arrived in the terminal

Bagage,immergration and custums where very ok but we where not first here where al the flights
AF 301 out ATL (A343)
AF 23 out JFK (A332)
AF 5 out EWR (A343)
AF 941 out NSI and Douala (A343)

At 7:00 we left the airport direction Maarkedal and I was home at 9:00
more still to come

Airfrancefan

Oudenaarde Departure
ticketing staff 9/10
info 7/10
Netheid 7/10 = 76,5%

IC L Oudenaarde-Brussels
Train 6/10
staff 6/10
info 0/10
Seat 3/10 = 37,5%

Brussels Midi transfer
info 9/10
Staff 6/10
Clean 7/10 = 73,5%

AF 7179
train 9/10
seat 9/10
catering 7/10
staff 7/10
info 6/10 = 76 %

CDG Transfer
info 8/10
Check-in 9/10
Lounge (staff) 9/10
Lounge 7/10
Clean 6/10
Gate 3/10 = 70 %

AF 304
Aircraft 8/10
seat 7/10
Catering 7/10
Cabin crew 10/10
IFE 6/10 = 76 %

Atlanta arrival
info 9/10
Clean 8/10
Lugage 10/10
Staff 9/10 = 90%

Total travel time: 19hrs 45mins
Total percentage: 71,5 %

Atlanta departure
check in 7/10
clean 8/10
Lounge staff 10/10
Lounge 8/10
Gate Staff 7/10
Info 9/10 = 85%

AF 301
Aircraft 10/10
Seat 10/10
catering 7/10
Cabin crew 9/10
IFE 7/10 = 86%

CDG Arrival
staff 9/10
lugage 9/10
clean 7/10
info 7/10 = 80%

Total travel time 16hrs 10mins
total percentage: 83,5 %

Oudenaarde:
i do not have anything special to mention here its a small station and a living station

IC L 2307
this was a full,dirty and unconfortable train

Brussels-midi
was deserted today but was still ok

AF 7179
the seats where comfortable but it is sorry that you only may have 1 drink/snack a person

Paris CDG
since April 2003 alot has changed in 2C but it still is a very small terminal

AF 304
it was a pleasure to be on an AF 777 again however AFs seatpitch is very restricted
thanks to the crew of this flight for making it so enjoyable

Atlanta
the ground staff was friendlier then in January and i have a tip for Wide body spotters
all widebodies arrive at 3 so if you are on AF 301 you will not see alot of planes

AF 301
those A340s r my favorite since this flight it was again an enjoyable flight

I give this trip 77,9%

Robt760

I was looking for photos (title says AF in J w/ pics) Did you get replacement batteries to take photos? Do you have a link to the photos?
Thanks for sharing your report.

Airfrancefan

youre welcome i had new batteries for my return flyight but once home i did not find a cable to hook up my camera

UA 882

Did you find the cable?

Fraser

And only 77.9%?

lucky9876coins

Very nice report. I have an award ticket booked in F on Air France this summer and it will also be a 772. What was your impression of the first class? I saw how you said that the purser said the new ones will be in by April, but my flight in June is still supposed to have the old ones. Strange.