AF: CDG-LAX in La Premiere


Prelude: In an attempt to burn some miles and to take advantage of the old F-award mileage structure, I bought my FRA-USA trip for 2009 already in September 2008. Boston doesn't have any F service (only 747 and 340), so I decided to fly to long way to LAX and figure out later how to get from LAX to BOS. With the opening of the new F-lounge at the horizon, I booked FRA-CDG and CDG-LAX with a 4 hr layover.

FRA-CDG in Affaires: Checked in online the night before and went straight to the AF lounge in FRA, which is like most of the AF outstation lounges nothing to write home about, but nice enough to relax for � hr before boarding the flight.

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AF boards most flights these days through bus @ FRA, which is a bit annoying, but not too big of a complaint. On board were 4 pax in Affaires and nobody in Tempo Challenge, but the FA moved two folks up into row 4 … typical AF stuff
The flight was moderately annoying like most AF flights these days and the FA spent more time stuffing unneeded Affaires food into her bag than looking after the pax … not a good start, but this is what I came to expect when flying AF. Landing in CDG was first supposed to give us a real gate, but after some waiting they moved us to a remote parking spot. I started to worry whether the F pick-up service would work under these circumstances (if at all).

Espace La Premier: As the stairs were attached a young lady came up with a sign 'La Premiere' & Mr. cfischer and I was on my way to the AF La Premier car to drive me to the new lounge. Most of the other C-pax (who behaved like they were very important and the cabin dragon treated them accordingly) stared at me like I was an alien when I was asked to step off the plane first and they saw that I had a limo shuttle.
On the way we had an interesting discussion about AF, the old lounge, and the LH FCT (!). Not only are they well-aware of what LH offers, they apparently strive to differentiate themselves through better food to make up for spa facilities they can't offer (for now, they are planning on offering limited spa services later). She parked the car @ the lower level entrance and a special security checkpoint got us into the lounge in a breeze.
Here are some impressions of the lounge

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AF must train their employees for this lounge very well, because they not only speak several languages, they also remember your preference when coming back. I am not sure to what extent, but they apparently look at the file of each guest before arrival since they mentioned details about my status with AF in conversations. Anyway, my passport and BP were collected to get the paperwork done (nice!) and I was handed the lunch menu.

What a departure from previous experiences! A real menu with plenty of options I went for the lobster salad, the seared scallops and the apple tart. With this I decided to stick with the beautiful champagne they served … I must have gone through at least a bottle while I was in the lounge. Unfortunately I didn't ask what they served that day, but it had that distinct taste of aged champagne, so I am guessing a ~10 yr old (1999?) champagne.
The food overall was excellent and could be served at a very nice restaurant; definitely better than anything on board … and they said 'we know, this is why we recommend eating here'.

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The only downside of this lounge was the service level from the wait staff. While they did the lunch service very well, I felt they could have stopped by more often to see if I wanted something else. Every 20-30 minutes one of the lounge ladies (can't call them dragons here ) came by to check on me and I usually asked them for more drinks if I wanted some. � Hour before the anticipated departure from the lounge someone came by, introduced herself and told me she would bring me and the other 3 pax to the plane at about 4 pm (departure was 4.30 pm). Initially the flight was P2F2, but when I checked right after entering the lounge it was P0; maybe some misconnects from the earlier flight. Anyway, a full F cabin at least guarantees no F&F on board upgrades and associated problems during the flight.
Since boarding was delayed she eventually took the 4 of us to the plane (which was only a few gates away from the lounge, hence no car transfer) at 4.15 pm and going through the second security check was a breeze. We took our seats (1A for me) a few minutes later and I had my glass of champagne in the hand.

CDG-LAX La Premiere: AF recently renamed their premium product from L'Espace Premier to La Premiere, which was promised to be accompanied with an increased service level and food/drink quality as well a real F lounge. While I can attest that the lounge aspect certainly fits the bill, I was about to discover the improved on board F product. Recent reports in the AF forum made me weary that I would get an affaires service with slightly better wines … but I was about to experience a really nice flight!

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Before departure the purser stopped by to introduce herself and wish me pleasant flight. Interestingly she came to me first and then to the other pax (an asian younger lady travelling alone and a mid-age asian couple); I was also always served first despite being on an award ticket! This is probably the first time my PE status was recognized by AF (sad, but probably pretty much true).
Recent reports on food in F were pretty mixed and I can say it was mixed on this flight as well. Some dishes could be served in affaires as well, but some were actually pretty good, well seasoned and came in a decent presentation. I stopped after the main course since I was still full from the excellent food in the F lounge (so did most others) and the entire cabin went to sleep for ~4 hours. For some reason I couldn't sleep well, but then snoozed for a while before I converted my bed back into a regular seat. I got up and let the FA know that I was ready my desert (skipped the cheese course altogether) with some more champagne and a few minutes later my desert with an espresso and some other chocolate goodies were at my seat. The service overall was very attentive and even during the time the cabin was still dark (e.g. while I had my desert) someone came through every 15 minutes or so and if they saw me awake they stopped by every once in a while to make sure I didn't need anything.

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About 2 hours before arrival they turned the light back on started the 2nd meal service. The food was very substantial in quantity and I couldn't eat everything; except for the main course I felt everything was more than just a touch nicer compared to affaires. The Bordeaux I had with the main course and beyond was nice, but I was a bit underwhelmed with the Burgundy I had before.
Before landing I packed all the remaining goodies into my backpack and we landed uneventfully @ LAX. At the gate the C-cabin deplaned first, which was not a problem, but I felt they could have handled it a bit better e.g. escorting us to and through immigration. Anyway, immigration was a breeze as usual and w/o any checked luggage I was on my way in no time.


In summary this was a pretty decent trip in La Premier with a horrible connecting flight in C. The F lounge in CDG is worth a trip and service @ CDG as well as on board was outstanding. Would I do it again? Not for $13k and not for the current 250k (!) miles, but the 100k miles return was a steal (even considering that the 50k miles o/w came with a hefty $330 in taxes)! AF did a great job with the new product, but who is going to use it? LX and others are as good with the old products and now they are further improving … tough game for AF to win, but they are not as lost as they were a few months ago. Of course with the recent improvements in the FB program I am returning to WP, so no more F awards for me on AF anyway.

reserved for pics

unfortunately I was coming from SIN to PAR with a tight EDI connection so I did not get to checkout the fab new lounge!
you did not comment on the PJs( I hate them)
and did you think the cabin lights were dim enough?
I was the only one in F and they would not turn them off for me
the cabin light annoyed me the whole night and it was an overnight flight.

Mrs. cfischer 'demanded' that I bring an S-size PJ home from this trip

the lights were dimmed and I opened the window shade a bit when I was awake ... F was full.

I added a few pictures ... some more in the linked album.