After a whole year of remaining in the country, which is the longest time ever for me, it’s finally time to get the heck out! The outbound journey of this trip is on Air France, stopping in Paris for a hot 15 hours.
Prior to the pandemic, Air France operates 4 flights a day (1 to ORY on select days), and together with JV partner Delta operates 5 flights a day. Much like London, all 5 depart from JFK in the evening hours. At the stage length of about 6 hours, it is a little bit more manageable than LHR, where you usually get about 3 hours of sleep if you’re lucky.
New York to Paris
Flight Number: AF 4081
Scheduled Departure: 6:50 pm
Actual Departure: 8:00 pm
Scheduled Arrival: 8:00 am
Actual Arrival: 9:10 am
Aircraft: A380-800 (F-HPJI)
Seat: 36L
On the morning of the flight, I received a notification from Google that my flight was cancelled. The Air France app told me instead that I was rebooked on a different flight, AF 4081, which departs about an hour late. Looks more like it’s a workaround to avoid taking a hit on the on-time rate, as well as the possibility of an extended delay, which results in $$$ under EU rules. Sneaky!
I arrived at JFK with one and a half hour to spare. The line for bag drop was quite long – thankfully, Air France takes SkyTeam Elite members in their Sky Priority check-in lane, and I was on my way to TSA checkpoint in under 10 minutes. I’m honestly been consistently treated better as a SkyTeam Elite in every other airline besides Delta itself – isn’t that ironic?
JFK’s Terminal 1 is chronically overcrowded, and it is most definitely felt at the security checkpoint. Thanks to my Global Entry membership, I get to use the TSA Precheck lane, although it isn’t dedicated at T1. This meant I still had to take out the laptop from my bag, but did not have to take off my shoes. 15 minutes later, I was through into the gate area. Boarding began 50 minutes before departure, and I boarded the A380 for the first time!
First impression of the plane was not so good. My particular aircraft, F-HPJI, was only delivered 5 years ago, but the interior looks rather dated and tired. The IFE monitor was of measly size, and the resolution was horrendous – probably 360p quality.
Another thing I noticed about the cabin is the curvature of the wall. This lead to the interior plastic window being way too far from the exterior window, making photography and avoiding reflection particularly difficult.
We had a slight ground delay due to airport traffic, and at 8:40 pm, we were pushed back for take off. While the cabin crew did the safety check, I noticed most, but not all, wears a “security” pin on their uniform. According to their explanation in the announcement, only those with the red security pin are in charge of safety related aspects of the flight. Interesting? We waited in line for about 15 minutes, and lifted off into the sky. I was fairly surprised at how quiet the A380 is even during takeoff!
To start the dinner service, the crew distributed towelettes and menu. But first, real champagne! This is one of the signature service of Air France – you definitely won’t find it on any other airline. I did not have a chance to check the champagne label though.
I selected chicken with rice for dinner. The rice was lightly flavored but adequate, and the chicken was juicy and tender. Accompanying the entrée was corn salsa, apple sauce, bread because France, and a piece of French cheese, because France. 😉
I explored the cabin for a little after the meal. Unfortunately, AF chooses to block off the stairs during the flight, even though there is a small section of economy seats at the tail of upper deck. You can really feel the abundance of space on the A380 – the bathrooms are sufficiently large, and the galleys have plenty of room to move about. Not having much area to walk about, I returned to the seat, watched Christopher Robin, and got some shut-eye before I start the adventure in Paris.
At around 1.5 hours prior to arrival, refreshments were served. It was very carb-y – orange juice, blueberry muffin and plain yogurt served on a small tray, but was sufficient to give me some fuel before I find a place to eat after I land.
We arrive into a rainy Paris one hour late. Immigration line was very short and I was out in the baggage claim in under 10 minutes!
Paris to Shanghai
Flight Number: AF116
Scheduled Departure: 11:25 pm
Actual Departure: 11:45 pm
Scheduled Arrival: 5:45 pm
Actual Arrival: 5:15 pm
Aircraft: A380-800 (F-HPJB)
Seat: 69F
After my 12-hour quick taste of Paris, I head back to the airport. As I arrived, I attempted to reprint paper boarding pass, as well as check if there’s an upgrade offer. That turned out to be unnecessary, because I got an operational upgrade to Affaires, Air France’s business class. Jackpot! I had originally paid extra for a “Duo” seat, which are economy seats on the upper deck.
Having arrived at the airport slightly late, though, I didn’t have enough time to explore the Air France Salon, so I proceeded straight to the gate. This is my first time ever boarding from upper deck – how cool is this?
I arrive at my seat for the next 10 hours. Unfortunately, Air France’s A380s featured these angled lie flat seats up until they were prematurely retired this year. It’s a shame, but as an upgraded passenger, this certainly beat economy! The flight attendant came by and passed out amenity kits from a basket.
Dinner service began shortly after take off. 12am and dinner? How much more French can you get? Champagne and dried apricots opened dinner service. Champagne on offer was Joseph Perrier.
For appetizer, Air France served smoked salmon and foie gras, accompanied by crème fraiche and blini. A small salad and cheese plate is served on the side.
The main course was a seafood and farro entrée. It tasted much better than it looked!
Coffee and chocolate cake followed the main course.
Service was efficient, and I was ready to rest just an hour after take off!
I woke up again about five hours later, and decided to grab some snacks from the galley. Air France is really big on promoting French culture in its onboard product – snacks on offer included cookies from Fauchon, and macarons from Laduree, as well as fresh fruits. I had some more champagne to go with them.
Breakfast service began three hours out of Shanghai. The flight attendant, at this point, seemed to have warmed up to me, and asked if I had a restful flight! That was a nice touch. Of the congee, crepe, omelette options, I selected omelette, and had coffee and orange juice along with it.
After the meal, I took a peek at the forward section of the upper deck, used as lounge area. It’s a shame this area is completely underutilized!
The rest of the flight was smooth and I arrived in Shanghai 20 minutes ahead of schedule.
Final thoughts
From every detail in the soft product, economy or business, you can really see Air France’s effort in bringing out the chic French flair. There are French elements, throughout the business class menu, and mid-flight snacks feature various well-regarded local brands. Even the service onboard feels French: the flight attendants mostly appear detached, but warm up to you eventually 😉 The fact that they serve champagne in economy truly shows their dedication to that goal.
The hard product, on the other hand, left a lot to be desired. Low resolution personal screens aside, angled flat seats on long haul flights are simply unacceptable these days. Thankfully (and sadly), Air France has retired all A380s following the COVID-19 pandemic, and all Air France business class today have lie-flat seats.
Hopefully soon I will have the opportunity to fly their La Premiere product.