Montreal - Paris CDG AF / Y, 747-400: after the very soon
Paris CDG - Basle AF / Y, ATR72: Won't be published
My short trip in Montreal ends very quickly and it is with the taxi that I go back to Trudeau airport. The taxi has a fixed price at CAD 40.- one way, roughly 25€, not that expensive given the amount of time needed to go to the airport. The alternative would have been to take the metro and then the 747 coach to the airport, but I've been a bit lazy. I find it sad that such an airport does not have any train link to the city.
Check in is fast and courteous, only one guy before me, thanks to the Sky Priority lane. SP gives access to a dedicated lane for the inspection, and that was quite handy given the amount of people in the regular lane. I'll be at 01:30p in front of the lounge, quite early as I wanted to discover the YUL AF lounge that looked nice on the pictures I saw on Flight Report.
At nearly every gates there are games for the children:
As scheduled, a 744 is waiting at the gate, F-GITE tonight. That will mean a retrofitted bird! Cool.
Some pictures of the terminal: (those who already know my FR's know that airport picturing not my thing is and that I am ways better in loo and doors pictures!)
Here's the drama of this FR. The lounge only opens at 02:30p and it is now 01:30p. Sh*t!!
It is a bit strange to open only a lounge 02:20 before the first departure. For me, a minimum of 03:00 should be the norm. At exactly 02:30 the door opens and I'll be the first to be at the lounge.
Very nice welcome by the attendant, I've been asked if I'd like to take a shower (is my smell that bad :p) and I'll be shown the buffet.
Here is the lounge in global:
My selection:
The quiche was lovely, the salad and the veggies very fresh, the cheeses excellent and the desserts to die for. Only the beef accra was so so.
Very nice views of the tarmac:
330-300 Air Transat:
330-300 Swiss:
737-800 CanJet: F-GZHB who spends the winter with daddy CanJet and comes back to mummy Transavia summers.
737-800 Air Transat: F-GZHD, who spends her first winter holidays with Auntie Transat and comes back to mummy Transavia in the summer:
A319 Rouge:
737-800 Sunwings:
Mobile boarding lounges:
A better view taken later from the a/c:
Second flight to CDG with 340-300:
AC 330:
Boarding then starts with strict respect of priorities. I head upstairs of this beautiful lady:
Upper deck emergency exits that open upwards, and the slide arming handle. Those doors can't be used for boarding or catering. Only for emergency purposes:
Here a short video to show you what happens when you open a door on the upper deck with armed slides:
Jump seat upper deck:
Nice pitch on the emergency exit:
Note that the luggage bins on the upper deck not very big are. But there is a compartment just right after the stairs to accomodate excess bags.
Side bin, very handy:
Pretty good recline and the seat slides forward as well:
Window:
Light and crew call control, only the seats on the first row or emergency exits have this, as they are on the IFE for the others:
I've been very impressed by the steward that told us that the upper deck will only be full at 50% and checked each full row to offer an empty seat to have a maximum of 2 people per 3 seats. That was very nice. Thanks to this, I have been able to move to a fully empty 3 seaters.
Push back will be 20 minutes late because of some no shows. But no incidence on our arrival time. Some spotting while taxiing, and the beautiful MD11 among others:
Beautiful views after take off over the airport and the St Laurent river:
IFE :
Loo:
Main deck, fully booked:
Winglet from one of the doors windows and the door:
Back upstairs to check the menu:
What's to see outside?:
I'm gonna have the pasta for dinner:
The carrot salad was good, the dessert as well, the fruit compote was lovely but the pasta really not to my taste. The merlot sauce smelled like old wine, the cheese had no taste, and the tomatoes a red thing full of water. To forget! Thankfully I was not hungry!
The crew offered champagne pro actively during the whole service, a very nice touch. Plus, when someone ordered a drink, they always added: 'Do you care for anything else'?
When clearing the trays, they asked each passengers if they wanted a digestive. Such an offer can't be declined:
Good idea to put messages on the IFE instead audio announcements:
Full flat bed:
Looks comfortable, but I won't really sleep, only dozing a bit.
A few hours later the mini breakfast is served, as I was not feeling hungry I'll only drink the OJ and ask for a hot chocolate.
We will land at 05:20, 10 minutes early! Good.
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Verdict
Air France
8.3/10
Cabin8.5
Cabin crew10.0
Entertainment/wifi8.5
Meal/catering6.0
Air France Lounge
9.2/10
Comfort9.0
Meal/catering9.0
Entertainment/wifi10.0
Services9.0
Montreal - YUL
7.5/10
Efficiency6.5
Access5.0
Services8.5
Cleanliness10.0
Paris - CDG
9.6/10
Efficiency10.0
Access9.5
Services9.5
Cleanliness9.5
Conclusion
A very nice AF flight, on time flight, comfortable retroffited seats, very attentive crew. Only the food was so-so.
0 LIKESLIKE TO THANK THE AUTHORTHANKS ! FLIGHT-REPORT LIKED
Glad you had a good experience with AF and thanks for sharing this detailed and well written report with great pictures.
Personally I find this report very useful because I just booked a trip flying on this 744 in Oct. from ATL-CDG. I was debating whether to take the bulkhead window on the upper deck or lower deck, so in the end I chose 60L which is the window bulkhead. From your pictures, I see that the armrest to the right is moveable and there is plenty of space next to the compartment. To me, sitting in certain areas like the upper deck and the front by the nose are distinctively part of the experience of flying a 747. The only problem with the upper deck is that your standard carry-on with wheels will not fit in the overheard nor the compartment to the right and you need to leave it in the closet area next to the stairs.
The catering from the AF lounge looks very nice. Any place that has smoked salmon or something similar gets a thumbs up from me. The surroundings with the comfortable furniture looks very pleasant and with good agents you can't ask for more.
As usual, the first meal on AF looks decent and much better than its U.S. competitors. However, the tiny breakfast is a joke. In that respect, I think it's better with the competitors. At least AA serves you a big warm croissant with yogurt instead of a piece of bread wrapped in plastic. I believe that on flights that are over 8 1/2 hrs the second meal is hot, but ATL-CDG is under five minutes at 8 hrs. 25 min. I would be a nice surprise to see a hot breakfast but I doubt it. At least champagne is still provided in Y so that is a bit of a comforting luxury for some.
Thanks for the lovely comments. If I were you and if the seats are still available, I would rather go for 65L or 65A, which have much more legroom than the bulkhead seats. Furthermore they have a window, which is not very common with emergency exit seats. And the side compartement.
From my understanding ATL CDG has a cold breakfast, but more substential than the one on YUL.
Trust me, I would have snatched 65L/A if I could. Unfortunately I don't have any status with Skyteam and it was a miracle that I was able to get 60L in the upper deck without paying any extra fee. I used the DL website to book this and reserve the seats. I was skeptical so I looked up my reservation on the AF site and in effect I was confirmed in 60L there as well.
Hopefully the flight would not be too full and with some luck perhaps I can even get a seat in row 65 if I ask at the gate in ATL. I don't think paying extra when I already have 60L is worth it.
Thanks for sharing this report with this beautiful bird I'd love to ride again (before the end...).
The lounge offer seems to have improved and that's a good point !
We can see the work of the international pier, anyone know why such work was undertaken ?
An overall very nice experience with this retrofitted cabin, onboard this gorgeous lady, upper deck and a complete row for your own. I have flown several times on this route and remember having a great full tray for breakfast on my way back to CDG in summer 2006. And then it comes to this...
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5 Comments
Personally I find this report very useful because I just booked a trip flying on this 744 in Oct. from ATL-CDG. I was debating whether to take the bulkhead window on the upper deck or lower deck, so in the end I chose 60L which is the window bulkhead. From your pictures, I see that the armrest to the right is moveable and there is plenty of space next to the compartment. To me, sitting in certain areas like the upper deck and the front by the nose are distinctively part of the experience of flying a 747. The only problem with the upper deck is that your standard carry-on with wheels will not fit in the overheard nor the compartment to the right and you need to leave it in the closet area next to the stairs.
The catering from the AF lounge looks very nice. Any place that has smoked salmon or something similar gets a thumbs up from me. The surroundings with the comfortable furniture looks very pleasant and with good agents you can't ask for more.
As usual, the first meal on AF looks decent and much better than its U.S. competitors. However, the tiny breakfast is a joke. In that respect, I think it's better with the competitors. At least AA serves you a big warm croissant with yogurt instead of a piece of bread wrapped in plastic. I believe that on flights that are over 8 1/2 hrs the second meal is hot, but ATL-CDG is under five minutes at 8 hrs. 25 min. I would be a nice surprise to see a hot breakfast but I doubt it. At least champagne is still provided in Y so that is a bit of a comforting luxury for some.
Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for the lovely comments. If I were you and if the seats are still available, I would rather go for 65L or 65A, which have much more legroom than the bulkhead seats. Furthermore they have a window, which is not very common with emergency exit seats. And the side compartement.
From my understanding ATL CDG has a cold breakfast, but more substential than the one on YUL.
Have a nice flight :)
Hopefully the flight would not be too full and with some luck perhaps I can even get a seat in row 65 if I ask at the gate in ATL. I don't think paying extra when I already have 60L is worth it.
The lounge offer seems to have improved and that's a good point !
We can see the work of the international pier, anyone know why such work was undertaken ?
An overall very nice experience with this retrofitted cabin, onboard this gorgeous lady, upper deck and a complete row for your own. I have flown several times on this route and remember having a great full tray for breakfast on my way back to CDG in summer 2006. And then it comes to this...
How long was the flight by the way ?
Thanks again for your time and all these photos.
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