Review of Air France flight Paris → Beirut in Business

Airline Air France
Flight AF562
Class Business
Seat 4A
Aircraft Airbus A330-200
Flight time 04:20
Take-off 09 Aug 14, 16:35
Arrival at 09 Aug 14, 21:55
AF   #24 out of 94 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 6117 reviews
PortAxe
By 5959
Published on 24th August 2014
Hello everyone! I've decided to translate my previous FRs to English due to my cousin's interest in reading them!

French Versions:

20 Juillet 2014 - Beyrouth -> Paris - AF 561 - Business - 3A - A330 - http://flight-report.com/en/report-7765.html

20 Juillet 2014 - Paris -> Munich - AF 1822 - Premium Eco - 4D - A319 - Non Reporté (Maux de tête ont eu raison de moi)

9 Août 2014 - Munich -> Paris - AF 1423 - Premium Eco - 5C - A319 - http://flight-report.com/en/report-7785.html
9 Août 2014 - Paris -> Beyrouth - AF 562 - Business - 4A - A330 - http://flight-report.com/en/report-7823.html


English Versions:

20th Of July 2014 - Beirut -> Paris - AF 561 - Business - 3A - A330 - Soon
20th Of July 2014 - Paris -> Munich - AF 1822 - Premium Eco - 4D - A319 - Not Reported (Headaches kept me at bay)

9th Of August 2014 - Munich -> Paris - AF 1423 - Premium Eco - 5C - A319 - Soon
9th Of August 2014 - Paris -> Beirut - AF 562 - Business - 4A - A330 - YOU ARE HERE

I'm sorry that I started from the last report but my 10-years old cousin wanted to read the reports and this was the one I had translated the most so I finished it. Enjoy it Looch Looch ;)

Two days before my departure from Munich I get an email from Air France offering me an upgrade to Business class (from Premium Economy) for a very reasonable 213$ on the Paris-Beirut leg. Once again I accept the upgrade and my reservation is updated with the new travel class.

I needed that upgrade for one simple thing: I had a 5h layover and was stranded in Hall K with the temporary gardens which are terrible to stay at for more than an hour at most. I didn't want to end up paying 35 Euros to gain access to such a place, completely not worth it.

The Email :

photo AS


My boarding pass with the previous Munich-Paris flight:

photo 29


After deplaning by bus to Terminal 2F and a brisk walk later here I am in Terminal 2E- Hall K.

Directly after my arrival I head towards the temporary spaces set-up by Air France in the two extremities of Hall K. I head to the west space because of its close proximity to my boarding gate (K33). A lovely agent welcomes me to the garden and hands me a Wi-Fi card to be used while warning me that reception might not be optimal due to some antenna problems that were being fixed at the moment.

Here's the Wi-Fi Card:

photo 2014-08-23 23.33.05photo 2014-08-23 23.32.54

I was connected for much more than 15min and I didn't use the card, does this mean the old limit is gone?


I seat myself in the lower section of the terrace with a direct view on the tarmac:
photo 2014-08-09 14.44.58


Comfort wise it's far from stellar:

photo 2014-08-09 14.55.11


An Emirates A380 passing by:
photo AF562_001


Air France A320 heading to the parking space:

photo AF562_002photo AF562_003photo AF562_004



There's more than 4h left till my next flight. I decide to head to the duty free and purchase some items for the family along with some special requests from friends as well:


A380 with the Airbus livery:
photo 2014-08-09 12.15.45

I come back to my initial terrace. The welcoming party suggests that I go the Air France Lounge in Hall L since I have enough time to go back and forth. Well here we go. I go through security in the opposite direction and take the shuttle towards Hall L:

photo AF562_016


I clear security in less than a minute thanks to the dedicated Sky Priority/Accès N'1 line which was completely empty.
The agent scans my boarding pass and tells me that I'm at the wrong gate. I explain my situation and he directs me to the lounge(which I already know). Another agent overhears our discussion and explains to me how to leave Hall L and head back to the Shuttle, she also wishes me a good day in a very warm fashion.

I take the elevator and here I am only a mere feet away from the lounge's entrance:

photo AF562_012


It's now 12h30 PM. I present my boarding pass and explain why I'm here. The agent greets me with a smile and invites me to visit the lounge in Hall M before it closes at 2PM. It was tempting by I was so hungry I needed to eat something first:

My lunch for today:

photo 1

I ate two plates of the same cold pasta with salmon. By the time I finished it was already 1h30 PM and going to the Hall M lounge wasn't an option. Maybe next time.


Hall L Lounge:

photo AF562_009photo AF562_010photo AF562_011


Back to Hall K with a new security check. The agent at the terrace tells me that my boarding gate has changed to K51 and that I might want to go to the other terrace to be closer to the gate. Here We go.

photo AF562_019


A bit of spotting around Hall K (Not very spotter-friendly)




Air France B747-400:

photo AF562_007



Another 747 taxiing:

photo AF562_017




Air France A330-200 :

photo AF562_006





Air France A340-300:

photo AF562_013photo AF562_014



A lot of Air France 777s :






My Final Spot:

photo 2photo AF562_021




B772 taking off:

photo AF562_028photo AF562_029



Etihad A340-500 heading towards the Terminal:







Emirates A380 which was taxiing at the start of this FR:

photo AF562_032



Miscellaneous Planes:





Flight On-Time:

photo AF562_041



Heading Towards the boarding gate:






Our bird for the day with the ancient livery:


photo AF562_043photo AF562_044photo AF562_046



The Emirates A380 decides to push back the moment we started boarding (Priorities respected)

photo AF562_051




Zoom on the Terminal from my seat. Sadly I will have a neighbor in 4B but he slept most of the flight.

photo AF562_052



Wing + Engine:


photo AF562_053




Spotting during the relatively short Taxing:


Royal Air Jordanian A319

photo AF562_054


Another collection of planes:

photo AF562_055



Air France B777-300ER:

photo AF562_056



Air France B777-200ER received on the 2nd of April 2002:


photo AF562_058photo AF562_059



Air France B777-300ER received on the 24th Of October 2007:

photo AF562_060



Air France B747-400:

photo AF562_061



Air France B777-200ER received on the 11th of Mars 1999:

photo AF562_062photo AF562_063



Air France B777-200ER received on the 21st of April 1998:

photo AF562_064photo AF562_065


Two Air France whales:

photo AF562_066



Special French-Chinese relations livery:

photo AF562_067


Air France A319 landing near us:





Take-Off:




I take a comfortable position and await dinner:

photo AF562_081


L'amuse bouche:

photo AF562_085



Easy-Jet in-flight spotting:

photo AF562_086


Another Plane:

photo AF562_087


Cruising altitude reached:

photo AF562_088

One More:

photo AF562_089


The winglet:

photo AF562_090


The table is getting ready:

photo AF562_091


Foie Gras and smoked salmon; exquisite.

photo AF562_092


Done:
photo AF562_093


The cutlery:
photo AF562_098


Evian:

photo AF562_097


The small IFE screen with decent content I must say:

photo AF562_094


Sneak-peek at the cabin:

photo AF562_096

I forgot to take a picture of the menu, I still have it somewhere though. I will update this report when I find it.

My Plate:

photo AF562_099photo AF562_100

I choose pasta once more because I've had it with meat and chicken during my stay in Salzburg. It was decent but not cooked well enough; let's say it's not something you serve in Business class. Alas I was too tired to finish them and I skipped the cheese plate and the triple dessert.

photo AF562_101

I try to sleep but the seats weren't very comfortable at first. 10 minutes later I find a comfortable position and sleep until moments before landing.

Beyrouth:



Quick deliveries of the bags but the Priority tags were useless as always.

Thanks For Reading!
See more

Verdict

Air France

8.5/10
Cabin8.5
Cabin crew10.0
Entertainment/wifi8.0
Meal/catering7.5

Air France Lounge - 2E, Hall L

7.4/10
Comfort7.0
Meal/catering7.0
Entertainment/wifi8.5
Services7.0

Paris - CDG

9.2/10
Efficiency10.0
Access10.0
Services8.5
Cleanliness8.5

Beirut - BEY

8.5/10
Efficiency10.0
Access8.0
Services8.0
Cleanliness8.0

Conclusion

A very nice flight with AF in J. Having access to the Hall L lounge made for a great ground experience instead of the dreadful temporary gardens provided by AF, they're not bad but they should be public places and not a Business Lounge.

Comfort: Not as good as the BEY-CDG flight because of my neighbor in 4B. I deduct 1.5 points because of the seat's sleep position. Wouldn't like to be stuck for an 8h+ flight in them.

Crew: Very friendly and professional. Well placed humor without any fake facades.

Catering: I don't think I can judge correctly here since I only had half of the meal but the pasta wasn't all that good. Easily the flight's weakness. The entrée was simple magnificent though.

IFE: As always, good content, mediocre screen.

Punctuality: Delayed take-off and on-time arrival, nothing to complain about.

Information on the route Paris (CDG) → Beirut (BEY)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 28 avis concernant 2 compagnies sur la ligne Paris (CDG) → Beirut (BEY).

Useful

La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Middle East Airlines avec 8.6/10.

La durée moyenne des vols est de 4 heures et 8 minutes.

  More information

7 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 116640 by
    jetsetpanda 2283 Comments
    Thank you for sharing this report and the nice pics.
  • Comment 116691 by
    KévinDC TEAM SILVER 6733 Comments
    Thanks for taking the time to translate this very good report with lots of good details and nice pictures! Definitely a good deal to upgrade from Premium to Business. It was nice of the lounge staff to suggest you go to the L lounge because these temporary espaces ephemeres lounges are a JOKE! Thanks again for a good report!
    • Comment 300619 by
      KévinDC TEAM SILVER 6733 Comments
      Yep, it's open. I was there this morning. Big let down. It's pretty much exactly the same as before. Supposedly they installed kitchens for hot food, but there was absolutely no hot food at either of the two buffets, just croissants and cold cuts...the usual.
    • Comment 300479 by
      PortAxe AUTHOR 91 Comments
      It's my pleasure! I really found the staff very friendly at both lounges and there was no real obstacles to my transit from hall K to Hall L. Well starting Monday the K lounge will open again!
      Thank you for your report!
  • Comment 148504 by
    junior_boji 6 Comments
    Hi! Nice reports. Can i know where is the nice place to plane spotting inside cdg terminal? and where is the location that you spot the Etihad a340?
    • Comment 326838 by
      PortAxe AUTHOR 91 Comments
      Hi There!
      Well to be honest CDG is not VERY spotter-friendly, your best bet would be the Terminal 2E - Hall L & M, these offer a clear view of the planes but not the runways.

      The Etihad A340 photos were taken from Terminal 2E - Hall K at the extremities of the Hall. There is a small public space that overlooks some parts of the airports.

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