This trip is from Cairo to Paris, Charles de Gaulle and it's the first leg of my trip to New York to visit my parents for Thanksgiving. The plane is an Airbus A340-300. If you're booking in Premium Economy, Air France is the best carrier out of Cairo- because they're the only airline offering it. In fact, the Air France Premium Economy product out of Cairo is better than the Lufthansa business class product from Cairo to Frankfurt (economy seating with the middle seat blocked). I love window seats so I can watch the take off and landing, so I chose seat 16K. I would have preferred 15K, but I booked late, and the seat was taken. Here's the seat map for the Airbus A340-300 (taken from the Air France website):
It should be fine though, because there aren't any bathrooms or galleys behind it. I booked a halal meal for all of the flights, but the breakfast out of Paris doesn't show up as halal on my booking management page. That's because all meals on Air France flights originating in Cairo are halal. Originally, I was going to arrive at the airport 2 hours early; but since the Russian plane crash, there's increased security in Egyptian airports, so I'll have to leave at 4:00 to be at the airport by 4:30 AM.
Arrival and Check In:
I woke up at 3:30 to get ready to go to the airport with my Uncle. The ride was really short-only 15 or 20 minutes from our apartment. My flight was leaving from Terminal 1, which serves all airlines except for Egyptair and members of the Star Alliance. Here's a picture of terminal 1 as I approached the airport. Cars are no longer allowed to drop off passengers right outside the terminal- they have to stop in the parking lot.
I didn't need to worry about new security measures after the Russian plane bombing 3 weeks ago. At the terminal entrance, I put my bag on the conveyor belt and walked through the metal detector, handed over my passport and E-ticket, set off the metal detector, and kept walking. On the way to the check-in zone (restricted to passengers), I did the same thing, set off the metal detector again, and this time a female employee lightly brushed my arms and sides before waving me on. I checked in via the Sky Priority line, got my boarding passes and immigration card, then cleared exit immigration in 4 minutes.
It was time for the fajr prayer, so I washed in a bathroom on the 2nd floor near the duty free and prayed in the mosque on the 3rd floor next to the food outlets. The mosque was really nice and clean with a chandelier and a curtain between the women's and the men's sections. I would have taken a picture but there were employees sleeping in the women's section. There are several food options in Terminal 1- Starbucks, Chez Edy's (overpriced cafe with food that looked like it'd been out for a while), the Good English Pub (empty of course!!), another Cafe- Altimodo or something like that, and McDonalds. I grabbed a quick cheeseburger and sat down to continue my report. My flight started boarding from Gate 3 at 6:35. There was a long line of people at the boarding gate, but security was quick and after putting my backpack through the x-ray, setting off the metal detector, and getting my arms and sides brushed- I was ready to board a bus to the plane. All of the gates in Terminal 1 are bus gates, while most of the gates in Terminal 3 (the new terminal) are actual boarding gates. Before boarding the bus, my passport was checked by an Egyptian official to make sure I had a valid and current visa (necessary to leave the country).
It was only 2 minutes to the plane. Ever since the Russian plane attack, Air France has decided to put in its own extra security procedures, so every passenger was wanded with a metal detector before boarding the plane. Once on board, about half of the flight attendants were from the Air France safety and security team, as noted by the red labels on their flight attendant blazers.
I boarded the plane and was instantly in the Premium Economy cabin. The seat was relatively wide and comfortable, but the recline was minimal. I pushed the button and the back cushion slid downwards maybe 3 inches. The best part was the leg rest and the foot rest, but perhaps it was only effective for me because I'm 5'3''. A bottle of Evian mineral water was waiting for me at my seat, as was a pair of built in noise cancelling headphones and the Air France in flight magazine.
The tv was much bigger than the economy class one. I don't have a picture, but the economy class tv was so tiny it looked like the screen of an enlarged Gameboy. The touch screen was responsive, after they spent 20 minutes resetting the IFE because it was malfunctioning, but there was a commercial before every movie and there was a 10 second lag time with a please wait message when going from section to section.
We left late because they were making a quick technical adjustment to the plane. There was no pre-meal drink offered, as advertised on the Air France website. Nor was there priority boarding- but that's specific to Cairo. They tried to- I think- those of us in Business and Premium economy were directed into the waiting room of Gate 4 instead of the Gate 3 waiting room, but our bus was the last bus, so we ended up taking all of the last minute boarders as well. I flew Qatar business class this summer and there wasn't priority boarding then either. After take-off, the amenity kits were distributed. It contained covers for the earphones, a toothbrush and toothpaste, an eye mask, and earplugs.
Shortly after, the meal service began. The Premium economy offered 2 choices- an omelette and sausage meal, or a crepe.
I try to watch my sugar intake, so I chose the omelette meal. It started off well, kind of. The roll was room-temperature but soft. But then the croissant was cold, and the omelette was flavorless as were the potatoes. The only good thing was the veal sausage which had the consistency of a hot dog. The wrapped Kiri cheese is the same kind we feed to our cats at home. The appetizer was decent- but it was more or less deli meat with cucumber and a tomato- fairly difficult to do poorly. The fruit was nice as well. I finished it off with a glass of orange juice and cup of tea.
I then watched Jurassic World, which was awesome, followed by some French movie called The Measure of a Man that put me to sleep until about 30 minutes before landing. We landed 10 minutes late.
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Verdict
Air France
6.0/10
Cabin6.0
Cabin crew8.0
Entertainment/wifi6.0
Meal/catering4.0
Cairo - CAI
6.8/10
Efficiency10.0
Access5.0
Services6.0
Cleanliness6.0
Paris - CDG
8.5/10
Efficiency10.0
Access8.0
Services8.0
Cleanliness8.0
Conclusion
It wasn't an amazing flight, but we arrived in Paris safely, which is the most important thing. Departing from Cairo was relaxed and easy and the flight went smoothly with a good crew, even though the food was less than impressive and the seat needed to recline more.
0 LIKESLIKE TO THANK THE AUTHORTHANKS ! FLIGHT-REPORT LIKED
Thanks for sharing your first series of reports here! I've flown AF's Premium Economy many times and always found that it offered great value for the price. Welcome to Flight-Report!
Thank you for sharing this FR and welcome to the site.
AF Y+ is definitely a better seat than in Y. I’m surprised the recline was so poor, doesn’t sound any different than Y. The IFE is definitely outdated.
“Kiri cheese is the same kind we feed to our cats at home” - I’m sorry, but that comment made me laugh hysterically. The catering looks very boring and Y. So you get a real glass with the meal tray, but regular drink service is with plastic cups?
6 is a pretty rough rating for only landing 10 minutes late…
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6 Comments
I agree that AF Y+ is definitely better than LH J class out of CAI.
However, the meal you received was definitely an economy looking one.
Too bad there are no putside pics as you must have had a good view on the engines and wing from your seat.
So through how many metal detectors did you have to go?
This is obviously a better choice than the J product on LH's A321.
The meal could use some improvements considering it's Y+, looks like a conventional economy meal to me.
See you!
AF Y+ is definitely a better seat than in Y. I’m surprised the recline was so poor, doesn’t sound any different than Y. The IFE is definitely outdated.
“Kiri cheese is the same kind we feed to our cats at home”
- I’m sorry, but that comment made me laugh hysterically. The catering looks very boring and Y. So you get a real glass with the meal tray, but regular drink service is with plastic cups?
6 is a pretty rough rating for only landing 10 minutes late…
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