I am reporting a 4-segment trip from Paris to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (SDQ) via JFK on Air France and Delta. The flights are the following:
AF32 - ORY - JFK (This Report)
DL497 - JFK - SDQ (coming soon)
DL500 - SDQ - JFK (coming soon)
DL404 - JFK - CDG (coming soon)
My trip starts at Orly Ouest. The corridor was not as crowded as I expected, but this changed as soon as I arrived to Hall 3
Check-in through the SkyPriority line was divided into Business and Premium Economy/Economy passengers. I was directed to the Business line, where I was the only passenger waiting. The Premium Eco/Eco line had 5-6 passengers waiting and were quickly checked in, while the Business class passengers already undergoing the check-in process had some issue, resulting on a 20-minute wait. More passengers arrived through the Premium Eco/Eco line and they were immediately assisted, while a significant crowd in the Business line had to wait.
I was already checked in and only needed to drop my bags, so after a quick document check I was on my way. SkyPriority passport control and security took over 20 minutes, and once all formalities were completed, I was airside.
As I was quite early for my flight, I took advantage of the wide bodies present in hall 3 for some spotting:
AF 772 ready for immediate departure to CAY
BA 767 getting ready for a short flight to Newark
Both birds
Since there wasn't anything else to do airside, I visited the AF Lounge.
The lounge, already reported several times here
Very limited food offering, but a very well stocked bar!
Time to board
Priorities were respected, but we were sent to a second boarding area, which was not a good sign and confirmed my suspicions: we were boarding by pax bus
Once the SkyPriority passengers boarded the bus, we were driven to our aircraft, F-GSPA
Boarding through L1, meaning that all passengers were going through the Business class cabin
View of the small BEST cabin, with only 7 rows
And my kingdom for the next 7 hours
The already known amenities
And a view through the window, where our neighbor F-GZNN was standing
As I mentioned earlier, boarding was done through L1, so the flow of passengers through the cabin impeded the pre-departure beverage service, which were only served shortly before pushback.
Pushback on time, with the charming AF safety video
..and we were on our way to JFK!
Menus distributed
And in the meantime, I started to watch Two Broke Girls
Appetizers were served, along with a nice glass of Porto
My menu choice was the Lasagna, followed by dessert. The lasagna was not very appealing, but it was delicious
The rest of the flight was very quiet, with the usual great service on daytime flights
Crossing the Atlantic
Pre-landing snack was served as I started to watch the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
We were soon approaching the New York area, earlier than anticipated
Approach and descent
Cleared to land
Welcome to New York, half an hour early
Our gate was still occupied by AF23, so we had to wait for 10-15 minutes near AALand (Terminal 8)
Finally rolling to our arrival gate
Passing through DeltaLand
PNC, dernière virage
Goodbye, F-GSPA
Passport control was a breeze, and bags were delivered fairly quick. I had to claim my bag, drop it again after going through customs, and then walk to Terminal 2, to continue my journey to Santo Domingo.
Thank you for reading!
Thanks for the report! The new AF business class seems great!
Your first 777 is F-GSQO, a 777-300ER, but only the 777-200 as you took fly to CAY.. it may bound for FDF or PTP.
Great engine views by the way!