#24 out of 94 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings.
6118 reviews
Hello everyone and welcome back after a long absence. After a great trip in Japan during winter 2020, it is time to go back home. The return trip starts from Osaka Kansai airport and will end in Nice Côte d'Azur airport with a connection in Paris Roissy-Charles-De-Gaulle, France.
As a reminder, here is our japanese snowy route.
You can also find a Japanese touristic bonus on the Ozora - Chitose flight via the link section down below.
AF's OLCI opens 30 hours before the scheduled departure. So I took care to do it before I got to sleep. During the process, I received an upgrade offer to Business Class for 89€.
This offer seems to be a deal, but it only concerns the flight from Paris (CDG) to Nice (NCE), France. Aboard a narrowbody aircraft with a product equal to Economy ; The only differences are that you are seated at the first rows and the middle seat is blocked.
Unless you want to gain extra miles or if you need to maintain your frequent traveller's status, the 1€ per minute Business Class offer (since the Paris-Nice's time duration flight is around 90 minutes) is definitely NOT a deal. Especially when you can "upgrade" the current flight with the same amount of cash.
Once the OLCI is done and before getting to sleep, a quick look to FlightRadar24 to see where our aircraft was and it just left Paris. Our Dreamliner is F-HRBB. By current time in Japan, I guess our aircraft will be delayed…
The next day, when I woke up (5.00 A.M), AF sent me an e-mail notification about the delay. The aircraft's departure now at 10.55 A.M. due to the aircraft's late departure at CDG. My connection time at Paris was 3 hours and 15 minutes and is now reduced to 2 hours and 44 minutes but that is still plenty enough to get to the last flight's boarding gate.
Our guide drove us until Kyoto's train station, where we'll be transferred to the airport via the Haruka Express with the Hello Kitty livery. Very comfortable and very convenient way to reach the airport.
As we approached the airport, I spotted this Thai Airways's Airbus A380.
I'm not gonna lie, but since this trip was a tour where flights were included and operated by AF, and because I know AF's product a little too well, I was very tempted to be fly on another airline, especially one who has a superjumbo, much more comfortable and much better than the 787. And thanks to TG, I could had flown aboard the "King of the Skies" from Osaka Kansai (KIX), Japan to Bangkok (BKK), Thailand and then, from Bangkok (BKK) to Frankfurt (FRA), Germany with Lufthansa's superjumbo.
But because of the Covid-19, which was already a threat in Thailand and because I had to come back quickly because of my occupation, I couldn't satisfy my whim… :(
The train station while on our way to the airport's international terminal.
The airport barely changed since the last time I come there, which was 3 years ago while I went back home with Emirates via Dubai Airport.
Report [ https://flight-report.com/fr/report/43291/emirates-ek-317-osaka-kix-dubai-dxb/ HERE ]
I'll get my boarding pass on the kiosk but I won't get my baggage tag. Besides, the AF app never gave me the smartphone version's BP, like it never did since the beginning of this trip.
My BP.
Once my suitcase has been checked-in, I went to KIX's landside shops to pay my final yens for a couple of souvenirs. Among those shops, this one about Pokémon. (Or should I say "Pocket Monsters" ; the origin that give the world anime's name)
A perfect shop for avgeeks. with an impressive choice of avgeek models and keyholders reprensenting airlines's rear wing or even the "remove before flight" keyholder.
What I chose to spend my last japanese yens (JPY) with now a very collector item:
Avgeek information : Alitalia was the former Italian's national airline that stopped its activity on October the 15th of 2021 due to bankrupt. A new national carrier replaced it as ITA Airways (Italia Trasporto Aereo)
Security controls were fast and smooth.
However, the borders are now automatic, which mean you don't have your stamp on your passport as a souvenir. :(
The FIDS. Today, we're boarding gate 35.
KIX airside. A tour in the shuttle is required to reach our aircraft.
Boeing 787-10 Singapore Airlines going to Singapore Changi airport (SIN).
Our aircraft.
On the other side, we have a British Airways Boeing 787-9 getting ready for its fly back to London Heathrow, (LHR) UK.
KIX hosts a lot of Boeing 787s but also lots of Airbus A350s with two Vietnam Airlines's A350 simultaneously present. This one is going back to Ho-Chi-Minh Saigon (SGN), Vietnam.
With another one returning to Hanoï (HAN), Vietnam.
Another one as Asiana Airlines is coming from Seoul Incheon (ICN) airport, Republic of Korea.
And another one ! This time, it's a Lufthansa one on its way back to Munich (MUC), Germany.
Our gate. The boarding staff is getting ready.
As experimented in CDG, boarding procedure started according to fee zones (for example, if you paid your ticket the cheapest, you'll board among the last ones) but this time, priorities will be strictly respected, as we can expect in Japan.
A330-900 Aircalin heading to Nouméa (NOU), French New Caledonia.
Our aircraft's beak.
We're boarding via a blinded jetbridge.
Door moment
My seat's (30H) legroom is obviously royal because it's an emergency exit seat. And since it's an emergency exit seat, I had to pay a 75€ charge (NON Flying Blue Card member fee) and being able to fulfill the following conditions, which are :
1) Do you have at least 18 years old ?
2) Do you speak French or English ?
3) You don't have any problems to move ?
Because you'll be an intermediate between passengers and flight attendants in case of a evacuation.
The flight attendant call button and the lamp are located under the armrest. They are quite difficult to reach when the IFE screen and the tray are deployed.
Speaking of the IFE screen.
You can find a USB plug under your seat.
The safety card.
The headset.
There was also a pillow and a blanket waiting for me on my seat.
This aircraft also has a Wi-Fi service. It was available but I never used it, mostly because of its price, which looks rather expensive.
An infant travelled to seat 30D. At the moment I feared he was going to cry during the flight but he didn't at any time.
The aircraft might be recent, there are already signs of wear visible.
Bad point for AF: Seated at an emergency exit seat, I was expecting a briefing from the crew, as of how to evacuate if it has to be the case. Although I did accepted the requirements when selecting the seat on the website, doesn't justify such a negligence from a airline that wants both passengers and cabin crew members's safety, unlike other airlines.
The safety video started on the monitor.
By the way, this safety video has been replaced by a new one a year later, flattering especially Paris while there are so many beautiful french cities that could have been in highlights like Lyon, Dijon, Rouen, Strasbourg, Toulouse, Annecy or even Cognac.
The Thai Airways superjumbo just took off to Bangkok (BKK), Thailand. With almost every carriers removing the A380's from their fleet, it's so sad. But that was back then considering some airlines brought it back that other didn't.
Due to an important traffic, we took-off at 11.36 A.M ; with an hour and 11 minutes delay. 12 hours are required to reach the French capital city.
The Inflight menu with a refresing towel. You could also find it on the IFE screen.
The menu on this flight. Unlike the previous flight from Paris to Tokyo, the paper menu clearly shows two meals.
The first meal service usually appears an hour after take-off. So why not watching Just for Laughs ? with some champagne ? However, we didn't have nuts as starters.
If nowadays the city of Nice is officially French, it keeps a certain Italian identity due to its vicinity to Italy.
A 160 year-old folk custom wants that precisely at noon, a cannon is shot to the city. An idea that come from Sir Thomas Coventry-More, a former Scottish colonel whom, after passing his career in the British armies, retired to Nice, France alongside his wife. But Madam used to take a little too much time at the market, often come back home at 1 or even 2 p.m, meaning he had to wait up to 3 p.m. to get his lunch ready.
As a result, he required from the mayor the authorization to fire on the city's hill to remember his spouse to come back home and get the lunch ready. He also convinced him that he will cover all the expenses.
When he left the city, the mayor was relieved to hear the city would be silent again but the people, who was getting used to that, required to maintain this practice, which become official in 1885, via a municipality decree.
According to that urban legend, the first shot ever started on the 21st of december 1861. And since then, that tradition has always been respected. There are however 2 exceptions :
- on the 1st of April, it booms one hour earlier than usual, because of a fool. An "April" fool ! (ba dum tss!)
- and the 14th of July, the only day it remains silent to honour the victims of the terrorist attack on July the 14th 2016 on la Promenade des Anglais.
So if you come in Nice and hear the boom, you're in no position to ask locals what was that explosion nor what time it is…
That is precisely at midday (Japanese schedule), the cultural flight attendant working in Economy Class come to my seat with this strange green box you can see down below.
"Mister Aigle_voyageur ? Did you ordered an Italian menu ?"
"Indeed I am. ".
Even at 9 000 km (6114 miles) away from home, I can say the tradition has been respected… Somewhat. ^^
Indeed, for a 15€ extra, I ordered an "à la carte" menu. The Italia Menu precisely. A la carte menus have the advantage to be served along special menus, BEFORE the first meal normal service.
To get an à la carte menu, you need to:
1) travel with a booking established by AF (ticket number must always start by 057)
2) travel either in Economy class or Premium Economy class…
3) … on an long-haul flight operated by AF (available on all his network except India) …
4) … departing from Paris where a hot meal is included.
Warning: A la carte menus are availbale on flights departing from Paris airports ONLY. There are however two exceptions :
1) You can choose the Italia Menu only on flights going TO Paris from :
- French DOM-TOM :
* Cayenne (CAY)
* Fort-de-France (FDF)
* Point-à-Pitre (PTP)
* Saint-Denis de la Réunion (RUN)
- United States of America :
* Los Angeles, California (LAX)
* San Francisco, California (SFO)
* Washington (District of Columbia) (IAD)
* New York (John Fitzgerald Kennedy) (JFK)
- Canada :
* Montreal, Quebec (YUL)
* Toronto, Ontario (YYZ)
- Africa :
* Abidjan (Ivory Coast) (ABJ)
* Libreville (Gabon) (LBV)
* Dakar (Senegal) (DSS)
* Douala (Cameroon) (DLA)
- People's Republic of China :
* Beijing (PEK),
* Shanghai Pudong (PVG)
* Guangzhou (CAN)
* Hong Kong (HKG)
- Republic of Korea
* Seoul Incheon (ICN).
- Japan
* Tokyo Narita (NRT) and Tokyo Haneda (HND)
* Osaka Kansai (KIX)
2) The Tradition Menu is the only one applied between Paris and all destinations mentionned earlier regardless the location of the departure flight.
Let's explore this box…
There is a real towel and also some metal cutlery.
Starter: Parma-style prosciutto on a bed of melon, mini-mozzarella balls and asparagus.
Main course: Lasagna in parmesan cream sauce, cacciatora chicken and brocoli in butter sauce
Accompaniments: A little bottle of balsamic olive oil, parmesan cheese in dices, butter from New-Zealand, bread and gressins.
Dessert: Tiramisu.
As for the drink, it shall be a tomato juice. Cheers !
Riddle game : On the photo down below, there is a big mistake coming from the cabin crew. Will you find it ?
Tip: Take a close look in the box's content…
Answer : The cabin crew gave me a plastic goblet while inside the box, there was a real glass !
Is there anyone to play the Pocky's game ? (Japanese game coming from Pocky where two players must eat a Pocky from its sides until they reach their mouths at the center)
If I have to sum up this meal in one word ? D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S !!
The trolley showed up 30 minutes after being served.
We were flying near Beijing back then. I gotta admit I was surprised we passed by Republic of Korea and People's Republic of China while AF usually flies towards Sapporo, Hokkaido before entering Russian airspace on the return flight…
When flight attendants arrived at my row, my neighbor from the left got the last western option (beef stroganoff). As a result, my neighbors from the right got the asian option, which was grilled salmon.
Since flight attendants are around, I'll ask for a refueling. But this time if I can have it on my real glass. The stewardess couldn't help but wonder how a "Business class" glass ended up in Economy and I had to tell her I bought an A la carte menu…
Cheers again ! Way better like this ! ;)
Shortly after lunch service is done, the cabin will be plunged into the dark. As a result, all windows were getting dark by the crew's command, meaning no more interest to take pictures of outside. It also applies to the emergency exit seats.
We're currently flying over Russia.
the In-Flight Entertainement (IFE) program.
Although the entertainement offer was rather generous, I can't say I found a lot of interesting programs. Therefore, I'll try either to become a millionaire…
…or smash like an "Angry Bird".
Even still, I could have watch a movie I'm sure you'll guess it…
Time to take a break and to walk in the aircraft and to the galley. Since we're flying right before the Covid pandemic, the galley's offer is rather generous with many western as japanese snacks.
Those cakes were delicous.
With all this crowd, I thought we tried to impersonate EK's bar. ^^
A chocolate ice-cream has been served during the flight by flight attendants.
The mood lightning is on a little bit less than two hours before landing.
Breakfast was served in the "So chic" bag, which was introduced to passengers by AF back then. And honestly, it's not that "chic" on top of being more tedious to remove all its content.
There was a hot snack and it was a tomato and cheese puff pastry parcel. Unlike lunch, I'll get ordinary cutlery.
We're finally approaching CDG. In all honesty, this flight really lasted forever…
We'll get a lot of turbulences during the descent until touchdown at 3.48 P.M. We caught some of the delay but we are still 50 minutes behind the clock.
15h54 (French schedule): the AF's arrival check-list is spoken in the cabin:
PNC dernier virage
PNC aux portes
désarmement des toboggans
Vérification de la porte opposée.
Disembarkment.
Last view of our aircraft. Its next destination is Bogota (BOG), Colombia.
This is where our flight has come to an end. I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please leave a like and a comment. See you soon for the last flight of this japanese trip before Covid's travel restrictions.
So, what was my experience about this flight ?
Cabin: That's for sure, I am definitely not a Boeing 787 lover. As far as I see in AF's Economy seat's pitch in the Dreamliner, I got the feeling to be cramped. And since the Premium Economy is a hard seat, the only cabin really interesting here is the Business. But since you have no idea if you'll get an upgrade offer at the OLCI even in this Business, I played it safe by paying an extra-legroom emergency exit seat.
Cabin crew : I had a good cabin crew ; they did their job but somehow, I didn't feel fully convinced by this experience. A little mistake about the meal's drink served in a goblet when there was a real glass in it but I guess it must be rare for them to serve à la carte menus. Especially on the way back as I said before...
Entertainement : AF's biggest weakness in this flight. Despite a rather "generous" offer, I barely had interesting programs for this long flight (3 or 4 at most). In comparison with Thai Airways, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines or even Emirates back then, my favorite programs selection has gone from simple to triple.
Catering : An excellent Italian meal but I regret there are so many conditions to get an à la carte menu, besides, I think AF doesn't truly put this offer on highlights ; with your booking number, you got to explore every window you can in your booking so if you're not used to fly, you couldn't try this "exotic" experience to what you usually have. As for breakfast, on the hand, it was good but now you have it served in a "So chic" bag is kinda disappointing...
Osaka Kansai airport : Very efficient, easy to reach via train, you have a lot of shops especially landside. There isn't really flaws to say except maybe you got to pass an automatic border and don't have an exit stamp on your passport, considering how expensive it is.
Paris Charles-De-Gaulle airport : Quite difficult to say right about now, so I'll keep my final judgement for the next and final review.
Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 18 avis concernant 1 compagnies sur la ligne Osaka (KIX) → Paris (CDG).
La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Air France avec 7.5/10.
La durée moyenne des vols est de 12 heures et 37 minutes.
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4 Comments
Oh wow, I didn't know they were already doing the 2nd meal in a bag in Feb 2020! I thought for sure they'd introduced it after the official start of the pandemic, after March. Crazy that AF are STILL serving the 2nd meal in a bag, almost 4 years later!
Thanks for sharing!
First of all, a happy new year 2024 to you and your acquaintances.
I agree. Still, come to think of it, AF suspended those buy-up meals because of the pandemic. But now, I have no information if they resumed that offer or completely abandoned it, most likely because it didn't sold out well...
Actually, Covid-19's first cases started back in december 2019, although it was back then an isolated case. Which would explain the term.
Especially when almost all Covid-19 rules don't apply anymore.
Have safe flights. :)
And AF shamelessly calls it a business class.
Weird that AF app wouldn't generate a boarding pass, was the app less robust at the time?
Waooo Alitalia .. so rare now!
Nice spotting session!
This is a miss I guess for you not to have been briefed.
Ahhh the good old days when the menu was printed..
I had no idea about the firing canon tradition!
Omg I forgot that was the case in eco!
The meal doesn't seem bad at all..
Thanks for that. Although, Covid wasn't really that important yet.
I would rather say that because I joined a group via a tour, the tour has partnerships with airlines. And since the ticket fee is different than the usual ones, I think they needed complementary informations before giving the boarding pass.
In a way yes. Even if I already have some experience about that part, on top of listening the news in the aeronautics, I read other reviews and saw a difference, that deserved to be mentioned.
And honestly, I still don't know if they resumed this offer or not. Otherwise, we still have the wooden cutlery and not a single clue for the basic meal.
Have safe flights. ;)
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