#23 out of 94 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings.
6118 reviews
It is finally time to return home. Today I take quite a long ride on Air France from Incheon International Airport, serving Seoul, to Paris Charles de Gaulle/Roissy Airport. Due to the route evading Russian airspace, it will be the longest flight -by time- I have ever taken. And due to special circumstances, the flight was almost re-routed through a Pacific route, which would have made it even longer…
On the bright side, I get to experience the newer Air France long haul cabin!
At 8 sharp I find myself at Seoul Station, where the AREX is waiting to depart towards ICN. The seats are very comfortable and the interior is quite warm, which is a relief given the chilling Korean winter. The ticket for the express, non-stop train is 9500 KRW (~6.50 €) and takes around 55 minutes from Seoul Station to ICN T2.
The terminal building is modern and pleasant; large glass walls and a wavy, high ceiling that allows for natural light to filter through create a very open and comfortable interior. There are multiple rows of check-in counters, as well as many self-service kiosks, where I print my boarding pass. These passes, however, would not work at any scanner they went through; so I still had to take my phone out for the mobile passes.
Security takes under 5 minutes, and electronic passport control under 2. It involved a passport and fingerprint scan, with instructions in the language of my passport's nationality.
Since I have some time to spare and the incoming aircraft is slightly delayed, I head to the end of the pier to spot some planes. Including the aforementioned plane landing from CDG, which I shall board shortly.
The terminal pier is not nearly as open as the check-in area, but it is still quite neat with decent walking areas and multiple food and shopping options scattered about. There is no lack of restrooms or travelators, even though some are undergoing reparations at the moment.
There are some waiting areas between gates, which feature more artistic seats and some great views of the apron. A control tower and our plane can be seen in the background.
The seating areas near the gates have no lack of seats, and it seems like many passengers either are waiting somewhere else or are coming later. There are power outlets and wireless chargers near some of the seats.
Many stores are still opening at this time, and some sections of the terminal are closed for renovations.
While the arriving passengers leave the plane and it is being prepared to return to Paris, I photograph my ride for today. It will take me from Korea to France in more than 14 hours… It will be my longest flight over land.
Airline: Air France
Flight: AF267
Model: Boeing 777-300ER
Registration: F-GZNR (France)
Age: 8 years
Boarding started 10 minutes behind schedule, which isn't a good sign. It's clear that something's wrong when all passengers are seated but the aircraft isn't moving. Some time after, more passengers are boarding the plane, way later than the scheduled departure time.
Then the captain breaks the news that we missed the timeslot to enter Chinese airspace and that it could take hours until the next slot, and that they were planning an eastern route over the Pacific. In the end, it seemed loaded fuel was not enough for the longer route, so we waited between 2 and 3 hours and departed westbound.
Since I usually take photos of the seat on arrival, to not bother the other passengers, I unfortunately do not have any photos this time. This is because I was in a hurry to leave the plane, as the delay would make my connection very tight.
The seat is 43A, a very particular seat and arguably one of the best in the plane: It is in an emergency exit row, with extra legroom and both a window and aisle access. However, due to the container for the evacuation slide, the legroom is not as large as in other emergency exit seats. As a result, Air France sells this seat as a standard Economy class seat, at a price considerably lower than other bulkhead seats. It is worth noting that the window is not very well aligned, but it is still usable while seated; unlike the emergency seats in the front Economy cabin.
In front is the emergency exit, a crew jumpseat and a screen showing the map. For takeoff and landing, the view was changed to the outside cameras, a nice gesture for the passengers that have to stow their screens. A bit of a surprise, the cabin crew did not brief the passengers about the operation and use of the emergency exits.
Given that I paid for standard (and not emergency) seat reservation, legroom is divine. I'm 171 cm tall and could completely stretch my legs while laying back with a reclined seat. Seat width is a small downgrade, though, as the IFEs and tray tables take some space in these seats.
And unless your neighbor is a giant, there shouldn't be trouble accessing the aisle at any time without bothering them.
The seat features a tray table stored in the armrest, which is way sturdier than expected. It can be folded in half.
The IFE is also in the armrest, it is locked while stowed and is also quite sturdy. The screen has 4K resolution and touch controls are extremely responsive. The inflight map is very detailed and can be manually controlled.
The entertainment selection is very wide, with many good songs and movies available. There are some games too, but they lack the local multiplayer feature that some airlines have. Controls are quite responsive, but only touch controls are available.
Also worth mentioning is the famous safety video, which has audio in English and French and meets very high standards of direction, acting and soundtrack; all while clearly communicating the safety features and instructions.
The cherry on top for this particular seat is the storage shelf on the wall, which contains magazines, safety cards and sickness bags for the 3 bulkhead seats. I used it for my water bottle and my glasses.
There are no individual air vents, only reading lights and crew call lights.
Class: Economy Light (X)
Includes: 1x Meal + 1x Breakfast. 1x Cabin bag + 1x Small bag. Paid seat selection before check-in.
Seat: 43A (Window)
Price: ~575 € (Round trip)
Ancillaries (this segment only): 30 € (Standard seat reservation)
At 14:27 we take off from 34R. It is quite a significant delay, 3 hours and 42 minutes after the scheduled departure.
Little over an hour after takeoff, lunch is served. As announced in the Air France website and the IFE, the options are a French Beef Bourguignon and a Korean Chuncheon Jjimdak. And as much as I enjoy a good French stew, I couldn't resist some more Korean food. It is served in plastic containers with wooden cutlery.
The breadroll is quite disappointing for Air France; it's just plain and unremarkable. The cream cheese is good, though.
The salad feels very fresh, with many crunchy vegetables. However, there is no dressing.
The miso soup is alright, nothing to write home about.
The main dish, Jjimdak, is very tasty. The chicken isn't dry at all and the sauce is pleasantly spicy. The vegetables add good flavors and there are rice cakes that contribute to an addictive texture. And most remarkably, the rice is fluffy!
The mango mousse has good texture but it tastes very artificial.
And the free champagne, characteristic of Air France, is a nice treat too.
The lavatory between Economy cabins is very small, as usual. It is kept clean throughout the flight, in all the occasions I went it was nice and tidy. There is soap and a spray bottle of AIRCRAFT ODOR ELIMINATOR 155.
There are 3 more lavatories in the back, two of which are considerably longer, though not much wider. They weren't as sparkly as the other, but still clean.
Also in the back of the plane, I also found the galley service, which consisted of a box of cookies and some drinks. Rather lacking, given the higher standard of service Air France had provided up to this point… The drinks could also be found at the galley between the Economy cabins.
After asking the cabin crew for the advertised sandwiches, I am given a plain rectangle of white bread with ham inside. It tastes like bread with ham, and feels very dry, as it doesn't have butter, cheese or anything else.
As mentioned above, this seat is very comfortable throughout the long hours spent here. Aisle access can be a bit restricted by the tray table, as you may have to bother your neighbor to store it in the armrest. But I could easily pass through the gap when it's folded.
I didn't even bother to try the provided headphones, as they're usually comfortable with decent audio, but the sound of the engines drowns most of the sound out. I recommend bringing own, higher quality devices. Air France IFEs even allow Bluetooth connections. The only unexpected downside of the IFE was that no connecting flight information was provided at any point, especially with my tight connection at CDG.
Around 90 minutes before landing, breakfast is served. It is quite plentiful and filling:
A good slice of pizza is the star of the show, well balanced in flavors and aroma. It does not taste like authentic Italian pizza, but it's still pleasant. The dough is somewhat soggy, though. Can't expect crunchy crust in a reheated airplane meal I guess.
The packaged orange juice is mediocre, as one can expect.
The bread is the exact same subpar product as before, just colder. So not very appetizing.
The small container of coleslaw was the surprise of the day, as it was crunchy and quite enjoyable; both the vegetables and sauce were tasty.
The yoghurt was also good, sweet and smooth with some fruit in it.
The cake wasn't particularly tasteful, but the texture was palatable and it was not dry.
In the end, we flew the standard route over China and central Asia instead of the suggested alternate Pacific route. Besides some turbulence over China, nothing else of note happened.
Route: Incheon International Airport (ICN) – (CDG) Paris Charles de Gaulle/Roissy Airport
Great Circle distance: 8949 km
Flight length: ~10800 km
Flight time: 10h 27m
Delay on arrival: +89 minutes (late, delayed departure)
We touch down on 26L at 19:53. There was nothing of note during the landing, but most passengers are anxious because of the delay and potential missed connections.
While I arrive at the airport with 30 minutes before my next flight leaves, the queues for security and passport control don't allow me to make the connection. Electronic passport control was closed for some reason, and the staff only opened a single e-gate after we queued for a while!
Regardless, Air France staff was quite efficient in rebooking me for the next flight to AMS, which would be the next day. A hotel stay was also provided, as well as a 15 € voucher. Afterwards, the seat reservation for CDG-AMS was refunded. To this moment I'm waiting on a decision for the delay compensation, and will update this section as soon as I receive it.
The hotel was a Holiday Inn Express located somewhat far from the terminal. It could be reached with the CDGVAL shuttle train landside, from the main airport train station to one of the parking areas, and from there about 5 minutes walking. My room had nice views of the airport, and breakfast was included. I did not take advantage of this, as my flight would depart too early for it.
Thank you for reading this report! Expect the last section of the report to change in a couple of months after Air France finally makes a decision on the compensation for delays.
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Photography: Own work
Maps: Google
Flight route: Flightradar24
ICN T2 has a very pleasant interior look, as well as offering an easy departure experience. However, the self-service kiosks print defective boarding passes.
CDG seems planned for good connections, but inefficient and questionable security and passport controls make the experience a chore at best and impossible at worst. Although I won't score them below a 4 in Efficiency because the main reason for this was that the flight itself arrived very late.
Air France offers an excellent Economy class, with a very modern and comfortable cabin as well as tasty meals. The crew, both in the air and the ground were very helpful with the issues caused by the delay.
Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 32 avis concernant 3 compagnies sur la ligne Seoul (ICN) → Paris (CDG).
La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Korean Air avec 8.0/10.
La durée moyenne des vols est de 12 heures et 32 minutes.
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It is my understanding that Holiday Inn Express provide free breakfast for all guests (at least that's the case in the USA).
Cheers
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