Review of Air France flight from Paris to Bogota in Premium Eco

AFR

AF - Air France

Flight taken on 27 April 2022
AF 428
15:40 10h 40m 19:20
Model Boeing 787-9
Class Premium Eco
Seat
Chibcha
1,110 · 78 · 6 · 7

Introduction


Hello amigos!

Welcome to part 2 of this FR series on a trip to Colombia on AF/KL. 

The previous flight on this trip is available here:



I'll pick up from where I left you in that report.


connecting at CDG


We arrived to CDG 2F and we had to connect to either the K L M gates…but we didn't know which until we reached the end of the corridor


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We checked the departure screens and confirmed we were due to leave from the M gates, this would involve a bus ride.


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As we had SkyPriority printed on our boarding passes we were able to use the No1 lane for the passport control…but there wasn't much of a queue


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After the passport control, we went to the lift to go down one level and get to the connection bus. From there I could spot the local birds, including the A319 we rode into CDG from MAD 


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The bus wasn't crowded and afforded a nice chance to check the birds.


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Once we made it to the M gates I don't recall if we made it through security or not


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And then we were dumped in this massive hall


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We attempted using the AF lounge with my ITA Volare card, but I wasn't able to… bummer. 
So we were left to the only eating option at the concurse, Paul, and bought a couple of overpriced sandwiches. I found the concourse to be super fancy, but totally useless for your everyday not fancy passenger.
We spent a couple of hourse here (which were suppposed to be spent on the AF Lounge) until our boarding time neared 


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Our plane:


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It had a company A350 as neighbour


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In no time we were called to board. I was excited to try this new type as I had only flown the A340-300 between BOG and CDG before.


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BOarding Air france's 787-9


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We used the 1L Door, so we had a mintour of the plane. First to the business class


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Then our seats on Premium Economy


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And while at it…I went for a quick sneak peak to Economy


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Overall the plane felt smartly and well appointed. Well done AF!

Back to our seats, we had more than enough space, specially because the seats have a fixed back


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I had a good view of the GENx engine to my right


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High(er) quality headphones were provided


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The flight's menu


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AF's IFE is full of nifty stuff for travelers, such as this guide to Bogotá (though only one of the pics is of Bogotá)


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As we were among the first to board, it took some time until the Dreamliner got full and then we were good to go…


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enroute to bogotá


Our taxi to the runway may be called the Dreamliner Zafari, I spotted 6 different users of the type (including our plane):





We had a powerful takeoff 





Our route took us over the city





We were then given an amenity kit ( I thought we were not going to get one as they weren't delivered during boarding)


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We were also given the "covid kit"


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As we cruised over Northwest France it was time for a minbar service, we had some champagne; then we had our lunch





We ordered the two options, we were both satisfied both in quality and quantity. I was offered some cognac as digestif, which I happly accepted:


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The cabin was then dimmed for the remainder of the flight


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But unlike AV and other 787 users, AF lets you set the dimness level 


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I went for a midflight snack and the WC…which was clean at that point. W Cabin doesn't have its own WC on the 789s and you have to go to the mid-plane loos on the Y-Cabin


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For the snack the best choice was a small sandwich and a yoghurt (odd offering but okay)


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This is a fun effect because of the camera and the blackout system


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The sun set as we neared America, because of the filter it looked out of earth


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Once we reached Colombia and there was one hour to go we were given a "happy meal" box. While it was well stocked and had lots of stuff, the Mrs didn't have anything (she said it was unappetising) I had some of the stuff and kept the rest for later 


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We made it to Bogotá in the night and had a rather smooth landing. 


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We unboarded among the first


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And were on our way to the long immigration queues…which we skipped because we both had registered to the biometric border check


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Here the second leg of our trip ends.

Display all

Product ratings

Airline

Air France 9.4

  • Cabin10.0 / 10
  • Cabin crew10.0 / 10
  • Entertainment/wifi10.0 / 10
  • Meal/catering7.5 / 10
Departure airport

Paris - CDG7.8

  • Efficiency10.0 / 10
  • Access5.0 / 10
  • Services6.0 / 10
  • Cleanliness10.0 / 10
Arrival Airport

Bogota - BOG8.9

  • Efficiency9.0 / 10
  • Access8.5 / 10
  • Services8.0 / 10
  • Cleanliness10.0 / 10

Conclusion

We had a great flight on AF's premium economy. Even with the Covid-era service, it was good. The seat felt confortable (proably even more than IB's) and the lunch service was great. AF also makes sure to keep you stocked with drinks, and the midflight snacks are also a welcome offer. The only downside is the happy meal box.

The connection at CDG was great. The only downside is the lame offer of restaurants at the M gate concourse.

Arrival into BOG was a breeze with the biometric check, or else it would have been chaos. The bags took some time to come out, but nothing horrible.

Thanks for passing by, ¡Saludos!

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Comments (6)

  • Thanks for the report! It's funny that AF's two distinct premium economy seats are widely criticised for not reclining enough and reclining far too much. Have you flown the new version with conventional recliner seats for comparison?

    • I've only tried this seat, I didn't find the recline to be terrible, not as generous as others in other airlines I've flown in though.

      Thanks for passing by!

  • Looks like a rather pleasant flight Chibcha. Imagine it also helped that the cabin seemed relatively empty from your pictures.

    The seats looked rather good as well.

    registered to the biometric border check

    Is this only for Colombian citizens?

    Thanks for this FR! Now I want to try the Premium Economy offering on AF!

    • Looks like a rather pleasant flight Chibcha. Imagine it also helped that the cabin seemed relatively empty from your pictures.

      Yes it wasn't full at all, but I reckon it wouldn't have made a difference otherwise.

      Is this only for Colombian citizens?

      Yep. Although foreigners may register for the exit border check. Don't know about the requisites.

      Thanks for passing by!

  • Interesting to see you on AF for long-haul instead of IB!

    We attempted using the AF lounge with my ITA Volare card, but I wasn't able to… bummer.

    What happened...were ITA not yet officially in SkyTeam? ST is probably the least cohesive alliance with stricter lounge access rules than *A or OW. Too bad there weren't any Priority Pass lounge in Hall M (at least I don't think there are). I was under the impression that AF allowed Premium Economy passengers to pay for lounge access for like 30EUR or something like that...maybe not.

    The main meal looks good, though the odd mix of premium and economy amenities with the meal service has always seemed weird to me...it's like AF don't really know how to position W cabin service so they just kind of mix in J and Y elements, which just feels haphazard (though it's been like that for years, so intentional). The pre-arrival snack in a bag was pretty decent during Covid times, but in 2024 they're still doing it. I guess it's OK in Y, but really just looks cheap in W...even if it is reasonably well-stocked as you mention.

    The updated W cabin on the 787 looks more comfortable and more spacious than on the older fleet. Though now they have even newer W cabins that aren't fixed shell like this. I like the fixed shell because no one can recline into your lap, but I also hated it for sleeping. You can never get a good sleeping position and it felt like I was always sitting fully upright, even when fully reclined. Good for day flights though!

    Thanks for sharing!

    Thanks for sharing!

    • Hello Kévin,

      Indeed flying something other than IB is a welcome change for all :).

      What happened...were ITA not yet officially in SkyTeam? ST is probably the least cohesive alliance with stricter lounge access rules than *A or OW. Too bad there weren't any Priority Pass lounge in Hall M (at least I don't think there are). I was under the impression that AF allowed Premium Economy passengers to pay for lounge access for like 30EUR or something like that...maybe not.

      A year later I was able to enter with the AZ Volare; which was a blessing given that the are no real lounges for Priority Pass in CDG2 (one reason why I have second thoughts on using AF for longhaul.

      It's curious how different is each airline's approach to W class...so far the best I've tried is AA. Although the AF amenity kit was great (I lost mine moving from one flat to another :/)

      Thanks for passing by!

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