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:
Flight routing
- 1
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
We checked the departure screens and confirmed we were due to leave from the M gates, this would involve a bus ride.
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
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
The bus wasn't crowded and afforded a nice chance to check the birds.
Once we made it to the M gates I don't recall if we made it through security or not
And then we were dumped in this massive hall
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
Our plane:
It had a company A350 as neighbour
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.
BOarding Air france's 787-9
We used the 1L Door, so we had a mintour of the plane. First to the business class
Then our seats on Premium Economy
And while at it…I went for a quick sneak peak to Economy
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
I had a good view of the GENx engine to my right
High(er) quality headphones were provided
The flight's menu
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)
As we were among the first to board, it took some time until the Dreamliner got full and then we were good to go…
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)
We were also given the "covid kit"
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:
The cabin was then dimmed for the remainder of the flight
But unlike AV and other 787 users, AF lets you set the dimness level
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
For the snack the best choice was a small sandwich and a yoghurt (odd offering but okay)
This is a fun effect because of the camera and the blackout system
The sun set as we neared America, because of the filter it looked out of earth
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
We made it to Bogotá in the night and had a rather smooth landing.
We unboarded among the first
And were on our way to the long immigration queues…which we skipped because we both had registered to the biometric border check
Here the second leg of our trip ends.
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.
Is this only for Colombian citizens?
Thanks for this FR! Now I want to try the Premium Economy offering on AF!
Yes it wasn't full at all, but I reckon it wouldn't have made a difference otherwise.
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!
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 :).
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!