air france 777-300ER Paris to RIO
I arrived in CDG from Edinburgh to connect to AF442 to Rio. I had a few hours to enjoy the lounge in Terminal 2K.
Boarding began on schedule through the SkyPriority lane for a planned departure of 1310.
Here's our Boeing 777-300ER, F-GZNI - 11 years old at time of report.
Named 'Blois'.
View from seat 19L in the Economy cabin.
I thought Air France had updated all the economy seats and PTV's on their 77Ws, obviously not.
Who needs updated PTV's with a view like this though!
We pushed back around 50 minutes behind schedule and made our way to the active runway, 08L.
Those huge GE90's came to life and powered us into the dull skies above Paris!
My favourite channel on the older IFE is working atleast!
Service began with a hygiene pack being distributed - face mask, alcohol gel and wet wipe. This was then followed by the meal service - chicken or pasta.
The cabin crew actively encouraged passengers to have a glass of champagne.
The meal was really tasty; I was tempted to ask for seconds.
Another round of drinks followed the meal service.
I then decided to stretch my legs and wander to the rear galley until the seatbelt light came back on due to some light turbulence - nothing too bad.
I asked the crew if the aircraft had wifi installed, unfortunately not! I was told "this one is too old" - I'm sure there are older AF 77Ws with wifi though.
Another glass of wine passing the Azores as we settled in for another 8hrs and 25 minutes to Rio.
Economy was almost full, however the middle seat next to me remained free which is always a bonus.
I spend the time watching some music videos and a few movies. The selection on AF was pretty decent. Sadly, the older entertainment system had audio issues when using headphones which became quite annoying.
Sun beginning to set. Can't get enough of this view!
Around 1.5 hours prior to landing, cabin crew distributed a bag of snacks and some more drinks. The bag contained a hot cheese pastry, bread roll, yogurt, apple juice and a small cake. I forget what was in the red tub.
Descending towards Rio.
After a smooth landing and flying time of 10hrs and 48 minutes, we were on the ground in Rio and parked next to a Lufthansa A350.
Hi KLM777300ER, thank you for sharing this FR!
I always found this orientation strange since the screen is not centered on the seat and probably adds to discomfort on the flight due to neck strain.
Overall, the catering seems strong for this route considering what is usually seen on routes of similar length to North America. The dinner and pre-arrival meal are both substantial portion sizes.
I wonder why the use a bag versus tray for the second meal. Based on the quantity of items, a tray would make more sense, but maybe there are some space considerations in the galleys for storage.
Thanks again for sharing!
Thanks NGO85, I agree, I've certainly had less offerings in economy.
Hi, the bag is meant to speed up service and to enable people to easily take away the food they don't eat and avoid waste ;-)
Hi KLM777300ER, nice report as always. I like the wide-angle shots--they're always good for showing cabins, and I'm glad newer phones have greatly improved the wide angle image quality.
Nope, not yet--there is still a small-ish subfleet of C42W24Y315 configured 77Ws with old cabins in every class, including angle-flat NEV 4 seats up front. These frames are the ones currently being retrofitted with the new Business class cabins in the premium-heavy C48W48Y273 config and should disappear once all are converted
The best part of flying AF long-haul Y!
Along with the consistently good quality catering
Hah, I've seen tons of Flight-Reports on AF where the author does just that and it's almost always successful if there are leftovers. It probably helps in that it avoids waste.
It is interesting that AF are still doing the 2nd meal in a bag, which was introduced during the pandemic. The contents are quite good for a second meal compared to most other carriers on TATL routes so would definitely not be odd served in a proper tray. I imagine serving in a bag saves costs and space, but I guess can also be convenient for the passenger if they're not hungry at that time, they can take the food to go.
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for this FR.
Catering and free champagne are strongpoints of AF's long haul economy and whenever the crew is good, AF is truly one of the best airline in economy in terms of service.
I'm just surprised there was no midflight snack.