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jasepl · Member Joined: 26 Jul 2008 Posts: 4257 Location: bund-bay

I needed to make a short trip to Nantes, and convinced my friend Delna to accompany me. I had to bribe her though, by offering to pay for as many pains au chocolat as she could eat at Rollet-Pradier when we stopped in Paris on the way back home. Bribe worked and even though I had to make a couple of last-minute date changes, we were all set.

Part 1 – Bombay - Paris

Delna’s husband dropped us off at Sahar just after 1h00, for a 2h20 departure. Check in and immigration were both effortless and were completed in a matter of minutes. We were given lounge access cards for BOM and priority immigration / security cards for CDG (priority lines are known as Accès No 1 at Paris airports).

Security though, was another matter. Just two lines at peak times, with the chronically undertrained CISF guards unable to manage much of anything.

The BOM international departures area, while a phenomenal improvement from the ST bus stand it used to be, is still too dingy for my liking. There’s hardly any windows and I can imagine that even in the daytime one would feel like one was cloistered in a semi-underground bunker somewhere.

We didn’t bother with the Clipper lounge and just went straight to the gate where boarding had just started, so we breezed right through and found our seats in the forward Affaires cabin.

Some announcements were made in Portuguese and Spanish as well, since turns out there were a lot of passengers connecting to Latin America. That is a nice touch, something our desi carriers need to learn. Well, Jet needs to learn, and AI I guess needs to re-learn.

Anyway, First Class had 3/4 seats occupied, whilst Affaires had only a couple of empty seats. Economy, I have no clue.

Whilst AF’s IFE hardware has a way to go before that can match Jet’s, the IFE selection was surprisingly good and left Jet far, far behind!
See: http://www.airfrance.us/US/en/common/guidevoyageur/classeetconfort/divertissement_programme_airfrance.htm
Jet Airways, are you reading this?

Post-Departure Snack
Salmon paupiette, mushroom and zucchini cannelloni, lamb kebab, marinated paneer
***
Cheese
***
Mango mousse
***
Yoghurt, Bread, Fruit, Ice Cream etc
***
Champagne, wine, aperitifs, port, digestifs, beer, soft beverages, juice, tea, coffee, chocolate, water etc

Pre-Arrival Breakfast
Mushroom omelette, chicken sausages, mushrooms and grilled tomato
or
Apple raisin crepes with plum coulis
or
Bhaji potatoes, pan-fried vegetable galette with fresh mint and fried bread
***
Yoghurt, Bread, Fruit, Ice Cream etc
***
Soft beverages, juice, tea, coffee, chocolate, water etc

I didn’t eat anything, since I had had dinner at home earlier and I also had a packed dabba from home with a couple of snacks. Delna basically took one of each at both meals, so she finished long after everyone else, and said everything was pretty good, except the cannelloni, because zucchini does not belong in food.

They did a very quick turn on the late snack service and dimmed the cabin lights soon after; breakfast too was served well under an hour before arrival (we were descending when they started to clear up). Both were much appreciated because they maximised sleep / relaxation time.

We arrived at Terminal 2C and in about 10 minutes of disembarking, we were through passport control, past baggage claim and back upstairs in the arrivals lounge, which is also in 2C.

All in all, a great flight, where everything was pretty good. Nothing singularly spectacular, but well above average, which is something AF seem to manage consistently.

Parts II (at Roissy and CDG-NTE) and III (CDG-BOM) to come soon.
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Spiderguy252 · Posted: Sat May 29, 2010 1:55 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the report. Looking forward to part 2.
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Yeah.

jasepl · Member Joined: 26 Jul 2008 Posts: 4257 Location: bund-bay

Part 2 – At Roissy and Paris-Nantes

The AF arrivals lounge at 2C has the usual spread of breakfast foods, sandwiches, snacks and beverages, as well as a superb shower area with spacious individual cabins. Much better than the pre-fab, Soviet-style garbage that BA have at T5.

They also give you the appropriate toiletries (shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, lotion, razor, shaving cream, deodorant etc) all in a transparent zip-lock bag, so it's no bother taking the whole thing through security.

Shower done, we walked across the road to 2D and were at the gate well before boarding started.

CDG-NTE
Our flight was on a standard Euro-config 320. As is common with the European airlines, the only difference between Economy and Business hardware is that the middle seat is vacant and the armrests on either side of the middle seat can be brought in by clicking a button, so that there is more space for the passengers in the window and aisle seats. A seat-front table is laid down to keep the space unoccupied.

The increased space is significant; look at the gap between the armrest and the folding table be comparing the two below pictures.

It’s been a while since I flew AF domestic and on such a short flight of 40 minutes, I wasn’t expecting anything besides beverages and nuts, considering the cutbacks on all airlines over the last few years. I was totally surprised when the trolley came by with a very stylish box, containing a sandwich, a salad, a baguette, a decent sized piece of camembert and a sweet-sticky-raisiny bun. Apparently catering was similar in the back as well.

A short, uneventful flight (though the snack was a definitely surprise!) and we were in Nantes. The Atlantique airport is small enough that it took no time at all to collect bags and be on our way.
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jasepl · Member Joined: 26 Jul 2008 Posts: 4257 Location: bund-bay

Part 3 - Paris-Bombay

After three unexciting days in Nantes (at least the weather was spectacular!), we took the TGV to Paris. No point dealing with the hassle of flying, only to arrive at Roissy and then having to go all the way into Paris, when the TGV brings you straight to Gare de Montparnasse, in 2 hours flat, with nary a delay, for 50 euros. My cousin was there to get us at the station and we were at his flat in about 20 minutes.

Later that afternoon I had to make good on my end of the bargain and so we made the short drive to Rollet-Pradier, where Delna stuffed her face with one pain au chocolat after another (she polished off five), as well as several macarons - the nasty glutton!

A couple of my other cousins had made the trip up to Paris so that we could all hang out etc, and we enjoyed a nice quiet night in. That was definitely the highlight of my trip!

The following morning, we set out at 8h15 for our 10h50 flight back home. We got stuck in a major jam on the autoroute because of some accident and at one point didn’t think we would make the flight. And my stupid cousin who was driving us refused to go above the speed limit when we cleared the jam (I mean it’s Paris and he’s French… how can he not drive like maniac?). We finally reached the terminal at 9h45, just barely before check-in closed.

Immigration and security at 2C is pretty quick too. The terminal is not that busy, with only a handful of AF flights using it (mainly India, Africa and Caribbean destinations) along with a couple of other airlines.

The post-security area was full of Indians, what with flights to BLR, BOM and DEL all departing around the same time. Of course, it seemed every single desi had made the obligatory stop at duty free to buy their two bottles of Black Label. I’m not kidding… I had to struggle to find people without whisky in hand! As for us, well, we too ended up in one of the shops, but the one I was dragged to was the café, so piggy could eat more pains au chocolat. It’s amazing how she doesn’t weigh a ton, but then I suppose it’s the weird bawa metabolism at work. Im sure it will catch up with her later and she will turn into a whale!

On board, First had 2/4 seats occupied and I counted 4 empty seats in J. Not sure of Y.

Service was pretty good again, just like on the outbound. Of course, this being a day flight, crew were much more visible and service was leisurely and unhurried. Again, some announcements were made in Portuguese and Spanish too, in addition to English, French and Hindi.

Meal choice and quality was also pretty good again:

Post-Departure Lunch
Amuse-bouche of salmon and puréed peas
***
Courgette and goat cheese crumble, smoked foie gras, melon
***
Fillet of guinea hen with honey
or
Sautéed bay scallops
or
Masala bhindi, with dal-rice-roti
or
Vegetarian paella rice
***
Cheese and crackers
***
Apricot shortbread
Berry terrine with farmer’s cheese
Chocolate fondant cake
Sorbet selection
***
Yoghurt, Bread, Fruit, Ice Cream etc
***
Champagne, wine, aperitifs, port, digestifs, beer, soft beverages, tea, coffee, chocolate, water etc

Pre-Arrival Snack
Shredded duck, mashed potatoes and grated parmesan
***
Cheese and crackers
***
Yoghurt, Bread, Fruit, Ice Cream etc
***
Champagne, wine, aperitifs, port, digestifs, beer, soft beverages, tea, coffee, chocolate, water etc

The FA was most fascinated that Delna did not want the desi meal, and that I did not want to eat anything at all. Once I indicated that I had a dabba packed from home, he at least left me alone. But he kept coming back to Delna with the pickle, papad, supari and masala chai hoping against hope that these bizarre Indians would at take him up on at least one of the desi offerings. Delna finally gave up and took the chai!

The flight progressed smoothly and before we knew it we were past Ahmedabad. And it was only 21h30. Considering our arrival was 23h20, we must have had really great winds! Of course, “traffic” at BOM sent us into the inevitable holding pattern until we finally touched down just before 23h00.

Immigration was quick, though it must be said that our immigration forms have to be up there amongst the most retarded in the world. First there all kinds of inane questions, that I see no reason for Indian citizens to have to answer. Then there’s a bit for foreigners only, but not for PIOs / NRIs. Then, hold on, this bit must be filled in by NRIs, but not by PIOs or by foreigners. And, as usual, the immigration officers typically processed the foreigners faster than the Indians. What utter nonsense.

We only had to wait about five minutes before our bags showed up and were outside by 23h30 where Mr Delna was waiting to take us home.
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Nimish · Posted: Sun May 30, 2010 10:48 pm Post subject:

Hey Jasepl - great read. Was the FA a desi (the one harrasing Delna) or a French chap? I wonder because you hear of this type of thing on AI (with the FAs encouraging unwilling grannies to eat), but never heard of this on any other carrier.

How would you compare AF to say LX on the same routing? LX now has their new 330s coming to BOM, so I suspect that hardware might be slightly superior, or is it all the same?
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jasepl · Member Joined: 26 Jul 2008 Posts: 4257 Location: bund-bay

jasepl · Member Joined: 26 Jul 2008 Posts: 4257 Location: bund-bay

Part IV – Titbits, notes and comments

Connecting at CDG can be a pain, certainly, but it’s not near as bad as people make it out to be. The biggest pain I suppose is the endless bus ride that one needs to endure, but that’s usually when connecting between North America and Europe / India.
Here’s a tip: just walk out of the terminal and walk over to the other terminal. Even with immigration and security, a 2C -> 2D connection can easily be done in 20 minutes flat. Hell, we made it from the plane to the arrivals lounge in under 10 minutes, and we move very slow! Even a 2E -> 2C connection shouldn’t take much longer if done landside, on foot. Much better than the stupid bus that feels like its taking you all the way to Belgium and back.
AF’s slippery slope J seats are a mystery. They don’t seem all that comfortable to sit or lie on, yet the whole thing somehow works. Many people aren’t great fans, but no one can ever complain of feeling cramped… there’s a lot of space.
My main gripe is that AF are sending the 777 to Bombay again, which means a middle seat in Business. Ugh. Unacceptable. Besides, the 777 is possibly the dullest long haul aircraft out there, incredibly noisy, and has no redeeming feature from a passenger or aesthetic perspective. Bring the Airbuses back to Bombay!
Air France have certainly made a dramatic improvement in their premium meal offerings (which were above average to start with). There are now four main course choices. And they seem to have eliminated the more "exotic" mains like pigeon from the India routes at least, which makes sense. Wine still mostly just okay though.
Though the meal itself has improved considerably, presentation has not. A meal on a tray belongs in an office cafeteria, not in long haul business class. And butter needs to be presented in a porcelain ramekin, not in foil wrapping!
Additionally, I was surprised that the baggage allowance was 3 checked bags up to 32 kg each. That’s nearly 100 kilos per person! Yes, it was in Business, but for India-Europe this seems to me much more generous than much of the competition.
I was also honestly surprised to learn of so many Latin American connections on AF out of India. Turns out they’re increasingly a force on this, because SA only go to EZE/GRU (and that too not daily) and BA / LH too have a very limited presence in the region, with day-long layovers at LHR / FRA being the norm. AF, on the other hand, fly double daily to GIG, GRU and MEX, as well as daily flights to BOG, CCS, EZE and SCL.

Overall a typically reserved, French-style service, but one that nonetheless never misses a step. I certainly prefer it to the SQ kind, where the FAs are in full kowtow mode - that makes me very uncomfortable. The food was outstanding too, the priority placed on sleep on the outbound was welcome, and overall all three flights and the entire experience generally exceeded my expectations by a decent margin.

Unrelated:
Ours has to be the least productive country in the world by far. Seriously, how many pointless jobs can the state create? And this is just at the airport!

Oh, and while Delna was being a pig, I started talking to a middle-aged Hungarian couple who were going all out buying cakes (I don’t understand why, because the Hungarians produce far better cakes than the French ever will!). Anyway, turns out Jet is becoming all the rage in Hungary apparently for travel to North America. Even though a Jet-Malév combo through Brussels is more expensive than Delta’s non-stop Budapest-JFK flight, many people prefer paying more and flying Jet when they can, because they find it wonderful. Interesting.
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me111993 · Member Joined: 04 Sep 2009 Posts: 3225 Location: MAA/AMD

Nice TR jaspel! Thanks for posting! Smile

Jet does carry a good load of passengers from N-America to continental/southern Europe, particularty from JFK, they get pretty good connecting traffic to Madrid, Barcelona, etc...
It'll be a real pity, if they lose out on a spot in Star Alliance and hence the Brussels hub...
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stealthpilot · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 2325 Location: BLR, DXB

Nice TR- the food sounded great and food along with IFE are the main things i need Wink

I didn't mind transiting thru CDG because i had a lot of time and for us plane geeks it's nice to be driven around/over/under/between terminals to drool over the planes.
Other than having lots to look at on the airside i hated the transit. Multiple terminals, lots of walking etc.
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