The Ibis at Luxembourg airport is currently in the process of being refurbished. And I think that’s probably a good thing. The room I’m in is nice enough, but the public areas are starting to look grubby. The carpets should probably be declared a bio hazard, and the smell of boiled cabbage is ‘interesting’… The hotel’s redeeming feature though, is that it’s very close to the airport terminal, within walking distance.
Getting to the Airport
On foot, the airport is only about ten minutes away from the
hotel. However, there’s also a shuttle that runs every thirty minutes and is
available for guests. The service is complimentary, but advance reservations
are mandatory. The drive takes about four minutes.
Check-in
I’m booked on the Air France flight from Luxembourg to Paris-Roissy,
which is in fact a code-share operated by Luxair. There are two counters open
for Business Class passengers and there is no queue when I arrive, given that
it is, after all, the weekend.
The Lounge
From check-in I head straight for the security check. There is a checkpoint at either side of the terminal facility, and trying to figure out which one is currently in use is not always that clear when you’re standing in front of the check-in counters. Which means that it’s not uncommon at Luxembourg airport to see disoriented passengers moving back and forth between the two, with the look lemmings get when they’re trying to figure out if they’re really in the mood to go jumping off a cliff with their pals… But anyway, the lounge is very quiet. All the bankers that normally populate the lounge have gone home to count their millions. I grab myself a coffee and a bottle of water, in the hope they will turn me into a functioning human being again.
Boarding
The flight is departing from gate B08, which is in the new part of the facility and specially designed to handle small regional aircraft. As in, regional aircraft that do not use a contact stand and thus require passengers to walk across the apron and, as a pleasant side-effect, give me cause to geek out on my obsession with airplanes.
I’m seated on 1A, so I figure I might as well wait until the very end to board, so as not to be in the way. The Dash 8 is a small aircraft. Besides, I have a back injury, so my movements are a bit slow right now. And every moment I do not have to stand in a queue is bliss right now!
The Cabin
There is literally half a row of a Business Class cabin on this aircraft. Because on row 1 there are only the A and C seats on the port side. And as it happens, I’m the only Business Class passenger on today’s flight. The seat is comfortable and nicely padded. It’s very pleasant on the bum and also on my damaged back.
Leg space is also good on the bulkhead row and the seat next to me is kept empty.
The Crew
There are two cabin crew on the flight today, one male and one female. Both of them are perhaps not the world’s most extrovert individuals, but their service is attentive, friendly and polite. There is a trolley set up by the entry door of the aircraft, where passengers can pick up a magazine or newspaper before taking their seat. The selection is rather good. I go for Time magazine, mainly because their cover catches my interest.
Other than that though, there is no service at all on the ground. The flight time is indicated as 45 minutes.
The Meal
As soon as the crew are released after take-off, the male cabin attendant asks me what I’d like to drink with breakfast. He subsequently brings me a glass of orange juice, served in a real glass, and a cup of coffee with milk and sugar. The coffee is good, but I wonder if they really couldn’t have splurged on a proper cup instead of the cardboard one. They put down a paper table cloth for the meal. Agreed, it
won’t make the meal larger or better, but it’s still a nice touch.
The meal arrived in a cardboard box. It contains:
- a salami sandwich
- an yoghurt
- an apple pasty
- and a packaged refreshing towel
Transfer in Paris Roissy
Eventually, we land in Paris more or less on time. Luxair uses terminal 2G, which is exclusively for small regional aircraft. It’s also very far out in the sticks. The only way to access any of the other terminals
from here is by bus. Depending on which terminal your onward connection is departing from, there is an airside or a landside transfer. I shall be departing from the M concourse, which is basically the non-Schengen satellite of Terminal 2E. Transfer to 2E is airside, which means that I will not have to undergo security screening again here in Paris. On the downside, emigration is done in 2G and the queues are very long.
