Introduction

Air France operates two daily flights between Dubai and Paris CDG. AF655 is operated by a Boeing B 777-300ER fitted with La Première cabin. The flight departs Dubai at 01:30 in the morning, to arrive in Paris at 06:05. The second flight, AF659, is operated by a Boeing B 777-200 that does not have La Première cabin. It departs at 11:00 in the morning and arrives in Paris at 15:40.

I personally prefer the daytime flight. I find it a lot more pleasant. The night flight departs at an ungodly hour and the flight time is hardly ever long enough to get a decent night‘s sleep.

Getting to the Airport

I order a car from Blacklane to pick me up at 08:30. I don‘t drive. I don‘t even have a license. Cars just aren‘t my thing. But even I do a double take when the car pulls up in front of the hotel. The description in the email confirmation tells me it‘s a Mercedes EQS – an electric car. And it really is very nice.

The ride to the airport is twenty minutes on a quiet Saturday morning.

Check-in

Air France operates out of Terminal 1 and occupies five counters on row 1.

There is a separate queue for SkyPriority passengers with two counters, and three counters for Economy Class. It’s not very busy when I arrive.

Immigration is a complete mess. All non-residents are required to use the unmanned smart gates which, alas, are not quite so smart. Add to that the fact that many of the passengers look as though they don‘t travel very often, the process is very slow. The passport readers don‘t work very well either.

Eventually, I manage to leave the country. I head through security and then onto the shuttle for the D gates.

My flight is boarding from D13, which is bad news because it means that my aircraft is parked on a stand from where it is impossible for me to take a photo of it.

The SkyTeam Lounge Dubai

The SkyTeam lounge is quite busy. In addition to the Paris flight, there are three Saudia aircraft on the ground being readied for their return flights.

The buffet is quite extensive and has a wide range of hot and cold dishes. But I only just had breakfast at the hotel, so I only have a flat white while I wait.

The lounge is rather nice, but it has no views and no natural light, seeing as it faces toward the duty free area.

Boarding

Boarding starts at 10:15 for our 11:00 departure, which seems quite early to me.

There are two airbridges attached to the aircraft, with the exit on the left for Business Class passengers to board through the L1 door.

The Cabin & Seat

This aircraft has the old Business Class cabin with a seat that does not feature a sliding door. Even so, it‘s still a very nice, comfortable, and private seat in a reverse herringbone configuration with 1 + 2 + 1 abreast.

I am seated on 1A, which is the bulkhead seat. In front of me is only the closet for coats. So once boarding is done, it‘s fairly quiet.

There is a hanger, blanket, and pillow at every seat. There‘s also a small bottle of Evian stowed in the side of the seat that is easy to miss.

The La Première slippers in the picture below were taken from the outbound a week previously.

Vanity Kit

Once boarding is completed for the Business Class cabin, the crew distribute the vanity kits. This is a new one I‘ve not see previously. The Air France branding with the flying seahorse is everywhere. The kit contains socks, an eye mask, earplugs and a wooden, supposedly eco-friendly toothbrush.

Service & Crew

While we‘re still on the ground, the crew serve welcome drinks. There is a choice of orange juice, still water, and champagne. Next, they hand out piping hot towels and the menus for the meal services.

We push back at 11:25. We’re running late due to an en route slot restriction. The airport is quite busy with aircraft you don‘t usually get to see in Europe.

I overhear the crew discussing that the flight is fully booked, with 102 passengers connecting onto other flights at CDG.

The Meal Service – Lunch

A few days before my flight, I receive an email from Air France informing me of the available food options, and inviting me to pre-order my choice. To be honest, there‘s nothing that immediately draws my attention, so eventually I go with the tournedos. I don‘t like eating meat, but at least the sides sound promising.

The meal service begins with drinks and a small box of crèpe crackers filled with cream cheese. I‘m being rather boring, I know, by just sticking with water.

The tray arrives with the starter, a salad, the cheese and dessert already on it.

The starter is foie gras with a mango sauce, which I don‘t touch, and a crab salad. The presentation is nice, but the taste and consistency of the crab is revolting.

At least the salad is fresh and crsip. It is served with a small bottle of Jamie Oliver branded oil & vinegar and two bread rolls.

Unfortunately, it doesn‘t say on the menu what cheese are served. All three are exceptionally good. Two are with cow milk, whereas the third is made with goat milk.

Before the main arrives, both the starter and salad are removed. The presentation of the main is nice. The sauce is served separately.

The meat has an odd taste though and the green beans have a slightly chemical flavour. So that eventually, the only thing I eat are the spuds drowned in the sauce.

I try the desserts, but they‘re no good either and mostly have a rather offputting taste and smell of raw eggs. So overall, it‘s quite a disappointing meal.

I find that on flights leaving Dubai catering tends to be rather awful no matter which airline you‘re flying with and in which class you‘re travelling.

The tray is quickly removed. To finish, I have an espresso served with two small pieces of dark chocolate.

And then I recline my seat and read.

The Second Service

Seventy minutes out of Paris we‘re flying over Bavaria when the second service begins.

The tray contains three small canapés, a salad that is still crispy after seven hours in the air, and a strawberry dome thing.

The meal hits the spot nicely. The strawberry dome thingy is just a large gelatinous glob. However, if you scrape off all the goo, you will discover that the base is made of a nice and crunchy chocolate and hazelnut base. To drink with that I have a coffee.

Transfer CDG 2E to 2G

Shortly after passing Luxembourg we start our descent into Paris, where eventually we land on time at 15:40, despite our delay departing Dubai. We taxi to our stand on the L pier of 2E.

The airport is very quiet. I head for security, where only one line is open – which is deserted. I‘m through in no time. I then head for immigration, which is also empty.

Behind immigration I follow the signs for connections to 2G.

Where is everyone?

There‘s already a bus waiting when I reach the bus stop on the ground floor. There are two other passengers making the transfer with me.