Introduction
I spend the evening at the Opera Garnier watching a beautiful performance of the tragic ballet Gisèle. Apart from the spectacle, which was very nicely done, the building itself is a good enough reason to visit.
I’m staying at Sofitel Le Scribe, which is just five minutes away from the Garnier on foot.
Getting to the Airport
The next day, I have a flight from Paris Orly to Lisbon to catch, with a departure at 11h55. I check out of the hotel just after 09h and walk the short distance to Opera metro station. The station is linked underground to Auber station on the RER A line.
Auber is eerily quiet this morning.
I take the RER A for one stop and disembark at Châtelet Les Halles. I just cross to the other side of the platform to catch a southbound train on the RER B line calling at Antony.
At Antony, I connect to the Orlyval to the airport. RATP tickets are not valid on the Orlyval. A single ticket is EUR11, which is pretty steep for a journey of only six minutes!
Check-In
TAP checks in at Orly 1. The airline has quite a presence in Orly, with eight daily departures to Lisbon and three to Porto.
Airside
There is no lounge in Orly 1, mainly because the size of the airport does not allow it. So I find myself a nice place by the window from where I‘ll be able to watch my aircraft taxiing in.
At 11h00 I watch the inbound from Lisbon taxi off the runway and make its way to the terminal. That‘s when I notice there‘s been an aircraft change.
How cool is that? The regular scheduled A 320 has been swapped for the larger A 321LR NEO!
Boarding
Boarding for the flight is a bit of a mess. There are five queues: Premium for Business Class passengers and then four more queues for groups A, B, C, and D. Apart from the fact that there’s really no place to form a queue, there is also the issue that there are several young families travelling with a boat load of hand luggage and about a half dozen kids each, most of them screaming their little lungs out.
Eventually though, the procession gets moving and I step aboard the plane. I make a right turn into the cabin and, I must admit, I’m quite impressed.
The aircraft has a dedicated Business Class cabin with five rows. Rows 1, 3, and 5 are in a 2+2 configuration, whereas rows 2 and 4 are the single throne seats.
The seat is fully lie flat.
In the extended position I can nearly stretch out completely, and I’m 184 cm tall.
Storage is not bad, however, there is no convenient place to store a larger item like a laptop.
Right on time, we push back from the gate and start our journey to Lisbon. The flight time is announced as two hours and twenty minutes.
The Meal – Lunch
Once we’re airborne, the crew hand out small menues. There are two options for the main course. I go with the pasta, the vegetarian option.
The tray is nicely presented and looks bright and appealing. The crew make several passes with the breadbasket.
The starter is full of flavour, the pickles going very well with the seared tuna.
The main dish is very good, and the pasta has managed to not turn crispy, which often happens when heated on a plane.
The dessert is lovely, with the salty peanut cream contrasting nicely with the sharpness of the fruit.
Just as I’m about to dig into the dessert, one of the cabin crew appears from behind the curtain with a tray with a glass and a small bottle of port on it. She smiles and simply says, “you seem to be enjoying yourself so much on this flight, I thought you might appreciate some port“. So, it‘s official. I‘m a geek.
Arrival in Lisbon
As we continue our flight south, the weather quickly starts to improve. By the time we start our descent, we’re flying past some beautiful looking, deserted sandy beaches.
The maître de comes to inform me about the gate assignment for my connection in Lisbon. She tells me I’m good for time, but not to waste it, and wishes me a safe onward journey.
The weather looks so nice that I‘m wishing for a missed connection. But no such luck. I thank the crew, step off the plane and make my way to passport control to exit the Schengen area…
Hi William.When i first saw this,i thought you would be staying in Lisbon which is one of my favourite european cities. Hotel Recommendation ‘Lisboa Regency Chiado’—— the premium rooms have a private balcony with stunning views over the roofs of the old town to the castle. Look right and there is the Tagus. I like the place because it has an unflashy feel, and is of course a very handsome city. TAP surprised me, The service was very good, quite the opposite of what i had heard and was expecting. The plane you flew on has a great Business class layout. Would like to go NOW !!!!
PS—–its now called the Hotel Do Chiado.
PPS—– For ‘Balcony’read’Terrace’——-its a very good hotel William
What a lucky aircraft swap indeed. And what does it say about Lufthansa if TAP is offering better food on flights of this length?