Introduction

Late on Friday evening, the meeting finally comes to an end. It‘s been a very long and tiring week. My return flight to Paris is not until the next evening. So on Saturday, I have an early breakfast and then head out for a walk through Montreal, which is nice after having spent every day this week cooped up in a meeting room.

Getting to the Airport

At 16h10 on Saturday afternoon I exit the hotel. Originally, my plan had been to take the 747 airport bus. But there’s a demonstration happening on Lévesque, so the bus has been rerouted and I can’t figure out which route it’s now taking. Eventually, I just decide to grab a taxi. The journey by taxi takes about 35 minutes and will set you back about CAD50.

Check-In

Air France checks in near door 5 of the terminal building. The SkyPriority counters are facing the street, and there are four counters open. The agent checks in my bag and gives me directions to security.

The airport is very busy, and the queue for the regular security line is long. However, there is a dedicated fast track that Air France Business Class passengers are also entitled to use, and which is moving much faster. If you’re coming from the Air France counters, just keep walking past the long queue and follow the green signs for YUL Express.

Air France KLM Lounge

At Montreal Airport, Air France KLM operate their own lounge, which is hardly surprising. Currently, there are two daily departures to Paris and one to Amsterdam. During the summer schedule, there are two additional daily flights to Paris. The lounge is located right after gate 57.

The lounge is quite busy when I enter. While one receptionist scans my boarding pass, I overhear the other one explain to another passenger that they’re currently only allowing passengers in Business Class into the lounge to avoid congestion, despite his FlyingBlue status. The best she can offer is to put him on the waitlist to enter.

In theory, the lounge offers some spectacular views of the apron. However, it’s already dark outside, and the glare from the lights in the lounge reflecting across the window panes makes it difficult to see anything outside.

La crevette volante is omnipresent in the lounge.

There is a well stocked buffet with a good selection of hot and cold dishes. Drinks are available from the bar, which seems to be a Northamerican thing. I grab myself a plate of pasta, as I’m not planning to have any dinner on the plane. With a flight time of just over six hours, I prefer to sleep.

Boarding

Boarding for the flight starts fifty minutes before departure – and it turns into a bit of a mess. There are two airbridges attached to the aircraft. But most people don’t seem to pay attention to the gate agents’ clear instructions for Economy Class passengers to use the second airbridge marked B. As a result, the entire flight parades through the Business Class cabin on its way to the back of the bus. Inevitably, preparations in the Business Class cabin are delayed and end up being a bit rushed because of that.

The Cabin & Service

I’m seated on 2L, the same seat I had on the outbound to Montreal. The Business Class cabin is sold out tonight. A pillow and blanket are already at my seat when I arrive.

Once boarding is completed, the crew hand out hot towels, menus, and vanity kits in short sequence. On this evening’s flight no slippers are available. As we push back, the crew pass through the cabin taking orders for dinner and inquire if passengers wish to be woken for breakfast. I tell the flight attendant I’ll be going straight off to sleep, but that they should wake me for breakfast.

We push back slightly ahead of schedule and slowly taxi to the runway. I’m dead on my feet by this stage. I just want to sleep. Once we’re airborne, I quickly change into my pajama bottoms and go off to sleep.

Second Service – Breakfast

Seventy minutes out of Paris, the cabin lights go on and the crew prepare for the breakfast service. I’m having the scrambled eggs with Rösti and mushroom.

The meal is served with a bowl of fresh fruit, yogurt with granola, and a selection from the breadbasket – and butter and jam. To drink I have an orange juice and a coffee with milk. This is actually a very nice and filling meal. Just as the crew pass through the cabin collecting trays, the mighty Boeing 777 dips its nose and the captain informs us that we have just thirty minutes to run to Paris.

Arrival in Paris CDG

Outside, a new day is breaking over Europe. Paris is still covered in a thick layer of fog, which makes for some spectacular views.

We land in an easterly direction on the northernmost runway, and then taxi all around the airport, until we reach our stand at the M gates of Terminal 2F. I now have two hours to make my connection.

As I disembark, I’m in that early morning fog that has my brain pondering the really important things in life, like the B 777 versus the A 350. Sure, it’s always nice to sample a new product, and I’m still curious about Air France’s A 350. Even so, I concur with a deep sense of satisfaction that the mighty B 777 remains one of my favourite aircraft to fly on as a passenger. It’s an impressive piece of machinery and the product Air France has installed in its premium cabin hardly makes it a harship to have to spend six hours in it.

The B 777-200 fleet currently does not have sliding doors installed in Business Class, and I’m unaware if there are plans to retrofit them. However, this flight and the previous one highlighted very well, to me at least, that those doors are more of a gimmick than a really useful feature.