I’m on my way to Bogota. Finally, finally, I get to fly on Air France’s fabulous Airbus A 350-900. I had started to think it was never going to happen!

Air France Transfer from CDG 2F to 2L

I step off my flight from Hamburg, which terminates at Paris CDG’s Terminal 2F. The path for transfers is clearly marked by the large yellow signs everywhere. My connection to Bogota will be leaving from Terminal 2L. Although, strictly speaking, it’s Hall L of Terminal 2E. I pass through emigration, which ejects me onto the footbrigde over to the L gates. From the elevated position of the footbridge there are excellent views of the ramp.

Before I head for the lounge, I do a quick tour around the concourse. It’s quite impressive to see Air France’s fleet of widebodies parked wing to wing at their respective gates, being readied for their next flights.

Air France Business Class Lounge in Terminal 2L

The Air France Business Class lounge is located above the general public gate area and accessible by lift. However, if you’re not careful, you’re likely to walk straight past the lifts without even noticing.

I haven’t been to this lounge for quite some time. My last trip to Montreal departed from Terminal 2M. The lounge is huge and divided into seating areas interspersed with drinks and food buffets. It’s not very crowded initially, but the lounge gradually gets busier as the afternoon wears on.

Air France Boarding

Air France tend to start boarding for their long-haul flights fairly early, usually about fifty minutes before departure. However, it is twenty minutes after passengers in groups 1 and 2 are called up for boarding before the long queue finally starts moving and passengers are allowed on board.

There is an airbridge attached to both the L1 and L2 doors, which helps speed up the boarding process. That’s something I don’t understand about SWISS. Most of the time they only use the one airbridge to the L2 door, which means that if you’re in SWISS First, you have to schlepp your luggage through the mini Business Class cabin to get to your seat.

Air France Business Class Cabin & Seat

The Air France Airbus A 350-900s do not have a La Première cabin. The Business Class cabin has a capacity of 34 seats and is located between the L1 and L2 doors. This aircraft configuration is used primarily on leisure heavy routes with only limited demand for premium seats. It’s basically the same seat I had on my recent flight from Montreal back to Paris with Air France on the Boeing B 777-300.

The seats are arranged so that one row faces straight forward, while on the next row’s seats are slightly offset and angled towards the aisle. On the Airbus A 350, the forward facing seats are on the even numbered rows, starting at row 2. These seats (A and L) are actual window seats and are therefore more private because they’re not directly on the aisle. The B and K seats are on uneven numbered rows. They’re on the aisle and less private. It’s the complete opposite on the Boeing B 777, where the uneven numbered rows are the more private seats.

The seat is comfortable and spacious. In the lying position I’m able to stretch out fully. Each seat has a large screen with a responsive inflight entertainment system. I have my screen on the flight map for the duration of the flight.

The downside of this seat is that there’s hardly any storage space. There’s a small compartment on the side which has a bottle of still water and the earphones in it, but that’s just about it.

Air France Business Class Amenities

The usual seat cover, blanket, pillow, and slippers are already at my seat when I arrive. While we’re still on the ground, the crew pass through the cabin handing out the amenity kits.

Air France Business Class Service & Crew

The crew on this flight are great. They’re genuinely friendly and their interactions with passengers are personable and welcoming. As I step aboard, the purser greets me with a friendly “nice to have you back, Mr A.” and directs me to my seat.

Once passengers are settled in, the service starts with a choice of water, orange juice or champagne. This is followed by the distribution of the menus and the hot towels.

We push back slightly behind schedule. Our flight time to Bogota has been calculated to be ten hours and ten minutes.

Air France Business Class Meal – First Service: Lunch

The first service starts once the crew is released and the aircraft is settled into the initial cruise (eventually we climb to 41’000 feet). I’ve already made my choice online, but the crew come through the cabin anyway to confirm that I’m still happy with my choice.

The meal service starts with an apéritif. I have a glass of the sweet red wine and a sparkling water. The crew asks if I’d like some lemon and ice with that, and I tell her that only lemon would be fine for me. With the drinks there’s the usual crispy crèpes with cheese filling and an amuse bouche of aubergine caviar, which is an absolute delight.

Next, the table is set with a table cloth for the tray to be delivered. The tray contains a side salad and the first course, which consists of two dishes. One is an edamame salad with pickled radish, while the other is crab in a spicy dressing. Both dishes are very nice. The salad is served with balsamic dressing. There’s also a good selection of warm bread rolls and little mini baguettes.

The plate for the first course is quickly removed once I’m done, and then the main course is served. I’ve decided to go with the vegetarian option with rice, pumpkin, beans, and vegetables. It’s a nice dish with a lot of flavour, and I appreciate that it’s served piping hot, and not just warm.

Next, it’s the cheese course, which is served with more warm bread. It’s so nice that Air France don’t make you choose between the cheese and dessert! The tray is removed before the cheese service.

And then for dessert I have the chocolate overdose: a delectable chocolate cake, chocolate ice cream, and a small piece of dark chocolate with the coffee. The meal ends with a tasty Illy espresso and another chocolate when the crew discovers I already demolished the first one with dessert.

Two hours and twenty minutes after take-off the service terminates. The lights are turned off and the blinds are lowered to darken the cabin.

Air France recently introduced Starlink internet connectivity on board. While it certainly is impressive how good the connection is, I’m not sure if this is progress, as several people make phone calls during the flight or have their mobiles pinging loudly each time they receive an incoming text message. Fair enough, the service to Bogota operates as a daytime flight. Even so, if this is going to become a trend, I think I’m going to have to find better earplugs!

Air France Business Class Meal – Second Service

Ninety minutes out of Bogota the second service begins. There is a choice of chicken or a vegetarian dish made with barley and goats cheese. It’s rather a substantial meal and is served with a madeleine pastry and a bowl of fresh orange and grapefruit.

The crew come to remove the trays, and shortly after, the mighty Airbus A 350 dips its nose and we start our long descent into Bogota. The service concludes with the crew handing out one more hot towel. The cabin crew working my side of the cabin come to say goodbye and inquire if I enjoyed the flight. I thank them for making it such an enjoyable experience.

Arrival in Bogota El Dorado Airport

We land at 19h10. It’s very humid outside, judging by the condensation on the windows. The Lufthansa and Air Europa Dreamliners from Frankfurt and Madrid respectively landed ahead of us, together with a United and Delta aircraft. That explains the painfully long queue for immigration which eventually takes me over an hour to reach the head of. I then go downstairs to baggage reclaim and through customs. Just before I exit, I order a taxi at the airside booth to take me to my hotel.