I have a layover of twelve hours in Paris CDG. Originally, I had planned to either visit Marne la Vallée (Disney) or make the trip into Paris for afternoon tea. In the end, I just decide to book a day room at the CitizenM, it’s simply too hot for anything else.

Routing

> ZRH LH Y FRA A319

> FRA AF C CDG E195

> CDG AF C SIN B77W

> SIN SQ C CNS A359

> CNS ZL Y ISA SF34

> ISA QF Y TSV DH8D

> TSV QF Y CNS DH8D

> CNS QF C DRW E190

> DRW QF C SYD B738

> SYD KE C ICN B781

> ICN KL C AMS B789

> AMS KL C FRA E175

> FRA EN Y BSL E190

Transfer in Paris CDG

I arrive back at Paris CDG 2 at 21h00. My flight to Singapore will be departing at 23h25 from Terminal 2E. From the central area between Terminals 2E and F it’s about five minutes on foot to the check-in hall of 2E.

Air France Business Class Check-In

Terminal 2E is used mainly by Air France and only a few other airlines, for example Japan Airlines, Aeromexico, and Delta. There is a dedicated section for SkyPriority check-in. I already obtained my boarding pass for the onward journey to Singapore when I checked in at the counter in Frankfurt.

The first stop after check-in is passport control, which is rather busy this evening. Accordingly, the queue takes a moment to shift. My flight will be departing from one of the gates on the L concourse, which means I’m going to have to catch the shuttle train to the first satellite pier. The security check will take place in L to avoid putting even more strain on the security checkpoint at the K gates.

Security on the L concourse is a huge mess. There’s an enormous queue, and instead of progressively getting shorter, it just keeps getting longer and longer with each shuttle that arrives. There are two issues: the first is that there are only two lanes open – one for passengers with priority, and another for everybody else. The other is that there are several flights leaving this evening that are severely delayed and should have left much earlier. AF468 to Buenos Aires has been postponed from 13h25 to 22h25, AF346 to Montreal from 16h50 to 22h55, and AF578 to Conakry from 17h25 to 22h35. And now I’m stuck in the queue with all the passengers of those flights plus those travelling to Haneda, Santiago de Chile, and my own flight to Singapore. By the time I’m through security it already 21h50.

Air France Business Class Lounge

As was to be expected, the Air France Business Class lounge is a zoo. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen it like this. And it’s bad, like, very bad! There are people everywhere. There’s hardly any room to sit and the drinks and food buffet look as though they were just looted by the Vandals. Even the fridges are empty!

Air France Boarding

Boarding for the flight starts on time. There are dedicated lines for passengers is zones 1 and 2, for zones 3 and 4, and for all others. The queues are already quite long when I reach the gate, which makes me wonder how long the people at the front of the queue have been standing there. I’m also curious what it is about this flight or the destination that the flight seems to have a lot of families with small children.

The Air France Business Class Cabin & Seat

The Air France Boeing B 777-300ER has a total of sixty seats in Business Class. There is a small section of four rows that starts right behind the La Première cabin and stretches to the L2 door. And then there’s the second Business Class cabin which has eleven rows and starts aft of the L2 door. I’m seated on 9A, which is the window seat on the bulkhead of the port side of the aircraft. This seat is a lot more spacious than the others due to its wider footrest, which is why it is only available at an extra cost, even if you try to select it during the check-in process, and even if, like me, you’re a Platinum member.

Each seat has a sliding door for extra privacy. In addition, the extra space on 9A means that there’s room to place slippers between the bed and the sliding door, which makes it easier to get out of the seat without having to raise it from the bed position to upright. There’s also ample storage space, with a large drawer under the footrest.

The lighting the cabin during boarding has been configured to look like the French tricolor, going from blue to white, to red and back again. It looks rather funky!

The Air France Business Class Service & Crew

While we’re still on the ground, the crew pass through the cabin handing out, in short sequence, a welcome drink, the vanity kit, the menu for tonight’s flight, and a lightly scented hot towel. Next, the crew introduce themselves to each passenger individually to confirm their pre-ordered choices for dinner or to take their orders if they haven’t pre-ordered already.

Originally, I was intending to join for dinner after take-off. However, the pilot informs us of a slight delay imposed by Eurocontrol due to severe weather activity in Eastern Europe that is creating a bottle neck. Eventually, by the time we push back we’re officially running one hour behind schedule and it’s just coming up to midnight.

We take off to the West, and then make a wide left turn over the city that brings us back over Paris and the Eiffel Tower. It’s gone 00h30 by the time the fasten seatbelt sign is turned off, and I decide my time on board is better spent sleeping, rather than waiting for the food to arrive. I place the Sofitel seat cover over my seat and go off to sleep.

The Air France Business Class Amenities

In addition to the usual vanity kit, Air France also provides slippers on long-haul flights. For bedding there’s a thick pillow, a thin Sofitel branded cover for the seat that provides some extra padding, and a blanket. The blanket could certainly be a lot thicker tonight, because the cabin has been cooled down considerably and it’s getting rather fresh.

The Air France Business Class Mid-Flight Snack

I manage to sleep like the dead for five full hours, which is not bad at all. And it’s the good kind of sleep. I must have been dead to the world because I didn’t hear a thing and slept right through the meal service. The purser notices I’m awake. He tells me I must be hungry if I missed the dinner service and offers to bring me some food. So, I request a coffee with milk, a box of those delectable buttery sablés, and a pot of the instant spicy ramen style noodles. It may not be the most elegant dining experience, but it certainly ties me over until breakfast.

The Air France Business Class Breakfast

Ninety minutes out of Singapore, the cabin lights go on, heralding the start of the breakfast service. I quickly demolish the third box of sables, just so they’re not in the way, and open the tray table, which is then dressed with crips white linen before the tray is served. There is a choice of a hot or cold savoury dish with breakfast, and I decide to go with the hot dish, which is the spinach and mushroom flan. It may not look like much, but it’s not bad and filling. In addition to the items on the tray, the crew serve bread rolls, brioche, and croissants and actively encourage passengers to pick more than just one item from the breadbasket. The yoghurt is served with granola and jam.

The crew make a second pass through the cabin with tea or coffee before they clear away the tray and the linen and start preparing the aircraft for our arrival into Singapore. And I do the same. I gather up my belongings and store everything back in my rucksack. The service concludes with the Business Class purser and the chief purser coming to say good bye.

Arrival in Singapore

We start our descent into Singapore about 45 minutes out. We’re expected to land at around 18h35 with the delay. The crew inform passengers with onward connections about their next gate before taking their seats in preparation for our arrival. Most passengers with an onward journey appear to be connecting onto QANTAS to Melbourne or Perth.

In Singapore, Air France serves Terminal 1. As we taxi in, there are two Turkish B 777-300s and the British Airways flight stopping over en route from London Heathrow to Sydney. I quickly complete the online registration for arrival into Singapore (which I’d forgotten about), and then we’re already puling onto our stand, bringing the flight to a close.

Conclusion – Air France Business Class

This was an interesting flight. The onboard experience was okay, but I found the crew a bit off on this trip and not up to the standard I’m come to expect from Air France. Perhaps it was just because of the delay and the advanced hour. I don’t know, but the crew felt a bit off. The late departure time from Paris is not really nice. 23h00 is already late enough, but if you add to that the delay, it becomes rather unpleasant. Previously, the evening service to Singapore used to leave Paris earlier in the evening, at a more civilised hour. The ground experience in Paris was seriously lacking, although that is something the airline only has limited control over. The situation at passport control and the longish wait to exit Schengen was positively harmless, though, in comparison to the dreadful situation at security on the L concourse and in the Air France lounge. I’m guessing having three wide bodies so severely delayed must have totally ruined their planning.