Hi everybody!
I usually only publish reports in French but under these special times, I have decided to translate some interesting reports I have :) On the 20th of May, Air France announced that its 9 remaining A380 will not be flying anymore. I am even happier to share with you my last (only flight actually^^) on an Air France A380!
I chose Air France which offers one of the best values for money between France and the US, with up to 5 daily flights to JFK.
Flight routing
- 1AF6 - Economique - Paris CDG –> New-York JFK - Airbus A380-800
Rainy arrival at CDG Terminal 2E, where all Air France Non Schengen flights depart.
Very crowded morning at CDG, far from what we can see now…
Check-in process took 20 minutes.
Immigration clearance was fast, let's move to concourse M, CDG most recent building.
Security scan was fast, with lots of Chinese speaking agents due to the increasing number of flights between China and Paris.
S4 is definitely my favourite concourse at CDG. It's modern, luminous and spacious.
I will be flying today with F-HPJF, a 9-year old Air France A380 currently under storage at Teruel Airport in Spain.
F-HPJJ will be departing to Washington DC.
A350 will be replacing Air France A380's. I don't think it will be the case for flights to New-York for which I think B77W are better suited, since they have more Business and First seats than A350. We'll see what happens :)
A large queue is already there in gate M46. Flight will be full today.
I will board with the last passengers to avoid the crowd.
B777-300ER Saudia, A380-800 Air France, A321 Joon and A320 Alitalia.
Let's board this amazing aircraft :)
Warm welcome on board, let's move to the last Eco cabin.
Another warm welcome from the crew in charge of our Eco cabin, a very good first impression!
Captain announced a 7h25 journey to reach JFK. We pushed back at 2h47PM with a delay of 47 minutes…
Old fashioned IFE…
Safety instructions
Taxi to CDG south pair of runways.
A330-200 Kuwait Airways
Only positive aspect of IFE system, the live camera :)
Take-off at 3PM in an enjoyable quiet atmosphere^^
Rotate!
Flaps size impressed me a lot…
Some blue sky
As soon as the "Fasten your seatbelt" sign was turned-off, cabin crew came with a refreshing towel and the menu.
Very simple food will be served, but it's perfectly what I am expecting when flying Economy.
Nice flight over the Normandy coast in Calvados :)
A shorter journey than my previous Singapore to Paris flight :)
Flying over Cotentin, northern part of Normandy.
L’Anse de Vauville, a nice 11 km beach.
Flamanville nuclear power station, which is still under construction with a huge delay (and political scandal).
Aurigny Island
Time for French "apéro" with a glass of Champagne of course :)
Lunch was served quickly after.
Starter was well seasoned.
Dish was fine with taste and enough quantity.
And a very good desert :)
Overall a nice lunch for an Economy flight :)
Overview of the last Eco cabin of the A380, a good choice with a smaller cabin than the main cabin. The best Eco cabin was (let's use the past now…) at the first deck, but was already full when I booked.
Nothing special during the cruise, cabin crew came often to see if everything was fine. A small bar was also available in the galley.
Legroom was decent, but seat was old… But a better experience than a 777 flight!
Biggest issue was with the old IFE system, content was rich but image and sound quality were far from customers' expectations in 2019.
A pre-arrival snack was served 1h30 before we reached JFK.
Quality and quantity were decent, good job Air France :)
We finally started our descent to JFK.
Nice French touch before landing!
Spoilers on
Captain announced a landing at 4h45PM local time.
Flying over Long Island.
Same weather than in Paris…
Flaps full
Manhattan skyline :)
Last minutes of flight…
Landing at 4h45PM as expected.
B747-400 El Al, CRJ900 Delta Connection, A330-300 Swiss and B777-300ER Kuwait Airways.
Delta in different sizes^^
B767 Delta; -400 in the foreground and -300 in the background.
B757-200 Delta
B737-900ER Delta
Air France B777-200ER from Paris-Orly and Air Italy A330-200 (not flying anymore…).
We reached JFK Terminal 1 at 5h03PM with a 38 min delay.
A330-200 Brussels Airlines when disembarking.
Very warm welcome at JFK with a waiting time of 1h45 min at immigration clearance… Even in Malaysia or Laos, waiting time was shorter. Only one counter was opened for travellers with a new ESTA like us… So, even if we were only 50 people in the queue, it took close to 2 hours… Of course my stay in NYC was much better than my experience at JFK T1 :)
Thanks for your reading and feel free to comment :)
Hi Nicobcn, and many thanks for sharing this report on an aircraft that's now officially a part of AF's history ? While the cabin is old and the PTV looks horrid, AF seems to offer nice service across the Atlantic, so it must be a great overall experience on 777s, 787s, and the refurbished A330s. The food looks tasty, and it's especially nice that they offer menus in coach, especially on such a short TATL flight. Was the sandwich offered before the arrival served warm? I couldn't tell. Thanks again, and I hope to read more of your reports in English in the future!
Thanks for the comment :)
While AF is not the best choice for a flight to Asia/Middle East, it's one of the best choices when traveling from Europe to the US. Hopefully there will be no cost cuting after the Covid19 situation...
It was not warn, which is not a problem for me :)
Thanks and see you soon :)
Hi Nico, nice to see one of your reports on this side! ?
When I first flew the AF A380 in 2011, back when it was brand new, I would have never guessed that less than 10 years later they would all be retired! Given how AF never gave specific details about future A380 cabin refurbs and had often made statements complaining that the A380 didn't fit the AF network, it didn't come as a huge surprise when the retirement was announced, but it is still a shame.
I remember AF made a huge deal of the 747 retirement and had a bunch of Tribute flights for which they sold tickets. It was a worthy send-off for the Queen of the Skies, to be sure, but the A380 doesn't seem to be getting the same treatment. Unless I've missed it, I haven't seen any plans for these types of tribute flights. I believe all frames have been put into storage in Southern France and Spain, but they could always pull one out for a series of Goodbye flights...wishful thinking!
Ah, F-HPJF...my 2nd A380 ride, the 1st having been on F-HPJE
It's funny how in such a short time the IFE was already looking so outdated. I remember being amazed that there was seat-to-seat messaging back in 2011 ?
Sooooo much better than the 777. The seat is so much wider and more comfortable, while 3-4-3 on the 777 is pure torture!
The spaciousness of the A380 will definitely be missed ?
I'm glad I got the fly the AF A380 dozens of times in every cabin (except P), but I wish I could fly it one more time!
Thanks for sharing Nico!
Hi Kevin thanks for the comment !
Definitely agree and it has been the best decision to take in such a huge crisis.
I hope too ! If I am right one A380 is still CDG... So maybe we can expect a flight :)
Of course 777 when flying Economy is always a torture... I flew 14h 3 days before this flight from SIN...
Thanks Kevin !
Thanks Nicolas for this translated report !
It’s very interesting for me, my last long-haul flight with Air France was in 2000.
The seats are confortable but the IFE screen is old and pretty small.
The main meal looks tasty.
With a so long waiting time at immigration clearance, you better not have a connecting flight.
See you soon !
Thanks Stephane for the comment :)
They have improved the product especially in Business. IFE was outdated.
Some passengers missed their flights^^
Thanks !
Nice report. I've only done one flight on Air France so far so I do not have much of a basis to compare to. However, I can say with unfortunate confidence that Air France were already behind with the onboard product (Seats, IFE) even when they took delivery of the A380. Sad to see them go, but the 777s are much better from a product standpoint, keeping the 3-4-3 aside.
Food looks really good, and overall a pretty good flight from an airline that has tended to have a bit of a ruined reputation. JFK is awful, and will continue to be, unfortunately.
Hi thanks for your comment !
I 100% agree with you, especially when you remember all A380 products from Asian airlines (+EK of course).
Next time I will try EWR :)
Thanks and see you soon !