Hi Everyone,
Welcome to the last leg of my trip From Washington, DC to South Africa and back.
In case you missed the other segments, here is the complete itinerary with links:
Washington Dulles IAD - Amsterdam Schipol AMS, KLM, A330-200, Economy Comfort
Amsterdam Schipol AMS-Johannesburg O. R. Tambo JNB, KLM, B777-200, Business Class
Johannesburg O. R. Tambo JNB - Paris Charles de Gaulle CDG, Air France, A380-800, Economy
Paris Charles de Gaulle CDG - Washington Dulles IAD, Air France, A380-800, Economy [HERE YOU ARE]
At the end of my last report, we had landed at CDG's newest Terminal, known as S4 or Terminal 2E Hall M. I was hoping my flight to DC would leave from this terminal so I could finally try the new lounge, unfortunately IAD flights always seem to leave from S3/Hall L, and today was no exception.
We head to S3 to spend time and relax in the Air France lounge there before our next flight.
The lounge isn't as nice as the new one in S4, but it is large and pleasant. Luckily, the lounge wasn't very crowded and we were able to find a nice quiet corner to rest in after a long redeye flight from Johannesburg. I didn't sleep much on the plane and was so tired I fell asleep in the lounge for a good hour, LOL.
I also took advantage of the shower facilities to freshen up. Feels great after an 11 hour flight!
The courtesy kit with L'Occitane products.
I took a stroll around the concourse prior to boarding my plane.
The AF 77W in SkyTeam colors.
Another 77W, F-GSQM.
An A380 with the new terminal behind.
F-HPJG, one of AF's newest A380s
Terminal 2E Hall K seen from our concourse.
My ride for today, F-HPJC, on which I had previously flown in Business class from IAD-CDG. Report here: http://flight-report.com/en/report-5537.html
Our flight shows on-time at gate L30
Boarding is set for 1:15PM, but starts a few minutes early.
We head up the escalators to take the jetbridge for the upper deck. As many times as I've flown the A380, boarding the upper deck is always an exciting moment.
On this flight, we're in the same row as we were on our flight from JNB, but on the opposite side.
An A330-200 nextdoor.
Seat pitch.
The bin along the sidewall is very convenient and gives a lot more lateral space. As far as confort goes in Y, you can't beat the upper deck on an A380!
The mini Y cabin, always pleasant.
Safety card
A beautiful 747-400
The IFE
Despite a full flight we push back right on time.
Aer Lingus A320
Tax time is pretty long, as is often the case at CDG.
This CRJ-1000 is the first one I'd seen in HOP colors.
Takeoff with a view of Terminal 1
Paris and the la Défense Business District–too bad the engine exhaust ruined the pics.
Menus are distrubuted about 15 minutes after takeoff.
The lunch menu seems pretty original.
I put on a movie to watch during the meal: Astérix et Obélix au Service de sa Majesté a French movie based on the French comic book series.
Aperitif (Before-dinner drink) service takes place about a half-hour into the flight.
Champagne for me, as usual.
I found the chicken to be pretty good; I especially liked the mustard sauce.
Shortly after the meal I fall asleep watching the movie. I wake up over the Canadian Maratime Provinces.
And apparently I was still tired because I fell right back to sleep, LOL. I didn't wake up again until the final descent so I missed the pre-arrival meal. No big deal.
Over the Washington suburbs
The Potomac River.
We pass right in front of the Smithsonian Udvar-Hazy Air & Space Museum. The planespotters in the observation tower must have gotten a great view of our A380 landing, especially with the great weather.
Landing on runway 1R.
It's easy to see that Dulles is a United hub.
We arrive at the gate a few minutes early. Luckily it seems our flight was the only International Arrival at that time and we were through immigration in no time.
As I leave the terminal I see the South African Airways A340-300 heading back to the place I had just left! Full circle :-)
Thanks for reading. See you soon for more reports!
That last picture of the SA plane was just uncanny. Full circle indeed.
Your meal looked good and the Arles style tart is intriguing. It seems that the smoothie has substituted the yogurt. Free champagne in Y is an anomaly and kudos to AF for being so egalitarian in that respect.
I am surprised that AF does not select a more characteristic menu cover, like vintage advertising posters or something that conveys the company more distinctively. Perhaps a series of crew uniforms through the ages would be a nice theme.
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for your comment. This menu is not the prettiest, but they have some cool menu designs. You can probably see them in some of my other reports. I like them personally, but you're right, vintage advertising wouldbe cool. I have a set of drink coasters with Vintage AF advertisements on them and they are pretty cool.
Nice report, it's a shame you didn't get an equally thrilling experience with that crew. The catering looked OK, I'd prefer smoothie over yoghurt anytime.
I beg to differ with Jetsetpanda, I find the menu's really cool...they convey a sort of globalized airline feel, like when BA changed its livery to the world schemes.
I wish AF sent A380s down here so I could try the Y over there, it certainly looks way better than the current Y on the A343s
Thanks for sharing!
Yep, I think I got a more typical AF experience. Y in A343 is definitely not as nice as the A380, especially with the old IFE. They really need to update Y on A340s