INTRODUCTION
Hello everyone !
I'm delighted to be back with you for another round trip to Bordeaux for work.
I bought the ticket directly in January on the Air France website at 354 € for this round trip, which is still quite expensive for a one-hour flight in Economy !
Routing
Enchainement de vols
- 1AF 7430 - Economique - Paris CDG → Bordeaux - Airbus A321-111
- 2
the FLIGHT REPORT in VIDEO
ARRIVAL AT CHARLES DE GAULLE TERMINAL 2F
The flight is already displayed when I arrive: AF7430 scheduled for 7.10am.
Check-in at the AF automatic kiosk.
I don't have any luggages, so all I have to do is print my boarding pass and then go through the security.
Security check passes very quickly.
I check the displays one last time : AF 7430 gate F54 !
Finally arriving from the huge hall of doors ranging from F41 to F56.
The Duty Free shops were all closed when I arrived.
This is my door F54 :
At the back, our A321 is quietly getting ready.
Boarding doesn't before 40 minutes, so I decided to take a stroll around this huge concourse that I didn't know so well.
Only one shop open: LADUREE I decide to have two small macaroons for breakfast :)
THE OLD lounge AF
After descending to the lower level of Terminal F, I came face to face with the terminal's old lounge, which had been abandoned by Air France in favour of the new lounge built from scratch a few metres further on.
Borarding
Boarding begins on time, and the ground agent announced that the flight was fully booked !
Priorities were respected despite a few people still not knowing how to read their zone number and turning up in zones 1 and 2 when they were in zone 5.
My paper boarding pass :
And here it is in digital version :
My zone (4) :
The sun is starting to rise, giving us a great view of the airport !
I'm the first in my zone to get on board^^
Instant door :)
Our captain makes its aircraft tour.
Today it's "Nancy" who will be taking us to Bordeaux, ironically " Nancy " is the city where I was born and where I spent a large part of my childhood !
Nancy
Some information about our aircraft :
Type : A321 - 111
Registration : F-GMZC (Fox - Golf Mike Zulu Charlie)
Nick name : Nancy
Date of joining the company : 15/02/1995
Age : 29 years old
Our A321 will soon be celebrating its 30th anniversary with the national airline, along with its other brothers, who are also survivors from previous Air Inter operator : F-GMZA (29 years) , F-GMZD (28 years) , F-GMZE (28 years).
ON BOARD
A warm welcome from the crew at the door.
Cabin configured as 3 - 3 (Metropole)
SEAT 15F
Traffic jam at the front of the cabin to try to fit hand luggage in !
Recaro seats, pitch limited mainly to the feet and knees.
Headband with AF logo, but non-adjustable.
Two USB sockets are available, located at the bottom of the seat, and will work properly after take-off.
Wi - Fi is available on board :)
3D map rendering available with FlightPath 3D.
The overhead light looks like it's from another era.
Right next to us is an A318, which is becoming increasingly rare in AF's fleet.
The captain takes the microphone to welcome us on board this flight !
Boarding complete, cabin crew at your positions.
Another A318 pushes back just ahead of us, and it's really weird to think that they'll soon be leaving us and being replaced by A220s.
pushback
Pushback on time, the safety demonstrations begin.
Engines start-up and the flaps are expanding.
We pass along the company headquarters.
At the back, an Air Mauritius A350 is on final.
Followed by an Airbus A220 taking off for Barcelona just after us.
Takeoff
Here we go, next stop : Bordeaux.
We caught up with the 350 Air Mauritius, which was heading for the terminals.
In the cabin, the Business cabin curtains are closed just after take-off.
There will be blue skies all the way.
SERVICE
Service begins as soon as our cruise starts, and we'll be served a hot drink and a small biscuit.
My selection is a glass of water and orange juice.
CRUISE
A great view of our CFM56 from my seat !
Superb Wingtip with shrimp !
DESCENT
The descent begins less than 20 minutes after our ascent.
Bordeaux is gradually beginning to reveal itself.
LANDING
Large and long turn to line up with runway 05.
The slats and flaps are deployed.
Smooth landing on time !
Fast exit to the taxiway.
Just behind us, a small Iberia Regional CRJ1000 has just landed from Madrid.
View of the entire economy cabin from my seat.
The refuelling starts as soon as the last PAX have disembarked.
Heading for the terminal exit.
Goodbye F-GMZC, thank you for this great flight :)
The baggage carousels are already full from previous flights !
FLIGHTRADAR
Here is our flight according to Flightradar :
For as old as these cabins are they still look quite fresh. I don't know if AF have replaced the seat covers or just thoroughly clean them, but I would have expected the interior to look more worn by now since these "Métropole" cabins have been around for like 15 years. It's nice that they added USB ports, though I guess they'll soon be obsolete as most everyone's moved to USB-C now, which I believe is only on the A220s at the moment.
Thanks for sharing!