This flight concerns the old (until 2025) LIM terminal.
Introduction
This is the second leg of my flight to Lima. It is a flight that traverses the Atlantic Ocean, the Equator and part of South America, becoming the longest flight by distance I have ever taken. Though the return trip will soon take care of that.
Enchainement de vols
- 1
- 2AF480 Air France B772: Paris CDG – LIM Lima
- 3
- 4
- 5
This trip begins at the shuttle stop at terminal 2E, gates M of Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. As the routing above indicates, I come from a flight from Amsterdam on a brand new KLM A321n. My mother and siblings will soon join me in the terminal; they come from another place on an AF A220 that arrives in a couple of hours.
Departure: CDG 2E
The 2E-M satellite terminal looks rather nice, at least compared to Schiphol and CDG 2F. There is ample space and seating options, and even game consoles that some people use to pass time. However, at one point hail started to fall and the noise inside the building was pretty loud.
These seats are the most abundant. They are good but have armrests that would impede sleeping on them. There are European style power outlets for every two seats.
In addition to the gaming and seating areas, there are also some desks with USB and European sockets where one could sit down and do some work.
Our gate today is M50, at the very end of the pier. I use some of the free time I have to walk around and look outside. In the picture below one can see the approaching storm that brought the previously mentioned hail, the tail of a MU B77W wearing a special livery promoting CIIE, and somewhat visible in the background near the center is the A220 that is bringing my family to CDG; on a very bumpy final approach.
The bird that will fly us across the Equator has been waiting here for a while. It is F-GSPY, Vincennes, an old B772 that has been flying for Air France since 2002.
Flight: Air France B777-200ER
Boarding started a bit later than expected due to the hailstorm, but we still were on time. Today I booked seat 35A, a window seat on the emergency exit row on the port side for the rear cabin. In the same fashion as in my flight ICN-CDG, Air France prices this seat reservation at the same rate as regular Economy class seats due to the slide storage box in front. But as the images show, legroom (though not footroom) is still improved, with free aisle access at all times.
The seat is pretty comfortable, except for a rather loose bottom cushion. The padding is good and there is an adjustable headrest. Recline is also standard. As this is an emergency exit seat, the tray table is in the armrest, and since it doesn't reach all the way to the left armrest, it is kind of floppy. On boarding, every seat has a pillow with a fabric cover, a warm blanket (very useful as the AC was merciless today!) and headphones. Under the seats are universal power outlets that work well throughout the flight.
On the wall to my left is a storage space probably intended for literature, but I use it to keep my water bottle and other small necessities. Overhead are individual reading lights but no air vents, as seems standard in widebodies.
There was another delay, this one caused by a dent on the fuselage found by the baggage handlers. Fortunately, the delay ended when the dent was evaluated and measured to be within safe tolerance, so we can depart from 26L. Pushing my phone camera to its limits, I get a blurry shot of central Paris as we climb towards the French skies.
Airline: Air France
Flight: AF480
Model: Boeing 777-200ER
Registration: F-GSPY (France)
Age: 23 years
The IFE is mediocre, in great deal due to the age of the technology. However, the content selection was also rather dull compared to my last AF flight. At least it's better than MU, though it's not a high bar to clear. The inflight map is the best feature; very controllable with zoom, perspective and rotation available, as well as many view options including a mock cockpit. It is not free of flaws, though, as after some minutes of inactivity it would begin to move in a patterned presentation of different views, instead of staying still how I set it.
The main issue with the IFE here was performance. Movies and music alike frequently buffered, greatly hindering the experience. And I know this issue was not limited to my device, as my family reported the same issues with their screens, and they traveled several rows away from me.
Shortly after takeoff, refreshing towels are handed out by the crew. Never expected but always welcome in Economy class!
The meal service takes its time in coming to my row, which means that I have insider info (my family) on which dish to choose. It seems like the unanimous victor is pasta, so that's what I request. The other option is chicken, as usual. With the food came a bottle of water and a set of wooden cutlery.
-The starter is what seems like couscous with some sort of salsa. It tastes fresh and has a kick of spice, which makes it even fresher!
-The main is gnochetti with three cheeses, as indicated on the cover. It is warm and creamy, with good texture and a cheesy flavor. While it is comforting, it is also a bit bland; in my opinion a pinch of salt and cayenne would've brightened the whole dish up.
-The bread tastes like good French bread, but it's cold and hard now. There is a chunk of Président camembert, which was not too flavorful. But I would never complain about free cheese!
-The dessert seems like some sort of wet chocolate brownie (or coulant?). It was fudgy, chocolatey and dangerously sweet. Perfect.
-As a drink I asked for the champagne. It tasted like champagne alright.
Overall, a well designed and filling meal, with a couple of weak spots. Plus, the chicken option didn't seem too popular with the others.
Class: Economy (L)
Includes: 1x Meal, 1x snack, 1x cabin bag.
Seat: 35A
Price: ~1690 € (Round trip)
Ancillaries (this segment only): 31 € (Standard seat reservation)
As this is a daytime flight, not many people are sleeping. There is a rather lively bar-like atmosphere at the self-service area at the back of the plane. I don't like to photograph people, so here you have the drink options at the self-service area. People are standing around having light conversation, while others wait for the lavatories or serve themselves some snacks.
There is also a box with light food; cheese sandwiches and chocolate cereal bars. The former is dry and plain, while the latter is sweet and chewy.
The lavatories were standard. They were kept clean throughout the flight, and offered facial tissues in addition to regular papel towels and toilet paper.
An hour and a half before landing, the second meal was served. As is standard with AF, it came in a little paper bag which contained some sort of barely edible carrot and cumin salad, another cold bread roll, a moist but artificial chocolate chip cake, a sad and boring drinkable yogurt and a fruit purée thing.
10 minutes after the meals were handed out, the hot item arrived. The item is Cake tomate chèvre, and it is not very exciting. The texture and flavor are good, but there is nothing interesting about it. In my last AF flight we got pizza, where the melty cheese adds to the experience, for example. It is filling, though.
The flight was good with some light turbulence every now and then. Only two of them resulted in the seatbelt lights being turned on, the last one around the Equator being the stronger one.
Around the midpoint of the journey we got some nice views of the Azores islands in the middle of the Atlantic. Below is Pico, the highest point of the islands, viewed from the starboard side emergency door window at the back of the plane.
Somewhat late, we touch down at 16L. Though it is fully built and has been used occasionally, 16R doesn't seem to be used often…
Route: Paris Charles de Gaulle/Roissy Airport (CDG) – (LIM) Jorge Chávez International Airport
Great Circle distance: 10268 km
Flight length: ~10450 km
Flight time: 12h 20m
Delay on arrival: +35 minutes (late)
Arrival: LIM
After landing, it takes only 5 minutes of taxi to our gate. From there, it is a 15 minute wait until I can leave the aircraft, and another 5 minutes to passport control. The queue for manual passport control takes around 10 minutes and the control itself maybe 1. After that, we have to wait almost an hour until our checked bags come out, even though bags started rolling out before we left passport control…
From there it was around an hour to the house where we'll be staying, in the San Isidro district. A family member picked us up with car, which is the main transportation in Lima. Taxis are also viable. Public transportation is just beginning to develop, with a Metro line connecting to the airport currently in the works. Ironically, this line will stop at the current terminal and not the new building that is expected to open before the end of January…
Thanks and Image Credits
Thank you for reading this report! I'm really looking forward to more Airbus deliveries so AF can keep offering the high standard of service they are capable of.
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Photography: Own work
Maps: Google
Flight route: Flightradar24
