They say all good things must come to an end and, after two weeks of amazing experiences, it was time for us to head home. Our final flight of the trip was in Air France Business Class on their B777-200. We were connecting from our mediocre Air France EuroBiz flight from Athens earlier in the day.
Booking
This flight was booked using Air France/KLM Flying Blue miles transferred over from American Express Membership Rewards. I originally booked 2 tickets in business class (ATH-AMS-AUS) for 55,000 Flying Blue miles each on KLM. A month or so before departure, our plans changed and we needed to be back in Dallas, so I swapped our routing to ATH-CDG-DFW. Air France had availability for the same number of points, so I just had to pay a small difference in taxes and fees.
Pre-Flight
We arrived from Athens into Terminal 2F and navigated the maze that is Paris-Charles de Gaulle over to Terminal 2K and our flight to Dallas. There was no time for a visit to a lounge as we didn’t make it to 2K until 9:00a and we had a 10:10a departure time, so we headed straight for the gate.
We made our way over to gate K52 which, unfortunately, was one of the dreaded bus gates.
Boarding
Upon arriving at the gate, the lines were already nuts. We made our way over to the lane closest to the window which was reserved for Business Class and Sky Priority passengers. Boarding began at 9:15a starting with Business Class and Sky Priority customers though, in reality that just meant we got to stand and wait on the bus instead of in the terminal.
Air France
AF 146
CDG-DFW (Paris Charles de Gaulle International – Dallas/Ft. Worth International)
Seat: 2D (Business)
B777-200 (F-GSPY)
Scheduled: 10:10a-1:35p
Actual: 10:30a-1:46p
Once on the bus, the priority experience deteriorated further as they crammed the thing completely full before we left the gate.
We took the scenic route out to our plane which was literally at the furthest away hard stand from our gate, completely on the opposite side of the airport, arriving at our B777-200 at 9:40a. Our plane, named ‘Vincennes’, was delivered back in 2002 and was definitely showing its age, especially once we stepped onboard.
Seat
We boarded through door 2L and made a left into the business class cabin. The cabin felt very sparse and plain at first, as there wasn’t any branding or color anywhere in sight. Air France has started to roll out a new business class product, though we didn’t get it for this flight. It’s worth noting that the CDG-DFW route is typically flown with a Boeing 787, though we had a last minute Aircraft swap to this 21 year old 777.
Waiting at our seat was a pillow, small blanket and a coat hanger which I stashed in the footwell.
Even though the plane was older, the IFE screen was decently crisp, and folded out from the seat in front.
Headphones were hanging in one of the storage cubbies at the seat. There was also a mirror and a decent amount of storage for smaller items in here. Underneath was a small storage area that had a bottle of water as well as a power outlet.
In the seat, next to the headrest, was the IFE remote which could pop out along with a reading light.
Finally, the seat controls were located on the console separating our two middle seats. They didn’t have many options but they were extremely intuitive.
The seats were in a reverse herringbone layout and, though they didn’t have a door, still provided a decent amount of privacy. Overall, they were comfortable and I would have had no issue sleeping if this had been an overnight flight.
Departure
As boarding was wrapping up, the FAs came around with the amenity kit which consisted of a toothbrush, toothpaste, pen, eyeshade, and some lotions from Clarins.
Pre-departure beverages were offered, with a choice between water, juice, or champagne. Since the honeymoon wasn’t over yet, we both chose champagne.
While we waited for the remaining buses, the menu was distributed along with a hot towel.
After boarding was complete, we pushed off of the stand 20 minutes late due to some late arriving buses. We had what was maybe a 45 second taxi to the runway since we were parked at the closest hardstand to our departure runway and blasted out of CDG towards Dallas.
Menu
While we waited for the final few passengers to settle in, I perused the menu. Which reads as follows.
The main meal service on this flight was lunch, which was served shortly after departure. There was a smaller meal service scheduled closer to our arrival in Dallas.
Lunch
Once in the air, the meal service started with a top up of the champagne and a box of cheese crackers.
For my starter I had the shrimp tartare with pea cream, which was the only option.
For my main, I had the veal shank with mushrooms and pea risotto. It was delicious, even though it looked like soup and was served with a side salad.
Mrs. ATX Jetsetter had the duck lasagna which she said was good as well.
For dessert, I passed on anything sweet and instead went with the cheese plate.
After the meal service was over, the flight crew brought us a couple of small gifts since they heard it was our honeymoon.
After the meal, Mrs. ATX Jetsetter put her seat in bed mode to sleep while I passed the time with some movies and frequent top ups of champagne and crackers from the crew.
Pre-Arrival Snack
About an hour before landing, the pre arrival meal was served, with a choice between the cod and cheese ravioli. I had the cod which came out looking like mashed potatoes, but was good. This was served along with a roll and an almond butter cake.
Since it was time to head back to reality, I finished the meal with a cup of coffee which was served with a small chocolate.
Arrival
We landed back in Dallas just before 2:00p local time and taxied over to gate D15. The FA’s held the Economy passengers while Business Class deplaned and we got one final look at our 777, along with some other widebodies preparing for the international departure bank.
Immigration took less than 5 minutes and our bags were ready and waiting on the belt when we arrived at baggage claim.
From there, we grabbed an Uber to a friend’s house who had been watching our dog. Not surprisingly, he was very happy to see us!
Summary
While the hard product on the older 777s isn’t as good as you would find on the Middle East carriers, it was still a solid seat. In comparison to the older British Airways and Lufthansa offerings that also fly from Europe to DFW, it is miles ahead. The cabin crew was stellar and extremely attentive and I can’t wait for my next flight on Air France in June!
