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| A380 of AirFrance |
Air France, flight AF 990
Paris CDG to Johannesburg OR Tambo JNB
Flying time: 9 hours 50 minutes
Equipment: A380 (JG)
Seat: 27C (aisle, last row of the first cabin of Economy)
This was going to be a quick work trip to Johannesburg from Paris. Tickets were bought just a couple of days before departure so were rather expensive.
On the day of departure, I checked in on the web. Unfortunately, no aisle seat was left on the upper deck. AF has a few rows of Y seats on the upper deck and represents probably my only chance of sitting in the upper deck (the others only put business there). So, I settled for 27C in the main deck.
At CDG 2E, the bagage drop off line was so long and I spent about 30 minutes waiting before I was able to drop my small suitcase. The common check in means we are checking in with pax going to Mexico City, to China (forgot which city) etc. So, lots of people. The AF agent who checked people before entering the check in area could have been more friendly, more efficient, and more proactive I thought.
Used the automated passport control so was quick for me, but the line for regular passport control was huge! Since the flight departs from gates L, this meant that we had to take the train or the bus to these gates which took quite a bit of time on the bus. Arriving at the L gates, we went through security and entered the beautiful terminal (nice architecture, nice shops…and surprise, there is even a smoking lounge. Well, lounge is a bit of a misnomer…it’s a very small glass enclosed box. But at least it’s there for the smokers before a long flight). This terminal really is nice and spacious. You could buy water here too (After I had to give up my bottle of water at security).
Boarding started a bit later than indicated but went fairly quickly (I was worried as I have noticed that there are lots of delays with this flight on flight tracker). Was seated in my seat at 23h05. At first, the seats felt OK, but all those stories I heard about them being uncomfortable turned out to be true. True there was sufficient space for your legs, but I found that it was very difficult to find a comfortable position after a while and thus only slept for an hour or two during the flight (That said, my seat mates slept at least for 8 hours straight!). The footrest was not helping either as it was bare metal and you feet slip off easily.
The crew for tonight’s flight was professional. There was a pax in my area who boarded late with huge bags that were so heavy. Though the crew pointed out spaces available they did not help the pax put the bag up (this is AF regulation?).
Finally boarding was completed. The plane was fully packed (same on the return flight with only a few seats open).
Captain got on the speaker at 23h23 and announced a flying time of 9 hours 50 minutes which is expected to be fairly smooth all the way except for minor turbulences when we cross the equator, after welcoming us on board. We pushed back at 23h35and started the long journey for take off. Take off roll was 45 seconds. As usual, the take off was very quiet and you barely know that the plane has lifted off.
After the seatbelt sign was turned off, menu was distributed by the crew, followed by headphone. AF does not turn on their PTV until pushback (unlike EK), and then it was only the tail camera available(you cannot access other contents). Once on air, PTV was functioning fully.
Dinner was then served. So, this was a pretty late dinner and I was very hungry. The food was ok, though the bread was not warmed (I thought AF would do that. EK does or did).
During the night, crew walked around with drinks for pax who did not sleep.
Before landing, breakfast was served.
We landed at JNB on time and made our way to gate. It was a long walk from the gate to passport control. JNB is huge. Parked around the tarmac were South African planes, obviously, but also Lufthansa A380, BA 747 etc. Passport control was quick, despite the long lines (separated in SA or foreign passports). SA used to require two blank pages in your passport for visa…now, they only put a small sticker and mine was stuck in a page already stamped with other visa (Immigration officer was very efficient). In baggage claim, my bag came out pretty quickly and I went out of the custom area. I had to exchange money first and this took forever. I don’t know why they have to make copies of passport, fill out form make photo copies etc etc for every client. I only exchanged 50 euros but it took a good half hour to do it.
All in all, it was a pleasant flight. The seat in Y was not comfortable though. I have flown EK A380 and always managed to sleep and able to find a comfortable position (yet I think the Y seats in both airlines are pitched at 32 inches….so, don’t know what the difference is).
Air France, flight AF 990
Paris CDG to Johannesburg OR Tambo JNB
Flying time: 9 hours 50 minutes
Equipment: A380 (JG)
Seat: 27C (aisle, last row of the first cabin of Economy)
This was going to be a quick work trip to Johannesburg from Paris. Tickets were bought just a couple of days before departure so were rather expensive.
On the day of departure, I checked in on the web. Unfortunately, no aisle seat was left on the upper deck. AF has a few rows of Y seats on the upper deck and represents probably my only chance of sitting in the upper deck (the others only put business there). So, I settled for 27C in the main deck.
At CDG 2E, the bagage drop off line was so long and I spent about 30 minutes waiting before I was able to drop my small suitcase. The common check in means we are checking in with pax going to Mexico City, to China (forgot which city) etc. So, lots of people. The AF agent who checked people before entering the check in area could have been more friendly, more efficient, and more proactive I thought.
Used the automated passport control so was quick for me, but the line for regular passport control was huge! Since the flight departs from gates L, this meant that we had to take the train or the bus to these gates which took quite a bit of time on the bus. Arriving at the L gates, we went through security and entered the beautiful terminal (nice architecture, nice shops…and surprise, there is even a smoking lounge. Well, lounge is a bit of a misnomer…it’s a very small glass enclosed box. But at least it’s there for the smokers before a long flight). This terminal really is nice and spacious. You could buy water here too (After I had to give up my bottle of water at security).
Boarding started a bit later than indicated but went fairly quickly (I was worried as I have noticed that there are lots of delays with this flight on flight tracker). Was seated in my seat at 23h05. At first, the seats felt OK, but all those stories I heard about them being uncomfortable turned out to be true. True there was sufficient space for your legs, but I found that it was very difficult to find a comfortable position after a while and thus only slept for an hour or two during the flight (That said, my seat mates slept at least for 8 hours straight!). The footrest was not helping either as it was bare metal and you feet slip off easily.
The crew for tonight’s flight was professional. There was a pax in my area who boarded late with huge bags that were so heavy. Though the crew pointed out spaces available they did not help the pax put the bag up (this is AF regulation?).
Finally boarding was completed. The plane was fully packed (same on the return flight with only a few seats open).
Captain got on the speaker at 23h23 and announced a flying time of 9 hours 50 minutes which is expected to be fairly smooth all the way except for minor turbulences when we cross the equator, after welcoming us on board. We pushed back at 23h35and started the long journey for take off. Take off roll was 45 seconds. As usual, the take off was very quiet and you barely know that the plane has lifted off.
After the seatbelt sign was turned off, menu was distributed by the crew, followed by headphone. AF does not turn on their PTV until pushback (unlike EK), and then it was only the tail camera available(you cannot access other contents). Once on air, PTV was functioning fully.
Dinner was then served. So, this was a pretty late dinner and I was very hungry. The food was ok, though the bread was not warmed (I thought AF would do that. EK does or did).
During the night, crew walked around with drinks for pax who did not sleep.
Before landing, breakfast was served.
We landed at JNB on time and made our way to gate. It was a long walk from the gate to passport control. JNB is huge. Parked around the tarmac were South African planes, obviously, but also Lufthansa A380, BA 747 etc. Passport control was quick, despite the long lines (separated in SA or foreign passports). SA used to require two blank pages in your passport for visa…now, they only put a small sticker and mine was stuck in a page already stamped with other visa (Immigration officer was very efficient). In baggage claim, my bag came out pretty quickly and I went out of the custom area. I had to exchange money first and this took forever. I don’t know why they have to make copies of passport, fill out form make photo copies etc etc for every client. I only exchanged 50 euros but it took a good half hour to do it.
All in all, it was a pleasant flight. The seat in Y was not comfortable though. I have flown EK A380 and always managed to sleep and able to find a comfortable position (yet I think the Y seats in both airlines are pitched at 32 inches….so, don’t know what the difference is).
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