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Air France, Mexico City-Paris, Business Class, 777-200

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  • Air France, Mexico City-Paris, Business Class, 777-200

    Check-in

    This was very efficient. 5 minutes max. There were about a dozen private security guards manning the check-in lines. They only allowed one person (or group of persons travelling together) up to each check-in counter at a time. The rest were held back with ropes which the security guards only opened one at a time when space was available. Made for a more "discrete" check-in experience - but not sure it was worth it.

    I inquired about using miles to upgrade to first but was told that it was completely sold out. The 777 only has 4 seats...

    I was handed an invitation card to the Aeromexico lounge. I was interested seeing that first class pax get an invitation to the Mexicana lounge.

    I also received a fast track card to use lane 1A for arrivals formalities at Paris. I have not seen that before - but then again it´s been several months since I´ve flown AF in the premium cabins on long-hauls


    Security

    This was also a breeze. No line whatsoever. I was getting ready to take out my plastic bag of liquids but the security screener motioned for me not to take them out. At least there´s some sanity with airport security checks at MEX.


    Lounge

    It took me a while to get my bearings and head to the lounge. I first followed VIP lounge signs that took me to the Mexicana and United lounges. Also saw an American Express Platinum Lounge, before finally getting to the Aeromexico lounge.

    This is a very basic lounge - albeit with views of the tarmac. They advertised a new Aeromexico lounge just opened in terminal 2 at MEX. On the monitors, it certainly looked an improvement over this one in terminal 1. The fact they sell day passes for US$ 10 to the terminal 1 lounge is also not a good sign…

    There are signs everywhere in the lounge that catering is by "NH hotels" - which was funny since the food items consisted of a small bag of nuts and a small bag of crackers. And both were industrial products at that. There were the usual (low quality) beverages – but no champagne and no tequila !

    There were no English language newspapers and no Mexican newspapers in the lounge. There was a good selection of French magazines and newspapers although the newspapers were from the previous day. You would've thought they'd offload the paper from the earlier Air France flight. (Air France flies twice a day to MEX from Paris, and I was on the later flight.)

    The information board showing the details of the flight - type of aircraft, name of captain and chef de cabin, flying time, number of seats in each class had not been updated since the earlier AF flight. Unprofessional.

    There was a corner with four computers - all operational and high-speed connections. I went to the AF site to see that the plane had left Paris almost 2 hours late. It was to arrive in Mexico 1 hour 10 minutes before the scheduled departure to Paris...

    But they made an announcement in the lounge that the flight was boarding – about 30 minutes prior to the scheduled time of departure…


    Boarding

    Boarding was well organized and efficient. A clearly marked elite line was enforced.

    I saw a person finishing his upgrade to first at the podium. Apparently not all F pax showed up. I knew this might happen but it was not a big deal.


    First impressions on board

    I was in the forward mini-cabin of the business class section.

    The crew was attractive, well dressed and well groomed, as is always my experience on Air France and certainly sets them apart from many airlines. They were very helpful with hanging coats and assisting with putting items in the overhead compartments.

    Despite the short turn-around time, the cabin was impeccably clean. The pillows and blankets had been tucked into the buckled seatbelt of each seat.

    The amenity kit and a small bottle of water had been “pre-boarded.”


    Before take-off

    Once most passengers had boarded, the crew brought out a trolley of newspapers. This had the IHT, FT, USA Today together with a good selection of French newspapers. A single Mexican paper was offered. There were no magazines offered.

    Next came the drinks service – OJ or Champagne (Deutz)

    This was finally followed by hot towels - which weren’t particularly hot.


    Immediately after take-off


    The crew brought the menus followed by a tray-full of champagne glass being brought around.

    They had opened a new bottle (at least) and it was corked – something that does not happen very frequently. I made this known to the flight attendant who brought me another glass from obviously the same bottle. She either didn’t understand me, or didn’t care – or both. Needless to say, I had no more attempts at drinking champagne (Deutz) on this flight.


    Main meal service

    To my surprise, this flight consisted of a full dinner service and a breakfast. We left Mexico close to midnight and arrived in Paris at 5 p.m. I would have thought a very light supper followed by a substantial lunch service would be more appropriate. In any case…

    I had a starter consisting of salmon and shrimps which was quite tasty. I then had the chicken which was the “daily special,” and it lacked in taste and presentation. The dish (bowl) it came in had splatter marks all over its interior sides. Reminded me of that notorious F meal picture that has been shown in a different thread. This was followed by a separate cheese service and then desert service. I like the fact that the cheese did not come with the main course – I’m glad to see AF has changed that service policy, at least on this flight. A number of desert items were also available – I had a delicious chocolate cake.

    I had switched to the white burgundy (Rodet) as my wine of choice… The crew was generous with refilling glasses, although they only filled them half-way…


    The Seat / IFE

    The seat was the NEV3, with a nice ledge on the footrest. I was able to get into very nice positions and I had a very restful (as opposed to sleeping) flight to Paris.

    The IFE was disappointing, although it's being upgraded. They bill it as “on-demand” but that only applies to the movies. Not to the TV shows or the music. The picture quality on one channel was so bad you couldn’t watch it – double images, floating lines, snow… The number of languages some of the films are dubbed into is quite impressive. Hey, why don’t they dub the French films as well…

    A neighbor of mine had had her IFE control unit vandalized on a previous flight. It had been completely severed from the wire. She was not offered any compensation – certainly not the Singapore way !


    The Crew Disappearing Act

    This of course was the case on this flight. Following the main meal service, they all disappeared except for the one left reading a magazine by the Bar Espace... However, I was very tired and this did not cause a problem for me on this flight. If I needed anything, I rang the bell and they came immediately.


    “Breakfast” at 4 p.m.

    About 1 hour prior to landing, breakfast was served. I opted for the cheese omellette which was very nice. The menu said it came with sausage, and so it did – 1 tiny sausage wrapped in bacon. I guess you have to save everywhere. They only offered OJ as well, a neighbor who requested tomato juice was told it was not available.

    Oddly enough, they concluded the breakfast service with serving a hot towel. This may have been more appropriate at the beginning...


    Cockpit visit

    There were a number of children on this flight and some were offered a visit to the cockpit. I was glad to see this tradition returning… I have not seen it for a long time.


    Arrival into CDG

    We came in to a gate in Terminal 2F. Immigration/Customs were checking each passport at the end of the gate. This was then followed by the regular immigration which was fully staff and there was not a single person in front of me. I was in a taxi in less than 10 minutes from the doors opening. The fast lane card given to me in MEX certainly did not come in handy...


    Overall

    A good AF flight. Many things to enjoy, but several things that could be improved.

  • #2
    A rare TR indeed. Thanks for sharing. I hear NEV3 might also be installed by KL. Any truth to the rumour? Looks like a decent seat.

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by SQflyergirl View Post
      I hear NEV3 might also be installed by KL. Any truth to the rumour? Looks like a decent seat.
      Doesn't look like it.
      http://www.airliners.net/aviation-fo....main/4042404/

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      • #4
        Thanks for the feedback. I am afraid I don't know much about KLM's use of NEV3...

        Comment


        • #5
          Nice trip report, Braniff. Thanks for sharing.

          How would you rate this flight relative to the average you've experienced for AF flights in Business Class: above, at or below average?
          ‘Lean into the sharp points’

          Comment


          • #6
            Thanks for the interesting trip report. The Aeromexico lounge sounds delightful

            Comment

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