Tag Archives: Seat Guru

Business Class ROCKS – or what a difference a Plane Reno Makes


I knew that they had changed something about my long leg – the flight from Paris to Singapore. When I went to print my boarding passes – my seat assignment was different – and when I went to change it back – the seat map was completely different.

So no surprise that there were changes – but I was still stunned by the difference!

But before I get to my flight – a quick review of the Charles De Gaul Hilton. I arrived in Paris at 8:00 AM – and had to fly out at 7:30 PM – and I can’t sleep on airplanes. So I knew I was going to need to find a bed when I arrived in Paris. My husband encouraged me to stay at the Hilton – he’s used it before on these airport stays – and thinks of it quite fondly.

So – expensive reservation made (I opted for the room that gave me access to the executive lounge, figuring I’d grab breakfast before hitting the sack) – I arrived in Paris – terminal 2E. There’s a shuttle every 15 minutes from 2E to the hotel – but who knew. Despite telling the hotel when I was arriving – the only instructions they gave me had me on the airport metro – a short 4 stop metro between Terminal 2, Terminal 1 and 3, and a parking lot.

So – I got off the plane – walked thru passport control and luggage claim, out to the airport, back towards the center of the airport, got on the metro thingy, go off 2 stops later, then walked around that building until I spotted the Hilton. It was a huge problem – but the entire thing could have been easily avoided had I known to grab their shuttle from terminal 2. Good news – used that on the way back – dropped me right off at my gate.

Breakfast in the Executive Lounge was ok – but not worth what I paid for the upgrade. Message to self – next time don’t bother. I got to the room – nice comfy bed – great bathroom – and collapsed. 4 Hours later – I awoke – really to boggie. Had a very refreshing shower – took the shuttle to the airport – and found the Air France Executive lounge. All good!

On to the flight.

On January 1, 2015 – Air France introduced brand new seats in Business Class on several of it’s long haul flights – and mine was one of the lucky ones. Oh – what a seat. I’ve walked past these egg shell shaped curved seats many times – this was the first time I got to press the buttons!

My seat was awesome. No seriously – really amazing. It was a full Flat bed – which means that it goes completely flat – so comfy for sleeping. The TV screen is huge – and close enough to my face for me to see it easily – and it was clean. And touch sensitive. They provided a fancy touch sensitive remote – but I never actually used it. One part of the egg hold the TV, and a shelf that becomes part of the bed when the chair is extended. Super large – super handy for my purse and back-pack. On the other part of the egg – the part with the chair – there was a very large area for putting stuff – and a cabinet that opened. It held the provided headphones (dearly wish they were more comfy – my ears were in pain by the end of the 19 hours) – and was large enough for me to tuck in my ipad. There were 2 plugs – one a multi-plug outlet that accepted not only my US connectors – but also the connectors for a multiple of other countries. The other plug was a USB port – which would charge my iphone – but not my ipad. Oh well.

So – I sat down – and my neighbor quickly realized I was new at this – and was very happy to demonstrate all the bells and whistles! Up down, into a bed, into a chair – move the back of the chair – what fun. Only thing missing – built in massage!

Standard amenities (how many cheap toothbrushes does anyone need), little slippers – and those socks that fit no one. Nice blanket, big pillow – I was in heaven.

And the food was pretty darn good too! I loved the amuse Bouche of peas and cream, the shrimp was ok – but the winner was the Cod with black Rice. It’s a celeberty chef’s dish – and it was yummy. And the fish was properly cooked – amazing for airline food. Standard cheese course (and great bread), plenty of water – this time wihout needing the constant reminders, and a very light dessert completed the dinner portion. The staff passed several times during the night – and if you were obviously awake (ok – I slept a total of 5 hours – which is probably some kind of record for me) – they gave you little bowls of rubarb-apple sauce. Very refreshing.

Entertainment – watched 3 films – Magic in the Moonlight by Woodie Allen – great film – you have to watch it, and 2 smash ‘m up films – Milifcent and Guardians of the Galaxy. Not sure why I watched the Guardians of the Galaxy – it’s quite silly on a tiny screen. But it is what it is.

Breakfast was a waste – terrible coffee (I forgot to ask for the hot chocolate – and they didn’t offer it either), and unlike the flight from Montreal – the bread was cold. I did enjoy the Broiche though.

Fussy about breakfast aside (I think the big problem for me was the abundance of fancy mushrooms on the omlet. I love omlets – hate mushrooms), I was dutifully impressed. Absolutely worth every penny to get that seat and that food for that long of a flight.

We were a bit late departing from Paris – which put us in late to Singapore – but I had no issues with the transafer – in fact the new gate was directly accross from the old one. One thing surprising about Singapore – the gates are all encloed in glass (floor to ceiling), and the security check is INSIDE the glass. So about 40 minutes before departure – the gate opens and you must go thru security at that point. This despite the fact that you had to have cleared security before getting on the plane you just got off. I guess they have decided that having 2 machines at every gate is more efficient that having one big line at the spot where people enter the entire gate area. Interesting.

Ok – enough of this – I’m waiting for my flight to Bali – making good use of their free internet here in Singapore. It’s 30 degrees C outside – that’s 50 degrees WARMER than what I left 2 days ago in Montreal. But you can’t tell that from here – the airport is of course air conditioned – and people don’t look much different from how they’d be dressed for a Montreal summer. Sandles and flip flops are the norm – but only one gal is wearing a tank top – everyone is pretty conservatively dressed for that hot a climate.

Moving on – The Soup Lady

Air France – Matron in the Air (and not in a good way)


I lucked out to get relatively inexpensive tickets to travel Business Class to Bali – I’m not stupid – and I completely recognize a bargain when I see one. So it was with a great deal of trepidation that I read some pretty negative reviews of Air France in general – and Air France Business Class in particular.

For those who google – Seat Guru.com, Seat Plans.com, and Airline Quality.com are 3 of the many sites that allow folks like you and me to comment publicly on how airlines are treating their paying guests these days. My personal favorite is probably Seat Guru – it seems to keep up to date pretty reqularly – and has enough reviews to lend believability to the total.

Any way – it generally appeared upon reading these sites that I was in trouble. Air France has gone from Queen of the airways to what can best be described as an older lady who hasn’t aged as well as she might. Reviewers describe an old fleet, an old entertainment system, food that is best avoided, and not very friendly service.

Well I’m here to report – at the half way point – that the reviewers are not completely wrong. There is lots to love, and lots to wonder about on just one flight experience – people who have put on more miles with Air France will likely have found even less to love.

But let’s hit the highlights and the low lights. You can decide for yourself.

Right now I’m sitting in the Air France Executive lounge in Paris. On the Air France website – this lounge is described as sophisticated, elegant, luxurious. Well – not quite. The lounge in Montreal – while much smaller – had a much more elegant feel to it. I haven’t seen a single person cleaning or straightening up. The food selection is limited to delicous cheeses – and pre-packaged cups of noodles. Really – cup of noodles?

There was a sign at the entrance that advertised free massages – but when I arrived at 3:30 and asked for an appointment – they were ‘gone for the day’. Would it be so hard to take down the sign? Guess so.

I will give the lounge credit for size – it’s huge. And broken into quite attractive sections thru the use of plants (fake) and glass panels. One section is walled off completely – and labeled for Japan Air only. Guess they can’t mix with the likes of us. There are toilets – not wonderfully located though – and there’s an upstairs section that apparently has computers and work stations. Not to complain – but there’s no elevator – so everyone going up stairs is lugging their carry on.

And here’s the worst part – I’m in a basement. The view out of the only windows is of a huge construction site – I’m assuming the airport is expanding.

But this is the ‘name’ carrier of France – shouldn’t they offer guests a bit of a higher standard.

Late breaking news – my flight boards at 6:50 PM – so at about 6:45 I made my way out of the lounge – to realize they were setting up the most amazing spread for dinner – lox, cold cuts, several salads, etc. But it was chained off – you have to wait to 7:00 to eat! I guess they figure that just because you are Travelling – you should abide by France’s standard eating times to get hungrey. At least it’s a way step up from Cup of Noodles.

On to the review of the flight over the pond as the Brits like to refer to the Atlantic Ocean. Yes – I turned left. Yes I had one of those cool looking seats that becomes a bed – and yes they provided slippers, hand creme, eye shades, and even low end ear phones permanently attached to your chair. But I couldn’t plug in my own ear phones and stereo sound, the tiny TV monitor was over an arms reach away – and the selections rather limited. I did get to watch MockingJay, Big Force 6, and a bit of the 100 Foot Journey – so that was ok – but in comparision to the options available on Air Canada in Economy class – this was pretty weak. No points for making me use your earphones, no points for selections, no points for size/clarity of the TV. Sorry Air France – losers.

The service was variable. I can’t actually lift my carry on – it has my regulator inside – so I need help. Points for the staff noticing, Points for the staff trying to help – no points for the male steward saying – aren’t you going to help me. Really – I’m 66 and 5’4″ – I can’t even OPEN the overhead bin – let alone lift the carry on. And this is fancy dancy business class.

Drinks – Points for lots of drink options, 10 points for AWESOME hot chocolate, no points for making me ask 3 times for a refill on water, and definitely no points for telling me that after 5 hours they had figured out that I liked fizzy water – and thus included a bottle on the breakfast cart – just for me. It’s not the guesture – it’s having to tell me about it that’s weird.

Silverware – I have no idea where they are storing these things – but seriously cold silverware is a real turn off. So of course is plastic – so points for real silverware, no points for it being cold. Very cold.

Food – ok – this too had temperature issues. Where are they storing stuff? Frozen shrimp? Really? But the bread was fresh baked and delicious – and the cheese – wonderful. The butter so hard that I couldn’t cut it with a knife. So again – mixed review – Points for the bread – lots of points for the bread. And the main course was pretty good too. But too cold to eat shrimp was a serious negative. And I would have loved some of those fresh baked cookies that Lou mentioned. None showed up. On the other hand – the Hot chocolate was outstanding. And I’d almost fly AF again to get it.

Breakfast – 4 tiny pieces of fruit, a COLD (nothing new there) yogurt and 2 more hot chocolates. Best part – freshly baked pasteries. So few people opted for breakfast that the gal offered me seconds if I wanted. That was nice. Points for Hot Cocolate, Points for asking if I wanted seconds – No points for the rest.

Bed – which was in fact the entire point – Ok – that was pretty good. In fact – I don’t understand the negative comments all over the net. Am I just less fussy? It was firm, there was a nice big pillow and a huge blanket that was quite comfy. I was in 3E – which was NOT a bulkhead seat. That meant I had a shelf to put my feet on – and of course the slanted flat bed. So Points and them some for these. I wouldn’t want a bulkhead seat – but otherwise – all was good. And they had reading lights that you could move around as needed. Another nice touch.

Bottom line – I’m curious to see if we’re going up or down on this next leg – 19 hours to Singapore…

Signing off to get some more of that yummy cheese here in the Executive Lounge – The Soup Lady