[Anonymous]

[business traveller]

I flew from Montreal to Paris in December on a 747-400. The flight was originally meant to be serviced by a 777-200 aircraft but a last minute change resulted in an ‘upgrade’ to a Jumbo.

Pierre Elliott Trudeau Montreal airport is very user friendly. It’s relatively new, with a decent retail offering after immigration/security and some half decent lounges. I used the World Mastercard Lounge through Priority Pass. There was a decent selection of drinks, some finger food (sandwiches, soup and sweets) plus a coffee machine. Nothing to write home about but very modern and a good way to relax before a flight in economy.

Check in fine. I had one case over the designated 23kgs limit and no amount of charm was going to get them to accept more without charge. I was given the option to ‘re-arrange’ my luggage so I went to the nearby waiting area, removed several heavy items (university books etc) and placed in them in my hand luggage. The case came down to 23kgs and my hand luggage went up to, what felt like, 15kgs (more like 10kg). They seemed to be ok with that when I returned to check in. I was a little miffed as this was part of a 3 flight journey from Montreal to Paris to Rome to Athens on a super cheap Alitalia fare I’d purchased in Athens (€650 return leaving) – the result being that I had to carry a very heavy bag on 2 through 4 airports on 3 flights. Only myself to blame though. My bags were checked through to Athens. I asked the kind check-in agent if they could tag them Priority (I’m a lowly Skyteam silver) so there would be less chance they’d go AWOL with the 2 connections and it worked. The bags arrived with me in Athens 3 flights later.

Seat selection was interesting. I had purchased an Economy Comfort seat for the Montreal – Paris leg for an additional €50.00. On the 777-200 this means a seat in the first section behind Premium Economy. The result is about 34 inches of legroom and in seat power on most aircraft. The food is the same as economy. The interesting part came in the change of aircraft from the 777 to a 747. On the latter, Economy Comfort is located on the upper deck. In addition I received an exit row window seat with nobody next to me. Happy days! I had the benefit of the storage bins next to the window seat which gave additional space for food/tablet etc. It was a very comfortable way to spend 7 hours in economy for just €50 extra. I wonder if seats like these cannibalise demand for premium economy?

The flight was comfortable. The Air France crew were always professional if not warm. The 2 male attendants in my section were efficient, but all in all quite good. Shortly after take-off drinks were served and then dinner. This is a strange flight in terms of timing as it leaves Montreal late afternoon (around 5pm) and arrives in Paris around 5am. I personally wasn’t that hungry at 6pm to eat, let alone in the mood to sleep. Never one to give up an offer of airline food though, I chose to eat anyway. The tray consisted of a Japanese soba noodle salad, main of tortellini with crème, spinach and chicken, a chocolate mousse and an Air France cheese pack consisting of brie and water crackers. Warm bread was also served. Wine/beer/spirits and soft drinks were served together with champagne, given the airline. All were very delicious, especially the main which had rich flavours and felt like a premium product I’d eat at a bistro rather than a de-frosted TV meal. Trays were cleared quite quickly, lights were dimmed and I managed half a movie and 3 hours sleep before a light breakfast of croissant and coffee 60 mins from landing. Given the ample legroom, the extra space below the window and the empty seat next to me, this was one of the best flights in economy I’ve experienced.

We arrived at CDG on time at 5am. This is where Air France disappointed. Given the early arrival time or for whatever other reason, we didn’t park at the terminal but at a remote stand. Buses were late arriving and, given this was a packed 747, it took at around 40 mins for all the passengers to exit the aircraft. I was lucky to be one of the first in economy to exit (only waiting 15 mins) but speaking with other economy passengers at the transfer desk, some had waited over half an hour. For a sleep deprived passenger, this can be frustrating. The transfer between terminals at CDG was also tiresome given the complicated immigration processing system in place. I was in the Shengen terminal just over 75 mins following arrival. The 2 connecting flights to Rome and Athens with AF and Alitalia were fine and, as above, my suitcase arrived with me at the final destination.

All in all a great economy experience on Air France marred only by a tiring arrival at CDG. For the price, I was very happy indeed.

Review courtesy of Seatplans.com. Original review by user Flying_Alex can be found here

[ViajeroUK]

Agree that transfer at CDG can be a bit daunting Flying_Ales, but if you can manage to upgrade from Silver to Flying Blue Gold, you qualify for the Sky Priority fast track lanes at CDG 2, E and F terminals, even if flying with discount economy ticket.

This benefit is particularly useful if transferring from/to Schengen/Non-Schengen areas

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