| Air France | Montpellier (MPL) → Paris (CDG) | A320-200 | Economy Class | 02/02/2020 | Short review - 3.8/5 |
| Air France | Paris (CDG) → Los Angeles (LAX) | A380-800 | Economy Class | 02/02/2020 | Short review - 4.1/5 |
| Air France | San Francisco (SFO) → Paris (CDG) | 777-300 | Economy Class | 10/02/2020 | Current review |
| Air France | Paris (CDG) → Montpellier (MPL) | A320-200 | Economy Class | 11/02/2020 |
| Air France | Montpellier (MPL) → Paris (CDG) | A320-200 | Economy Class | 02/02/2020 | Short review - 3.8/5 |
| Air France | Paris (CDG) → Los Angeles (LAX) | A380-800 | Economy Class | 02/02/2020 | Short review - 4.1/5 |
| Air France | San Francisco (SFO) → Paris (CDG) | 777-300 | Economy Class | 10/02/2020 | Current review |
| Air France | Paris (CDG) → Montpellier (MPL) | A320-200 | Economy Class | 11/02/2020 |
Hello and welcome to this Flight review!
Today, I'm taking you on a flight from San Francisco Internation Airport to Paris Charles-de-Gaulle.
This is it, the end of the trip in the American Western is approaching… The program included Los Angeles, the Grand Canyon, Sequoia National Park, Monument Valley, Bryce Canyon, Las Vegas, and finally San Francisco with its hilly streets! But I am very excited to fly again on a Boeing 777-300ER this time but still with Air France. Good surprise too, Wi-Fi is present on board F-GSQC.
As I arrived late at the airport, I didn't really have time to enjoy it and make up my mind.
First, I head to the check-in desk to drop my luggage off. The agent then prints out my boarding pass.
Two things stood out for me during this quick journey through San Francisco's Terminal 1. One positive, the other negative. First, it is a very good point to have installed so many windows in this Terminal. It brings light and beautiful views of the aircraft. However, the main negative point of the SFO International Terminal is the lack of shops, especially in terms of restaurants.
Anyway, no time to enjoy. I have to get on board!
On board, the welcome is very warm, as often with Air France. I then went through the Business Class cabin, then the Premium Economy Class, and finally I arrived at my seat: the 41A.
Air France gives each passenger a cushion, a headset, and a blanket. The headset is much better than the headphones that some airlines provide.
The legroom is 32/81 inches/cm, which is within the norm.
I take my seat, then I find myself in front of this beautiful IFE screen which contrasts enormously with the one on the outbound flight (on board the beloved A380).
It's now time to push back while admiring this beautiful Emirates A380 wearing the special Expo 2020 livery. It should take off in a few hours to Dubai for a 15h30 flight (indeed, that's long...).
We did a long pushback as we were at the back of the Terminal...Then we move forward by taking the direction of the 28L. We cross the 1L. San Fransisco is a particular airport because it counts 4 runways among which 2 parallel and 2 perpendiculars. Being parallel with the 28R and 28L, we were able to see a few landings while taxiing.
We line up on the 28L to then put full throttle while crossing the 1R
Then comes the rotation with a magnificent view of SFO!
I was unfortunately on the wrong side to expect to see the San Francisco Bay, but we still had a nice consolation.
We gradually move away from the Pacific Ocean as we climb.
The purser (who was very nice during the whole flight) came to bring us the menu with a refreshing towel.
Here is the menu :
For me, it will be pasta with pesto! It was really good. Note that I was surprised by the quality of the 2 meals (on the way out on the CDG-LAX and on the way back). An excellent point for AF!
Outside, the crossing of the American continent is going perfectly. Here are some pictures of the landscape:
The sunset left me speechless…
Here is a presentation of the toilets for those interested:
The crew is now turning off the lights to go to sleep mode!
I slept a little bit, then when I woke up, we were in the middle of the Atlantic
As you can notice, we do not fly over Greenland for this return flight. Indeed, pilots take advantage of the jet streams (very fast wind streams at high altitudes) which allow us to reduce fuel consumption while going faster. These currents go from West to East, which explains why flights are faster in one direction than in the other.
Out of curiosity, I opened the window and was astonished to see that we were flying next to an aurora borealis! What a great show!
Then the sun rises: “from shadow to light”.
We then arrive at the edge of Ireland.
We were served a small "breakfast" type bag, very practical if we did not finish when we got off the plane. However, some people find the service quite meager. This did not bother me. The only drawback for me was the croissant, so fatty that it became disgusting.
After this meal, we start the descent to Paris CDG.
On the final in 26L with big turbulences due to the storm Ciara.
And touchdown in 26L with 30 minutes ahead of schedule! Excellent point for punctuality!
Air France passes us by.
While taxiing, we meet two big babies: one belonging to Emirates, the other to Air France.
Vietnam Airlines on hold before returning home.
We finally arrive at the parking gate and disembark in a flash.
And the time has come to say goodbye to our bird of the day!
I am now heading to the connections for my last flight of this trip between Paris and Montpellier to go back home! The review of this flight is available on Flightreviews.net!
A cruel lack of shops and restaurants, however, windows offer a beautiful view of planes. The wait at the security was quite long. To be honest, I'm a little disappointed with this airport. However, because I was in a hurry, I couldn't really take advantage of it to make a real opinion.
This flight was very pleasant. A crew that we would like to have on all flights, really excellent! Not too many turbulences except on arrival at CDG. The new cabins are very nice, with screens a little small but I loved the map vision; the entertainment offer was quite good. The seat is very comfortable. Too bad the window was so dirty!
The crossing of customs was very fast, the continuation in the next episode!
Thank you for reading and see you soon on Flightreviews.net!
