Hello all and thanks for reading this TR!

In the first part I explained how we ended up taking two trips back to back and how both were on Sky Team partners. The first part dealt with the DCA-SJU-DCA trip on Delta; 3 days after returning to DC we departed from Washington's main international airport, IAD, destination DUS. The routing was IAD-CDG-DUS on Air France.

As my partner works for AF we purchased what the airline refers to as R1 tickets, which means that they are employee tickets but on positive space (unlike R2 tickets which are on stand-by). Since R1 tickets cost nearly as much as the published fares they are treated as a regular ticket, meaning that you pre-select your seats, check-in online, and can be compensated in the case of denied boarding. Given that the summer months see an increase in travel the extra cost over an R2 stand-by fare was not an issue.

Now to the flights!


Flight AF 027 IAD - CDG
Air France 777-228ER F-GSPT, delivered new to Air France on 22 January 2002.
Seat: Business (J), 3L, window
Scheduled times: 2155-1130
Actual times: 2200-1127
Load: 100% in F, 100% in J, 100% in Y; 1 passenger denied boarding at gate.



IAD is quite a ways away from the city (about 60 km) and currently there are only a few alternatives for transportation. One of the most economical ways to get there (which I chose) is to take the Metro subway train to the West Falls Church station (approx. 25 mins from downtown), then connect to the Washington Flyer bus for a short 15 min ride. Total trip cost is $13.65 one way including the train ride. They drop you off at the Arrivals level but I promptly went to the Departures level to wait for my partner to finish his shift and do some spotting.

IAD departures level


Lufthansa A330-343E, D-AIKK


767-3Z9ER Austrian Airlines, OE-LAE (ex Lauda Air), named Malaysia



Once my partner was done with his shift we proceeded to check-in and get rid of our bags.

Air France ticket counter



One of the benefits of the R1 tickets which I had not mentioned is that in the case of an oversold flight those passengers on R1 tickets have the first priority for upgrading into J, as was the case on our flight. The Y cabin was sold at 235 (capacity 211) and thus the station began to upgrade passengers forward. The P cabin had 2 seats open (of 4) and the J cabin had 16 seats open, so 2 J passengers were upgraded to First and 18 Y passengers (including us) were upgraded to J. Even with the movement forward of 18 economy passengers the station had to deny boarding to one passenger who happened to be the last one to check-in. I guess you can say that this was a FULL flight!

So we received our new boarding cards for seats 3K and 3L (though no lounge invitation as we were not J fare paying passengers) and proceeded to the security checkpoint. Before we did I took a few more pics of the main building at IAD which houses the ticketing counters as well as the security checkpoint (since then moved to the lower level).





We went through the empty security checkpoint (rare for IAD) and took the tunnel pathway to Concourse B. We took the 2 hours we had until boarding to spot some planes, take a peek at some of the lounges, and just relax.

Lufthansa's Lounge


Entrance to Virgin Atlantic's Lounge


The British Airways lounge is on the second level as can be seen here:


Speaking of BA, I know that British Airways is part of an alliance but I couldn't remember which one. Is it Sky Team, Star Alliance, or...

747-436 British Airways, G-CIVI


Concourse B is a modern and airy terminal with a contemporary feel. As you can tell from the flags this terminal is frequented by several foreign carriers including Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, Qatar Airways, Iberia, KLM, SAS, Lufthansa, South African Airways, and of course Air France.



A new addition to IAD is the AirTrain, a new and convenient way to transfer from the main terminal (the historic building) to the gates, thus avoiding the classic but cumbersome mobile lounges. The train was undergoing testing while we were there; sadly, arriving international passengers will still be shuttled to the main terminal in the mobile lounges to go through customs and immigration as these services will remain centralized in the main terminal.



After grabbing a bite at Potbellys we found a spot at the gate. Note the Air France board at the gate; it gives you some interesting information about the flight including aircraft type, duration of the flight, the names of the key crew personnel, and the languages spoken on board.



Air France begins their boarding process about 50 minutes before departure and with this being a full flight every minute counted. We decided to wait until the majority of the passengers had gone through to board which in turn gave us an opportunity to watch the behavior of the passengers as they approached the gate counter and the queue to board. Of particular interest was the passenger who was denied boarding; he remained calm, rational, and accepted the situation without much fuss. Some of the flying passengers, however, were absolutely outraged that the station could not offer them the seats they wanted and kept cursing at the gate agents and throwing their hands in the air. We later asked about those infuriated passengers and of course none of them had requested seats prior to showing up 1 h before departure expecting the windows and aisles to be free.
We made our way to our seats, 3K and L, which is the first row in Business behind the small (4-seats) First Class cabin. There is no floor storage for take-off and landing due to the bulkhead in front but there was plenty of space in the overhead bins for our backpacks. From my seat you could take a peek into the First Class thrones before departure and before they close the curtains.



The ground crew somehow managed to board all passengers on time and we pushed from the gate only a few minutes behind schedule. Once the safety demonstration was over and we had taxied to the runway it was time to listen to those mighty GE90 engines; they truly are music to one's ears!



Take off on a GE equipped 777 is always a formidable experience and this one was no exception. Soon we were en-route into clear skies. The hard product on Air France's J Class is certainly nice with comfortable seats which go nearly flat (176 degrees I think) and even offer a massage function.



The service on-board is worthy of the price for these seats, and the cabin crew remained enthusiastic throughout the entire flight. Dinner service started about 45 minutes into the flight, first with a drink and the menu:





Followed by the appetizer:



And finally the main course:



Worthy of mentioning is the fact that the food quality was restaurant-like, with tasty and delicious dishes provided. After getting stuffed from all the food and drinks (and sampling some of that European coffee we LOVE) it was time to relax, watch some TV, and catch some sleep.





Throughout the flight Air France offers a snack bar on all classes; the one in J looks rather futuristic:



I was quite intrigued about the J Class lavatory and after a visit I can say that it looks like a... lavatory! They have some neat touches, including a hair brush neither of us knew who would use:



Speaking of amenities, the J Class amenity kit is quite comprehensive with some lotion, toothbrush, night goggles, and socks; I didn't use it during the flight but I took a picture of it once home:



The flight itself was relatively smooth with few encounters with turbulence. Five hours after take-off and we were approaching the European coastline.

Jersey


French coastline


The final service before landing consists of a light, refreshing snack, and some more coffee.



Snack done, time for descent and landing at CDG!

Stunning view of Vaureal


What looks like pleasant suburbs in Franconville, bordered by the A15 at the north and rail tracks at the south


The landing was smooth and uneventful, the heavy 777 kissing the runway gracefully. F-GSPT had brought us to Europe safely and comfortably. A few minutes of taxi (and taking a few more pics, including the first Aeromexico and Kenya Airways 763s that I see) and we arrived at our gate in terminal 2E.

767-3Y0ER Aeromexico, XA-MAT, ex GPA


Our 777 after the relatively short hop across the Atlantic.


CDG is a pretty airport and once you've been there before it's easy to find your way around. Going through immigration was a breeze (try and say that about arriving in the US!) we made our way to 2D to catch our connecting flight in about 15 minutes. Time for some more spotting and I was able to catch a glimpse (the tail and part of the body) of a SQ A388.

Wait is over, time for our flight to DUS.
Flight AF 1906 CDG-DUS
Air France E-190LR F-HBLH, operated by Regional, delivered new to Air France on 26 March 2009.
Seat: Economy, 11A, window
Scheduled times: 1310-1425
Actual times: 1313-1422
Load: est. 70%.

This was my first time riding on one of the new larger E-Jets from Embraer and thus I was looking forward to the flight. Our gate was a bus gate as the aircraft was parked over in 2G on a hard stand. No problem as it gives you an opportunity to get closer to the planes!

Here are some pics from the bus ride:

An A332 in the new colors (A330-203 F-GZCL)


A very close look at a 77W (777-328ER F-GSQL)


Finally we made it to the 2G area and parked next to the E-190LR. The crew was still performing their checks on the plane so we had to wait for a few minutes. I took the time to take a good look at the E-190 and watch the SQ A388 and a Vietnam Airlines 772 take off.



We were finally let on board and took our seats on the 11th row. As this particular aircraft was delivered just a few months before the cabin was still in immaculate condition.



The crews at Regional are great, and they made this a very nice and pleasant short flight. The E-190 rides very smoothly once in altitude making it possible for the crew to perform the service without much interruption. We got a turkey sandwich with a drink, with the crew having just enough time to do one more pass collecting the rubbish. Soon we were descending onto DUS and before we knew it we were back in Deutschland!

We parked at a remote gate and quickly were bused into the terminal. Our bags dropped towards the end of the group (good thing they had Priority tags on them!) and we made our way to the AVIS counter. DUS just recently opened a brand-new car rental garage, similar to what they have at FLL. It's essentially a multi-story with each floor dedicated to a car rental company.



I had reserved an Audi A4 to enjoy some Autobahn driving but of course they were out of them so they gave us an upgrade: a Volvo V70 2.0-litre Kombi. I liked it a lot but my partner kept referring to it as a ship (we drive a small VW hatchback at home). It was virtually a new car with only 131 km on the odometer, so new in fact that the GPS was still in its native Swedish language! Fine car, with a quoted top speed of 200km/h (though we only ran it as fast as 187km/h), with a nice, smooth clutch which allowed for relaxed take-offs from stop lights (only drawback is that it uses a 5-speed gearbox vs most new cars which offer 6 gears).





Since this was my 4th time visiting the Ruhr area (and my partner lived here for 6 years) we didn't really do much in terms of sight-seeing. We stayed in Essen for the entire week at the Holiday Inn Express in downtown, a hotel I strongly recommend for the value it offers. The base rate includes a comprehensive breakfast buffet with delicious German breads, a selection of coffee (including my favorite, Milchkaffee), cereals, fruits, eggs, and juices. For a reasonable extra fee you can park the rental car in their garage and access high-speed internet.

For most of the week we met with friends, went shopping, and did some cruising. We did go to Muenster, visited the Villa Huegel (previous fortress for the Krupp clan), and went to Dusseldorf for my birthday.

Villa Huegel:


What did I do to celebrate my 30th? Spot planes at DUS of course! For a small fee (2.20 EURO I think) you can access the viewing platform right on top of the B Concourse. Here's a taste of the best 2 EUROS you can spend!

Classic Junkers restored by LH Technik:


A321-231 THY Turkish Airlines, TC-JRJ, named Corum


A319-132 Izmir Airlines, TC-IZH, ex Independence Air


A319-111 Afriqiyah, 5A-OND


A310-304 Mahan Air, F-OJHI


The nice thing is that you can get really nice close ups!

A330-243 Emirates, A6-EKZ


757-330 Condor, D-ABOA


After the spotting we went into the city where I did some more spotting, this time of cars:

Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano


Maserati Gran Turismo


Mercedes-Benz SLR Roadster by McLaren


The week went by fast, though, and it came time to say until next time to Deutschland.

Flight AF 1607 DUS-CDG
Air France A319-111 F-GRHL, delivered new to Air France on 3 April 2000.
Seat: Economy, 20G, window
Scheduled times: 1320-1435
Actual times: 1318-1433
Load: est. 60% in Y.



The last time we flew AF to DUS (in Feb 09) I had the opportunity of flying on a classic A320-100, F-GFKQ, MSN 0002. This time the flight was operated with a younger A319, and much to our surprise it had a gate! We checked-in online the day before and arrived at the airport with just enough time to do some more spotting from the viewing terrace.

Interior of DUS, a truly magnificent airport!


A330-223 LTU (for Air Berlin), D-ALPG


737-3H9 JAT Airways, YU-ANF


A319-111 Rossiya, VP-BAS, ex Frontier


737-8F2 THY Turkish Airlines, TC-JGM, named Hakkari


A320-214 Air Malta, 9H-AEK, named San Giljam


I had only seen a couple of 736s before and after years of seeing none I see TWO!

737-6Z9 Austrian Airlines, OE-LNM, ex Lauda Air


737-6H3 Tunisair, TS-IOK, named Kairouan


Time for boarding arrived and it didn't take long to complete the process as the load for this flight was relatively low. I watched as a Hamburg International and an Air Via Arbii landed then proceeded to board the aircraft.



With boarding complete we were ready to go, though for some reason as we prepared for take-off they shut down one of the runways, meaning that we had to wait for approaching aircraft to land. This gave me a nice view of a couple of birds:

DHC-8 402 Austrian Airlines, OE-LGJ


A330-243 Emirates, A6-EAC


After a few more arrivals we were on our way. The flight was smooth with a light service (a chicken sandwich and a drink) served in Economy Class. The Air France crews on intra European routes are great, very polite and friendly, and even a bit spontaneous (back in Feb the Captain of the A320 shared with us his iPod music through the PA system while waiting for push-back).



Paris became the ground below and soon we were at CDG. Good-bye nice A319!



Alright, time to face the reality of going back to work, let's catch the plane home.

Flight AF 026 CDG-IAD
Air France 777-228ER F-GSPG, delivered new to Air France 19 February 1999.
Seat: Economy, 43A, window
Scheduled times: 1640-1855
Actual times: 1645-1847
Load: 50% in F, est. 70% in J, est. 90% in Y



No oversold flight this time which meant that we would fly in Economy which was not a bad thing at all. We had obtained the boarding passes in DUS so we went straight to 2E from 2D, only to find a longish queue at the Immigration control checkpoint. We were departing from gate E37, right in the middle of the main part of 2E and a pretty terminal.



I've been told that the idea behind the shape of this terminal was to remind passengers of the fuselage of an aircraft. OK, I can see that.

PIC of terminal from outside


If anything I can appreciate the viewing areas at either end to watch some planes. I also caught a glimpse of one of the new Air France 77Fs:

777-F28 Air France, F-GUOC


We really did not have a lot of time to enjoy the terminal as the queue at the passport control took close to 30 mins to clear, leaving us with only 15 minutes before boarding started. As we walked down the modern, all glass Jet bridge I snapped a pic of yet another One World special livery, this time on a JL 77W.

777-346ER Japan Airlines, JA732J


The flight was not full at the front but it was nearly so at the back. Our seats, 43A and C, were towards the rear of the aircraft, and we were quickly surrounded by a 40-strong school group of American teenage girls heading home. We feared that we would have to listen to "Valley Girls" for 7.5h but thankfully they remained behaved during the flight!



The seat between us remained empty as the cushion had been removed and wasn't replaced until just before departure (a vomit most likely) so we had plenty of room to stretch. We pushed back 5 minutes behind schedule and taxied for like 10 days. All of the sudden it was time to enjoy once more that GE90 music!



Service in Economy on Air France is great, with polite flight attendants (who no longer disappear after the dinner service as they used to) and complimentary drinks available throughout the flight. The amenity kit for Y passengers consists of the headphones for their jack ports, socks, and eye shades.





Dinner was served about 1 h after take-off and it was a tasty dish of chicken.



I didn't do much in terms of sleeping during this flight, which means that I had a chance to play with the AF AVOD/IFE system. I played a few games but spent most of the time watching two foreign films, one French (it was good) and one Egyptian called Keda Reda (starring Ahmed Helmi). The Egyptian one was particularly entertaining and well done, in fact much better than the typical crap that Hollywood produces nowadays. I recommend it to any film fans out there.

(Pic of the IFE menu, sorry for the poor quality!)


Anyway, back on topic. Landing approaches and the crew serves a snack which was quite tasty and light.



Once this final service was over it was time to prepare the cabin for landing. One interesting thing to note is that throughout the entire flight the cabin announcements were made in French, English and Spanish; we were surprised about the Spanish and could assume that there was a group from Spain on our flight. Our approach gave us a good view of the Northern Virginia suburbs (reminding us why we'd rather live in the city!) as well as the Tysons Corner office area. We made one final turn and approached the airport Northbound. Landing was as smooth as you'd expect from an experienced 777 crew and soon we made our way to the gate as a VS A346, AF A343, and an LH 744 were making their way out to begin their flights to LHR, CDG, and FRA respectively.

A340-642 Virgin Atlantic, G-VOGE, named Cover Girl


A340-313X Air France, F-GLZL


747-430 Lufthansa, D-ABVD, d. 15/05/90, named Bochum


We arrived at the gate and off the plane we went. In IAD passengers arriving on international flights are placed on mobile lounges which drop them off at the Immigration hall to avoid mixing with domestic passengers (I think United has its own facility at Concourse C though). One final look at our plane and a LH A333 at an adjacent gate for the MUC flight.

777-228ER Air France, F-GSPG


A330-343E Lufthansa, D-AIKK, we saw the day of our departure from IAD as well!


Immigration was surprisingly empty this particular evening and we were passed customs within 20 minutes. Thus my birthday vacation ended, and the second of 2 back-to-back trips on Sky Team.

Dusseldorf's Koenigs Allee


Overall Impressions:



Just like Delta did a few days before on our DCA-ATL-SJU trip, Air France delivered a consistently good product throughout these flights. The cabin crews were professional, attentive, and genuinely concerned for the comfort of the passengers. The cabins were clean and presentable, with the seats offering good comfort and space. Having flown on both J and Y Class within the same trip I can say that you don't feel any difference in treatment simply because you are in the back of the cabin. Instead, Air France strives to provide a truly exceptional experience to all passengers in an effort to make you feel not just as a bum on a seat but rather as a valuable passenger. The fact that Delta delivers a similar experience makes their Joint Venture look more and more like a great synergy.

Thanks for reading this essay, any feedback/comments/questions is appreciated!

My previous TR:
DCA-SJU And IAD-DUS On Sky Team: Part I (by Charles79 Jul 5 2009 in Trip Reports)