We have not flown Air France in business across the Atlantic before and based on reviews it looked to be a great experience. So we’re excited!
We departed the Pointy Enders home via an Uber to O’Hare and after the customary one hour trip on the Kennedy we arrived at Terminal 5. We had already checked in and had no bags to check so through security we went. With TSA Precheck we were first in line and through within three minutes. On the other side we headed directly to the brand new Air France Lounge near gate M17 for pre-flight cocktails.
Departure time was planned for 17:20 and so we walked out to our departure gate for boarding at about 16:40. Once onboard we found our seats and settled in for the 7-ish hour trip to Paris.
We managed to pre-reserve the two windows in the first row (1A and 1L) which are Business Class seats with more space than the other seats in the cabin. They are very, very spacious.
Each seat had a pillow, blanket, and mattress pad for when you convert your seat into a lie flat bed. The flight attendants then came around the cabin with champagne and the lovely Clarins amenity kits.
We rolled out for take off and were in the air in minutes. Look at this great photo of Chicago at night.
Dinner was served with two starters – sliced tuna and a vegetable medley. Both were really delicious!
Our mains were a pork roast with mustard sauce for me and Provence-style chicken for Jeff.
Lastly was a slice of raspberry and nougat cake that was terrific (above).
Time to stretch out! And when I say stretch out, this seat on Air France allowed you to lie flat with your arms over your head and your toes still had room to wiggle. Normally the footwell on most Business Class seats prevents that stretch, but not this seat! You actually had enough room to have someone sit across from you. In fact, in the middle of the flight I got up from the actual seat and sat over on the footwell just for a change of pace.
Also each suite in Business Class has a door, so you also have excellent privacy.
Alas sleep escaped me on this flight, I think our 17:20 departure really contributed to that. Later departures make it easier to sleep across the middle of the flight time when flying east over the Atlantic.
About 90 minutes before landing breakfast was served. Fresh Illy coffee (or espresso), fresh fruit, French pastries, yogurt, and an omelette if you wanted. I stuck with the coffee, fruit, and yogurt, we have a long connection ahead of us in Paris before our last leg that takes us to Casablanca!
By the way, this is the first time I’ve ever been able to post while flying. Air France has installed Starlink on about 1/3 of their fleet and we were fortunate to be on an aircraft that has it. Incredible internet speed – it really is like being at home.
