Flights were booked already eight months ago and we choose Air Austral. They had intersesting honeymoon conditions, they fly to RUN from CDG which allows for an easy TGV transfer to Brussels and it's one of the rare chances to try out this carrier.
We took the TGV at 15:20, arrived at CDG 2 at 17:00. Those TGV's are fairly old and a bit crappy, but it's a very fast way to go to CDG.
It took about a 10 minute walk to terminal 2A (you need to cross 2C) and the Air Austral checkin desks are almost at the end of the terminal. A separate row was open for the Club and Confort class pax, and three rows were available for Loisirs (economy) pax. Check-in was very fast. They use the snake system with the three check-in desks at the end. At the beginning of the snake two guys check your ticket and passport, they were quite funny and very friendly. Also the lady at checkin was very friendly. We got seats 35F and 35G. Boarding was at gate A37 in the small satellite and as there's nothing much to do in that terminal we decided to imediately pass the customs, which also went very quick. It took us about 20 minutes from starting to queue for check-in to having passed the security check. The airside part of CDG 2A and probably also the others, is really crap with only a few windows without that metal fence. So no way of taking decent pictures. Also, same problem in the satellite.
We arrived in the satellite around 17:30 and no aircraft was parked at A37. At home I checked it on flightstats and it should arrive around 18:00 from TLS. Boadring already indicated 18:55 so 50 minutes before departure.
Around 18:15 our aircraft arrived at the gate and boadring time changed into 18:50. Boadring started on time and finally I could identify the aircraft. F-OMAY would be the bird to take us to RUN.
CDG-RUN
Aircraft: Boeing 777-2Q8 ER
Registration: F-OMAY
Scheduled departure: 19:45
Actual departure: 20:05
Scheduled arrival: 08:40
Actual arrival: 08:25
Boarding went very smooth, the cabin looked very clean and well maintained. The seats look a bit weird, the covers are mainly blue with some colorful swirls (not as colorful as Biman's however
). They also lack PTV's but the legroom is very nice and the seats are comfortable. They have a 3-4-3 configuration which doesn't feel too cramped.While boadring a movie is shown about their 777 and one about how the aircraft is prepared. After all pax boarded we were welcomed by the Puser and the Captain introduced himself as Mr. Oury, he told us the flight would take 10 hours and 20 minutes with nice weather all the way. Announcements were done in French and English (with french accent), all technical communication between crew members was done in french only.
Push back must have bneen around 19:50 and as we taxied the safety demo was displayed. Then the nosegear camera was switched on, very nice
They went easy on the throttles and we were airborne at around 20:05. After takeoff, a small travel kit is handed out which consists off socks, earplugs, headphones and a mask to cover your eyes. The entertainment program consisted of the TF1 news, a movie with some relaxation tips on long haul flights and two movies: "Je déteste les enfants des autres" and "Spiderman 3'. They also provide 8 music channels.Meals were served about 45 minutes after takeoff. And believe me they are huge, with real fork and knife and a real glass. Starter were pasta with scampi, main course consisted of spiced (creole-style) chicken and rice, dessert was cheese and a fruit cake. There was also a lot of choice for drinks with red wine, white wine, beer, water and soft drinks. I took a 18cl bottle of red wine and my wife took some water. After dinner, coffee and tea were served.
About half an hour later the first movie started and cabin lights were dimmed. I watched a bit of the first movie and tried to catch soms sleep, which was not easy I must admit. During the night you can get soft drinks in the galley and the crew often passes with water during the night without disturbing sleeping pax. Finally we managed to sleep for three hours or so and were woken by the fasten seatbelt sign when we hit some turbulence, I also noticed tha the TV's were switched off at that time.
About two hours prior to landing they start to wake you with soft music and then all the reading lights are sitched on sultanously. Also the TV's are back on with the moving map. Prior to breakfast hot towels are handed out and after some sleep they coma as a nice surprise I can assure you. Breakfast is simple but ok and more than enough, you get two sandwiches, fruit salad, jam, some industrial brewed orange juice, cheese and belgian (Floreffe) butter. They serve you coffee, tea and hot chocolate. I took coffee and my wife tried out the hot chocolate.
Prior tou our descent to RUN, the cabin crew collects the blankets and the garbage. The descent was smooth and again the nose gear camera was witched on. We landed at RUN 15 minutes early so that was a nice holiday start
All in all it was a very good experience, nice aircraft, decent food and on-time service. Maybe they could improve on IFE but I didnt mind too much about that.
