Paris Flights

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I truly enjoyed the friendliness and hospitality on board AF 031. after a delicious dinner, of course champers to begin, i was able to sleep all the way over the atlantic. The flight was notably less crowded last night, perhaps reflecting the economic crisis in America.

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Continental Airlines has a summer seasonal flight from Cleveland to Paris. I was able to procure a business class seat on this at an extremely good price.
At a time when every one is complaining about the lack of service, I have to give high praises for the crew, clevelanda and newark based, who made the flight was just superb.
Very pleasant and extremely hospitable and here is the menu.
Charles Lafitte champagne
A demitasse of mroel mushroom soup accompanied by vegetable filled pastry and Thai peanut chicken kabob with coriander sauce
seared hablibut and grilled berbed shrimp with lobster sauce, white and wild rice and seasoned brocooli
vanilla icecream wtih choice of toppings( i chose chocolate and strawberrry)

and just before arrival:
sliced smoked salmon accented by dill mustard sauce/fresh fruit
pizza bread with roased chicken, red bell pepers, onions and emmental provolone cheeses
chocolate
It took me less than five minutes to check in and the same amount through the immigration and customs.
The magic of travel is still there, you really have to look for it..

I had left Paris just one week ago, but wanted to get back here for personal reasons, and the even the economy air fares were astronomical. Called the Premium Desk at Continental and sure enough they were able to issue me a ticket from USA to Paris for one week, extremely reasonably
moreover, when i got on the plane, two seats next to me were vacant and i could stretch out well and have a good nights sleep before reaching Paris.
if you are flying a lot loyalty to one airline pays off.
Next year, Continental may leave the SkyTeam alliance which includes Air France so I may have to now cultivate flying Air France each time I go from paris to the American continent.. Air France you can get reasonable tickets only as long as you book well in advance, some thing a little difficult for me to do. Continental airlines will join Star Alliance, but it would sad for me that Air France will part company with Air France.

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When flying on a plane for 6-8 hours, I wanted to make sure I was comfortable and happy. Air France ended up helping me accomplish those goals. There was about average leg space, but travelers are provided with a little kit containing a mask, headphones, etc. That made sleeping easier for me. Also, the food was good, for airline food. For me, food is the most important aspect of a long flight.

On the way back to America, each seat had a touch screen TV to control. I have never seen one of these before on a plane. It was amazing. It provided free movies, games, music, etc. I loved being able to control what movie I was watching. On the 8 hour flight back, I didn't sleep, yet was not bored at all.

So this is my brief review of Delta's flight paths from Midwestern America into Paris. I'm not the best person on airplanes, so the shortest route is usually the one I recommend.

The most direct route for us was through Des Moines, Iowa (DSM) then on to Cinn., Ohio (CVG) via a ComAir jet, and that direct to Paris, France (CDG.) It was a great few flights. No stress, but Delta is always pretty good with that sort of thing. Don't sweat it if the layover in CVG appears short, the airport is very small and I've never had more than 10 minutes times between my gates even when I had to change terminals.

As for your carry-ons, do NOT tear off the red tags they attach when you initially board at your airport of origin. These will be required to carry the bag onto all the planes for your trip.

As of last month, Delta flights from CVG into France do not have the individual seat-back entertainment centers. This is worth it for us though, as we're vegetarians and the selection of food is always good.

The standard meals are generally curry. For the non-dietary restricted, it's usually pasta or chicken, salad, bread, cheese and crackers, and a brownie. For breakfast it's fruit and breads. Not as great as Air France, but very passable.

Some things to consider on a long flight, take a sweater in case it gets cold and don't dress to warm in case it gets hot. I take my shoes off and put on booties (socks). Your feet will swell up. Periodic massaging of the feet might help keep the swelling down. Most planes provide a pillow and blanket. I would double up the blanket and use it for extra cushion on the seat. I always pack some extra snacks for the trip such as beef jerky, nuts and chocolate chip cookies in my carry on. Remember not to bring the open food packages back - especially the beef jerky. Customs has a real problem with that. Anyway, just some suggestions for the long flight.

There is more than one terminal at CDG. If it's terminal One or Two, you're in the modern bit - and we've never had problems, leaving or arriving.

If it's terminal three, prepare for the worst! This terminal is dedicated to "low-cost" carriers, and it shows. First, it's in the back of beyond: you need to ask the bus driver (if you're arriving by bus) or find a friendly member of staff (and they are friendly - and helpful).They will direct you throught the corridors of T1 or T2 to the CDG-train, which links the terminals (this walk made me think I was on a set from "2001 A Space Odyssey"!). When you arrive at what's called T3 you then have a not-short outdoor walk to the terminal itself.

When you arrive at the terminal, the check-in queues are lengthy, the few food outlets do awful take-away stuff that you can eat at one of the scarce (dirty) tables. Forget shops and go to the toilet once you have passed security check!

On arrival back at T3 we looked for the taxi-rank but couldn't find it, so it was the long walk, CDG-train, etc in reverse.

If we now travel cheapie from/via Paris, we omit CDG and go via Orly - a much more pleasant experience!

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The times I've been in Paris, be it in transit or when I visited the city, I've landed at Paris Charles de Gaulle. The first time I flew to Paris was with SAS and I landed on Terminal 1. I was impressed because it was the first time at this airport....and their escalators that seemed never ending from (sort of) the arrival gate to where you claim your baggage hehe. Good thing that their departure hall wasn't that far from the gates, although there wasn't many places to do some tax free shopping because the terminal was under renovation the last time I was there (March 2006, when coming back to Stockholm).

When flying with Air France I usually land at Terminal 2A or F (landed once on terminal 2D). Terminal 2A to D are interconnected with each other in a way that you can walk from the one to the other in about 15 minutes (I like taking my time walking unless I'm in a rush).

Paris-CDG is easily accessible by public means: you can take the RER B from terminals 1 and 2 to Gare du Nord or Châtelet-Les Halles and from there the métro to your final destination. It takes about 25 minutes to Gare de Nord and 28 minutes to Châtelet-Les Halles. See prices and other info here.

Since Paris-CDG is such a big hub for intercontinental flights (as well as European ones), make sure you have enough time to check in and proceed to the security check because the lines can be LONG.