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Posts in the 2018 Spring Break series:
1. Introduction
2. Part I: Getting to New Orleans
3. Part II: New Orleans
4. Part III: NOLA the Foodie Destination
5. Part IV: New Orleans to Chicago
6. Part V: Chicago the City
7. Part VI: The MCA, Skydeck, and the Food
8. Part VII: Back to Europe in Business Class
Two days before my Air France flights back to Amsterdam via Paris, a part of Air France workers went on strike which meant Air France had to cancel some of their (global) flights. One of these was their daily Paris – Chicago flight that day.
Then on the day of my departure, just before going to the airport, I got a call from Air France’s Chicago office offerring me to switch to KLM’s direct Chicago – Amsterdam flight free of charge. I, of course, declined the offer.
Flight: Air France AF137
Equipment: Airbus A330-200 reg F-GZCH
ATD: 17:37 CDT (Runway 28R of ORD)
ATA: 08:23 CET (Runway 08R of CDG)
After taking the L train to O’Hare Airport and proceeded to Terminal 5, I checked-in at Air France/KLM’s counters. It turned out the agent was the one who contacted me before, haha. He then told me that I had been upgraded to Business Class on the Chicago – Paris flight. Yeay!! 😀
I then cleared security and headed to the Air France/KLM Lounge at Terminal 5. The lounge turned out to be quite small, though I still found it impressive that Air France/KLM operated their own lounge despite Chicago not being a SkyTeam hub (Air France and KLM each only operated one daily flight to Chicago). Anyway, I found the lounge to be sufficient, despite the lack of power ports.
My flight today would be operated with Air France’s Airbus A330-200 reg F-GZCH. Long story short, I walked to the gate, boarded the plane, and turned left to the Business Class cabin 😀 . I took off my coat, which not long after was retrieved by a cabin crew to store it in a cabinet, and settled onto my 2K seat.
“Unfortunately”, F-GZCH was still equipped with the old Business Class cabin in 2-2-2 configuration. Plus, the seat was still of the older “angled-lie-flat” one, i.e. we could flatten the seat out, but it would still be angled (not fully horizontal like in KLM’s Boeing 747-400 World Business Class). Despite so, it was still much better than economy so I’d still take it, lol 😆 .
The cabin crew went around distributing newspapers, amenity kits, and drinks before departure. The amenity kit pouches were Air France branded and came in a few different colours (I obviously chose the blue one) and for the drink I got myself a champagne, lol 😆 .
After boarding was completed, we began our pushback and, hence, departure to Paris. The safety video was played on the IFE screen. While it was still the same version, I noticed that Air France had changed the music. Somehow I liked the older music better, though. Anyway, here is the new “version” of the video:
Anyway, it was quite a quick taxi to the departure runway, which was runway 28R today. After taking-off, we made a turn towards Paris. Being seat on the right side of the plane, this provided me with a great view of Chicago in the background! 😀
After the seatbelt sign was switched off, I took off my shoes and stored it in the shoes bag that was provided in the seat. The bag also contained a pair of slippers and socks, which I, then, of course used.
The cabin crew distributed warm towels and the menu book for this flight. And then, they went on another round of drink service and, again, I had a glass of champagne, haha 🙈 .
The dinner service commenced not long after. There was no choice for the appetizer, which consisted of bresaola, shrimps on ratatoille, and salad with pecans. I accompanied it with a glass of 2016 Loire Blanc. It was, as expected, good!
Then the main course followed with four options: pan-seared tournedos, scallops in lobster sauce, chicken supreme in foie gras sauce, or red bell pepper gnocchi. I was torn between the scallops or the chicken, but in the end settled for the scallops which also came with a serving of basmati rice and carrots. A plate of gourmet cheeses was also served accompanying the main dish. It was really good!!
The dessert then followed, with two options: a sorbet with fruit salad or bites of cake, tart, and sponge. Initially I opted for the sorbet but then changed my mind to the small bites, haha. I accompanied the dessert with a glass of warm green tea 😀 .
After dinner, naturally I was trying to get some rest. We were already at the northeastern point of Canada at this point, so this was already about 1/3 way through to Paris! But first, I was browsing what was offerred in the IFE. As mentioned above, unfortunately F-GZCH was still equipped with the old seat and hence also the old IFE system. The content was rather disappointing and the screen was rather small.
I then flattened my seat, put my eyepad and blanket on (which were of better quality than in economy), and tried to get some rest. While I wasn’t able to get into deep sleep, this helped a lot as I could still get some rest! A few times I made a few trips to the lavatory, which smelled really good in business class because of the special perfumes, haha. They galley was also full of drink and premium snacks available for business class passengers to grab. The cabin crew was also very courteous. When seeing me in the galley, he asked me if I would like a cup of tea or coffee. I said I was fine and probably would ask for the coffee later just before breakfast.
As we were approaching Ireland, the cabin crew slowly brighten the cabin (They must have closed my window shades when I was asleep, without me noticing!). Not long after, they distributed warm towels and I got my cup of (powdered) cappuccino. Breakfast was then served, which consisted of some pastries, bread rools, fresh fruit, yoghurt, and some warm drinks. It was good.
Not long after, we began our descent to Paris-Charles De Gaulle Airport. We flew over the city of Paris before landing at runway 08R of the airport. The plane parked at Concourse L. I disembarked the plane, cleared security and immigration before heading to Terminal 2F for my connecting flight to Amsterdam.
***
I’m not going to share my AF1640 flight to Amsterdam in too much details now. Only that it was operated with Air France’s A321-200 reg F-GTAH and was delayed for about 40 minutes. I was also flying economy on this flight, though I didn’t really mind, haha.
And here, my one week 2018 Spring Break to New Orleans and Chicago officially ended.
THE END.
BAHASA INDONESIA
Posting-posting dalam seri 2018 Spring Break:
1. Introduction
2. Part I: Getting to New Orleans
3. Part II: New Orleans
4. Part III: NOLA the Foodie Destination
5. Part IV: New Orleans to Chicago
6. Part V: Chicago the City
7. Part VI: The MCA, Skydeck, and the Food
8. Part VII: Back to Europe in Business Class
Dua hari sebelum penerbangan Air France-ku ke Amsterdam via Paris, sebagian karyawannya Air France memutuskan untuk mogok kerja yang menyebabkan pembatalan sebagian penerbangan (global)-nya Air France. Salah satunya yang kena adalah penerbangan Paris – Chicago hari itu.
Lalu di hari keberangkatanku, tepat sebelum aku berangkat ke bandara, aku mendapatkan telepon dari kantor Chicagonya Air France yang menawarkanku untuk pindah ke penerbangan langsung Chicago – Amsterdam dengan KLM. Aku, tentu saja, menolak penawaran ini.
Penerbangan: Air France AF137
Pesawat: Airbus A330-200 reg F-GZCH
ATD: 17:37 CDT (Runway 28R of ORD)
ATA: 08:23 CET (Runway 08R of CDG)
Setelah naik kereta L menuju Bandara O’Hare dan berjalan ke Terminal 5, aku check-in di konternya Air France/KLM. Ternyata agen yang melayaniku adalah yang meneleponku sebelumnya, haha. Ia kemudian memberi-tahuku bahwa aku di-upgrade ke kelas bisnis di penerbangan Chicago – Paris. Hore!! 😀
Setelah pemeriksaan sekuriti, aku pergi ke lounge Air France/KLM di Terminal 5. Lounge-nya berukuran cukup kecil ternyata. Walaupun begitu aku masih cukup kagum sih Air France/KLM memiliki lounge-nya sendiri di Chicago padahal bandara ini bukanlah hub dari SkyTeam (Air France dan KLM masing-masing hanya mengoperasikan satu penerbangan per hari ke Chicago). Anyway, lounge-nya bisa dibilang cukup oke lah walaupun nggak spesial-spesial amat, tetapi colokan listriknya tidak begitu banyak.
Penerbanganku hari ini akan dioperasikan dengan pesawat Airbus A330-200nya Air France dengan rego F-GZCH. Singkat cerita, aku berjalan ke gerbang keberangkatan, naik ke pesawat, dan kemudian berbelok kiri ke kabin kelas bisnis 😀 . Aku melepaskan mantelku, yang mana tidak lama kemudian diambil oleh seorang pramugara untuk disimpankan di kloset mantel, dan duduk nyaman di kursi 2K.
“Sayangnya”, F-GZCH masih dilengkapi dengan kabin kelas bisnis model lamanya Air France dengan konfigurasi kursi 2-2-2. Ditambah lagi, kursinya pun masih yang bertipe “angled-lie-flat“, alias bisa diratakan tetapi masih “bersudut” (jadi tidak benar-benar horizontal seperti di World Business Class Boeing 747-400nya KLM). Walaupun begitu, kursi ini masih jauh lebih nyaman daripada kursi di kelas ekonomi sih jadi aku mah nggak komplain lah ya, hahaha 😆 .
Pramugarinya membagikan koran, amenity kits, dan minuman sebelum berangkat. Pouch amenity kit-nya bermerk Air France dan datang dengan beberapa pilihan warna (Tentu aku memilih yang berwarna biru) dan untuk minumnya aku memilih segelas champagne, haha 😆 .
Setelah boarding selesai, pushback dimulai sehingga pesawat mulai diberangkatkan ke Paris. Peragaan video keselamatan dimainkan di layar IFEnya. Walaupun masih merupakan versi yang sama, aku perhatikan Air France telah mengubah musiknya. Aku lebih suka musik yang lama nih. Berikut ini “versi” baru videonya:
Anyway, setelah taxiing yang singkat, kami lepas landas dari landasan pacu 28R. Pesawat kemudian berbelok ke arah Paris. Karena duduk di sisi kanan pesawat, aku mendapatkan pemandangan kota Chicago yang keren banget sebagai latar belakang! 😀
Setelah tanda kenakan sabuk pengaman dipadamkan, aku melepas sepatuku dan menyimpannya di tas sepatu yang disediakan di setiap kursi. Tasnya juga berisi sandal dan kaus kaki, yang mana jelas kemudian aku pakai.
Awak kabin kemudian membagikan handuk hangat dan buku menu untuk penerbangan ini. Kemudian layanan minuman kembali diberikan, dan aku memilih segelas champagne lagi, haha 🙈 .
Layanan makan malam disajikan tidak lama kemudian. Tidak ada pilihan untuk makanan pembuka, yang terdiri atas ham bresaola, udang di atas ratatouille, dan salad dengan kacang pecan. Aku menemaninya dengan segelas 2016 Loire Blanc. Seperti penampilannya, memang enak!
Lalu makanan utama disajikan yang datang dengan empat pilihan: pan-seared tournedos, scallops dengan saus lobster, ayam dengan saus foie gras, atau gnocchi paprika merah. Awalnya aku galau antara scallops atau ayamnya, tetapi kemudian memilih scallops yang disajikan bersama dengan nasi basmati dan wortel. Sepiring keju gourmet juga disajikan bersamaan dengan makanan utama ini. Rasanya enak!!
Pencuci mulut kemudian disajikan, dengan dua pilihan: es krim sorbet dengan buah-buahan atau potongan mini kue, tart, dan sponge. Awalnya aku memilih es krim sorbet tetapi kemudian berganti pilihan ke potongan-potongan mini itu dengan segelas teh hijau hangat 😀 .
Setelah makan malam, jelas aku mencoba beristirahat. Kami sudah berada di atas ujung timur laut Kanada waktu ini, yang mana artinya sudah sekitar 1/3 perjalanan ke Paris! Tetapi pertama-tama, jelas aku sudah mem-browsing IFEnya. Seperti yang kusebutkan di atas, F-GZCH masih dilengkapi dengan kursi yang lama sehingga sistem IFEnya pun masih sistem lama. Isinya sedikit mengecewakan dan layarnya berukuran relatif kecil.
Aku kemudian meratakan kursiku, memasang penutup mata dan selimut (yang mana berkualitas lebih baik daripada yang di ekonomi, haha), dan mencoba beristirahat. Walaupun aku tidak mencapai fase tidur nyenyak, toh aku bisa beristirahat dengan lumayan! Beberapa kali aku pergi ke toilet, yang mana wangi loh karena diberi parfum, haha. Galley-nya juga penuh dengan minuman dan snack premium untuk penumpang kelas bisnis. Awak kabinnya juga perhatian sekali. Ketika melihatku di galley, ia bertanya apakah aku ingin dibuatkan teh atau kopi. Aku bilang tidak perlu untuk saat itu dan nanti saja sebelum sarapan.
Ketika pesawat sudah mendekati Irlandia, awak kabin mulai perlahan-lahan menerangkan kabin pesawat (Mereka menutupkan penutup jendelaku ketika aku tertidur, tanpa menggangguku lho!). Tak lama setelahnya, handuk hangat dibagikan dan aku mendapatkan secangkir cappuccino (dari bubuk bungkusan). Sarapan kemudian dibagikan, yang terdiri atas beberapa potong roti, buah-buahan segar, yoghurt, dan minuman hangat. Enak.
Tidak lama setelahnya, pesawat mulai turun ke Bandara Charles De Gaulle di Paris. Kami terbang di atas kota Paris sebelum mendarat di landasan pacu 08R. Pesawat diparkir di Concourse L. Aku menuruni pesawat, melewati pemeriksaan sekuriti dan imigrasi, sebelum kemudian berjalan ke Terminal 2F untuk penerbangan lanjutanku ke Amsterdam.
***
Aku tidak akan menuliskan terlalu mendetail penerbangan AF1640ku ke Amsterdam. Hanya saja penerbangannya dioperasikan dengan Airbus A321-200nya Air France dengan rego F-GTAH dan terlambat sekitar 40an menit. Aku juga duduk di kelas ekonomi sih di penerbangan ini, tetapi tidak masalah bagiku, haha.
Dan di sini, liburan musim semi 2018 satu mingguku ke New Orleans dan Chicago resmi berakhir.
SELESAI.
