From the exit of the CDG VAL, which connects the Roissy terminals to each other, I reach the priority line that will lead me to the security controls of Terminal 1 in a few meters and less than a minute
I scan my boarding pass and here I am in the famous glass escalators whose tangle is certainly part of the particularities and charms of this terminal.
Roissy T1 : pleasantly vintage
This vintage look justifies black and white photos!
I head for the “Shenghen” satellite from where Lufthansa operates. A different type of escalator and a bit of a vintage feel that I’ve been missing since the last time I used this terminal.
Here I am at the security checks. I am alone in the “business” line and thus overtake all the other passengers. Faster is not possible. The configuration of the T1 satellites means that the security control area is very small and can quickly become overloaded.
The controls go perfectly and less than 10 minutes after arriving at the airport I am already in front of the boarding gates.
Boarding areas from another age
I was talking about the “vintage” charms of T1, here is one of the limits. The satellites are so tightly packed that once past security you are literally thrown into the waiting areas and gates. For the speed it is good, for the comfort it is almost suffocating as soon as a number of flights are close to boarding. Stigmata of an era when terminals were meant to be fast-track areas and not places to wait.
Anyway, I’m not going to stay there any longer and go to the Lufthansa business lounge which I’ve already told you about here.
5 minutes before boarding I leave the lounge. Considering the size of the satellite and the short time needed to reach the doors I even left much too early.
I arrive in front of the gate where the other passengers already start to pile up. When I said it was cramped!
I find the priority line, a small mouse hole.
An automatic recorded announcement regularly reminds passengers of the priority order for boarding and the number of minutes until boarding. Useful and well thought.
The boarding starts and I am the 3rd to board.
There are 3 business class rows on this Airbus A320 for this flight.
The central seat is neutralized for more space and comfort.
A premium appearance
The grey leather gives a very premium look to the cabin. It is also very pleasant to touch. I mean the contact with the hands. As for the contact with the rear, passengers used to other medium-haul business classes such as Air France’s may find the Lufthansa seat a bit “butt-slapping“. A sensation that disappears completely after a few minutes.
The pitch is good, without more.
Safety instructions, airline magazine, in-flight sales catalog: everything is presented in a blister pack. It looks professional and clean.
There is wifi but for such a short flight I will abstain
Not much else to say about the “hard product”: on European airlines there is no real dedicated “business” seat on medium-haul flights unlike on Asian airlines. The difference with economy class is in the service and not in the seat.
During this time the reception by the cabin crew is warm and smiling.
We start on time and the taxi allows to realize the extent of the work in progress at T1 which consists in connecting 3 of the satellites to form only one. Indispensable in view of the experience described above.
One takes off facing the west with a beautiful sight….sur le T1.
We were told that there would be some turbulences, but we only had one, but a nice one in the middle of the climb a few dozen seconds after leaving the runway.
A bug in the service
The service starts quickly. It is barely 11:00 am and some passengers decline the meal. So much so that it seems that the flight attendant decides to give them only to those who explicitly ask for them. So we will be three “forgotten” passengers. It will be fixed as soon as she will see that we look at her with insistence but it leaves a mixed impression.
So here is the tray. Visually I find it a bit inferior to my previous trips on this route but no luck, it’s on this flight that I had planned to write my review. The food seems to be shattered on a plate that is too big for it.
I’ll also need an explanation of the value of square trays on a rectangular shelf. Not necessarily optimal in use.
The tomatoes spiced up with a pesto sauce are very tasty. I won’t say the same about the bland shrimps and the mushrooms that the horseradish-like puree on which they lie won’t manage to boost the taste. Again a pity, Lufthansa got me used to much better on this route.
The dessert will be more than correct.
No opinion on the wine since I’ll settle for a sparkling water.
I will be offered a hot drink service which I will decline.
It is already time to prepare for the landing. Here are the last moments of the approach with a beautiful view of the terminal.
We land far enough from the terminal that we will join after a very long taxi. This leaves time to “spot” a bit.
Too much remote parking
The plane will be parked at a remote stand. A bad habit on my recent Paris-Frankfurt flights that I’m starting to wonder if it’s not the norm. Surprising considering the number of parking lots available in contact.
The presence of the Porsche and a “Lufthansa Limousine Service” agent let me guess that we had on board a connecting passenger on a long distance flight in 1st class.
After a long bus ride we are finally disembarked at Terminal A. I still have 25 minutes before boarding my flight to Istanbul at Terminal B.
Short, very short connections
I find that Lufthansa offers very time-optimized connections in Frankfurt. At the limit very even too short for those who walk slowly (because for what is to find his way…impossible to get lost). I don’t know if I’m lucky, if they are very good or if the airport is very efficient, but every time it works, even with the immigration to go through.
So after having, like many, taken the stairs to avoid the queue in front of the elevator, having walked briskly along a huge underground corridor, having taken the stairs again in the other direction for the same reasons, having passed the immigration controls, I am in front of the boarding gate for my flight to Istanbul at the exact time.
No time to go through the lounge so ….
This is another journey that begins and will be the subject of another article.
Bottom line
As always a very solid performance in medium-haul business class with Lufthansa.
Staff always efficient and smiling but for once with a small bug in the service.
The food level may be my “less good” experience on a Paris-Frankfurt flight even if on such short flights it weighs less in the scoring.
Then the disembarkation by bus in Frankfurt...a bad habit too recurrent for my taste on the Paris-Frankfurt.
I will finish by the naturally short connection and still shortened by the disembarkation by bus…each time it works so I tell myself that they are really good. But for someone who doesn’t know the airport well or is not able to walk through the airport with a suitcase in hand, I can understand that it can be anxiety-provoking.
For the record: routing and pricing
- Paris-Frankfurt: Lufthansa / Business (here)
- Frankfurt-Istanbul : Lufthansa / Business
- Istanbul-Izmir : Turkish Airlines / Business
- Izmir-Istanbul : Turkish Airlines / Business
- Istanbul-Frankfurt: Lufthansa / Business (no interest, no review)
- Frankfurt-Paris: Lufthansa / Business (no interest, no review)
Identical returns.
Return fare: 526.11 euros.
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