I had to spend a weekend in Lisbon and I chose Air France in Economy class.

Ground experience

Although we are in the middle of summer vacations, there are not too many queues at the security checkpoints at terminal 2F of Roissy.

And even less in the priority queue!

Less than 5 minutes later I am in the terminal and head to the lounge.

A lounge that really won’t leave a memorable experience. I leave it a few minutes before boarding time to go to the gate.

Boarding

Anecdote: today I’m inaugurating my new bag and suitcase from TUMI.

Boarding is scheduled at 3:25 pm. The display indicates an on-time flight while the passengers of the incoming flight disembark at…3:22pm. This mania of Air France to never announce in advance delays that are obvious and unavoidable is really annoying.

Finally an announcement. To announce the delay? No ! To announce that the flight is full and that they were looking for passengers willing to put their luggage in the hold.

Finally the display announces a boarding at 3:35 pm. But no announcement accompanies it.

Then an announcement tells us that the boarding is still delayed but without giving a time. During this time the display does not change.

On the other hand, the departure is always “scheduled on time” and I wonder how they will manage it.

In the meantime I walk around a bit and have a look at the food court below. Considering the lamentable buffet in the lounge, I think that in the future I will let myself be tempted by one of the restaurants just to try.

We end up boarding at 3:52 pm, that is to say with 25 minutes of delay. The priorities are respected and I am one of the first to enter the cabin.

The cabin

My seat, just behind the business curtain.

Correct leg space.

The seat is comfortable and for a two hour flight it is infinitely better than what I had on an A319 returning from Manchester a few days earlier.

There are USB plugs for recharging the devices, it is appreciable.

The tray table is also much larger than on the flight I just mentioned. You can at least put a computer or a tablet on it!

My neighbor even has a huge PC on it, but it’s a bit of a challenge.

Meanwhile the boarding lasts, lasts, lasts….

4:10 pm: we should depart and the staff makes an announcement to ask people to hurry up. There are still people in the feeder, we are not out of the woods.

In the meantime, it is raining hard outside.

Boarding completed at 4:15 pm. Doors close at 16:31. Repousser 16h40. Delays are piling up.

We finally reach the runway at 16:55.

The flight and the service

We quickly pierce the cloudy layer and I am not displeased to see a piece of blue sky.

The service starts at 5:20 pm, 25 minutes after take-off. At least the schedule is kept.

The staff does the bare minimum: (very nice) frozen smile, empty look, not much sign of attention or humanity in the eyes.

They ask me if I want the service of the day which will be: a raspberry ice cream! That I accept with pleasure.

It’s a little small, though.

But it is really very good.

Well actually my feeling is very mixed. I got this ice cream on my way back from Manchester and thought it was a great initiative in the middle of summer.

That’s two times in a row and I tell myself that this summer everyone had ice cream on all flights (and always the same flavor) and that it is a bit too much.

And what is acceptable in terms of quantity on a Manchester-Paris flight of just over an hour is not acceptable on a Paris-Lisbon flight of 2.5 hours.

The ice cream is then swallowed in two bites.

The captain announces us that we are flying over the border and that we will arrive at 18:28 instead of 17:45.

Arrival and disembarkation

I really like the approach to Lisbon even if I am not, for once, on the best side of the cabin to enjoy it.

The big tower is the Sheraton where I will stay.

The aircraft will arrive at the parking point at 18:31. We will be parked remotely so a long bus transfer will follow. No apologies from staff for the delay.

In Lisbon you have to walk for a long time in the terminal and through the duty free before finally arriving in the open air.

Here I am finally outside 20 minutes after the arrival.

Bottom line : a very mediocre flight

This kind of medium-haul aircraft is usually one of those where there is not much to say: short flights, simple service, there are few ways for an airline to do something exceptional or to miss out. Well, this flight is not far from a failure.

– Poorly managed lounge.

– Delayed departure with random passenger information.

– Too light a service in flight.

– Staff in “robot” mode on board.

– No apologies for the delay.

For the record my routing :

• Paris-Lisbon : Air France, Economy (here)
• Lisbon-Paris : Air France, Economy

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