Some years ago I completed a challenge from KLM which lead to them matching miles with the frequent flyer scheme that I held at the time which had the most. Over time, these changed in to Flying Blue miles and I ended up with a lot (read nearly 4 million). I have used these up and was down to the last couple of hundred thousand and so thought I would go out with a bang – First Class from LA to Paris on the A380.

This was booked several months ago and I was really excited to go.

Until – the blogger Lucky, at One Mile At a Time ran a contest with his readers (who are many times more frequent than mine) to choose which A380 flight he should take next. Of course, his readers chose the Air France A380 from LA to Paris. Boo!

You can read his experiences here. (His photos are better than mine too!)

Introduction

I’ll write more tomorrow about the ground experience at LAX but wanted to get the in-flight service down right away.

The story starts when you are collected from the lounge and escorted to the plane. Each passenger (or group) had their own escort and as I was packed and ready I was the first one off to the plane. The agent who took me was very pleasant, and divulged that she had lived in London at one point in her career. We had a pleasant chat as we walked until she handed me over to the onboard crew.

I had chosen 1A as it is the quietest seat in the cabin, close by the side of the staircase.

Cabin View:

The other passengers joined us, two very elegant women (think actresses, models) sat in 2A and 3A. A man who seemed to be either on miles or an internet magnet sat in the window on the other side as did a child who was about 12. He had been with his mother in the lounge and she was seated in Business Class upstairs. He was wearing his unaccompanied minor paperwork.

Service:

The staff working in the cabin came and introduced themselves and handed out menus and amenity kits:

After the safety demo we pushed back and taxied off to the runway.

The staff came along very quickly to take drink and meal orders after take off and I quickly received my first glass of champagne (Deutz Cuvee William Deutz 2000):

Mise en bouche were served: (Salmon filled crepe, truffle and asparagus tip canapé and tapenade blini)

Cream of Cauliflower Soup: (This was excellent, tasty, hot and a nice texture) The colour of the images is due to the adjustable lighting on the plane.

Tomato and Mozzarella Cheese Canapé and Fresh Seasonal Salad:

Tournedos of Beef: (green peppercorn butter, Bordeaux-style crepe mushrooms and Darphin potatoes)

The beef was lovely, hot and nicely done. This was a much better First Class meal than I had experienced on other F AF flights in the past.

I skipped cheese and desert but Lucky enjoyed them so you can see more at his blog linked above.

Bed:

The F cabin has a separate changing room and toilet and so as I went to change in my pajamas the Flight Attendant set up my bed. There is a lower pad and a nice snuggly duvet.

The toilet and changing room have their own pictagrams to show when they are occupied:

Changing Room:

Always check the drawers: (Shoe shiners and paper hankies)

Tiny Loo:

Bedding:

I slept well although the cabin was rather too warm for my liking – I tend to like to have a very cold sleeping area.

I woke after a few hours and raided the snack basket:

Breakfast:

Breakfast turned up about an hour before we landed in Paris. I started with Fresh Fruit:

This was tasty and fresh and helped me wake up. I then went on to the Croque-Monsieur which was tasty but a bit greasy for me:

Landing:

We landed late as we had left late and I was met at the Gate. More information about the AF ground service later in the week.

Overall
A very good First Class product that, should I ever win the lottery, I would use again. If you have lots of Delta miles and want to try it, I would recommend it.