Review: Air France Business class – Paris (CDG) to Tokyo (NRT)

As much as I like to think of planes as airborne restaurants, there’s a limit to what’s possible in the air. I have friends who fly Qantas just for the soup. And Fergus Henderson swears by the chocolate mousse on an A380. I have a thing about the chicken sandwich that you get in BA Economy on short haul European flights – it reminds me of children’s birthday buffets, in a very good way. My best in-flight food experiences have usually been Air France. And until this flight, I hadn’t flown L’Espace Affaires (Business class) on their A380, so I was keen to see if there were any fireworks in the galley (a scary thought).

When I flew to Tokyo, Air France had a menu by Thibaut Ruggeri (Ruggeri’s menu launched in October 2013 and is available until the end of March 2014). Ruggeri sits at the more molecular end of the haute cuisine spectrum – on the ground, it’s the kind of stuff that gets foodies Instagramming like crazy at the dinner table. In the air, it’s not such a wild success. As my hake arrived, with three different colours of carrot, I stared at my neighbour’s beef with intense menu envy. This fish dish, which in Paris would have looked a million dollars, resembled something the cat had been at it. It tasted absolutely fine, and full marks to Air France for giving this kind of gastronomy a go in the air, but when it comes to flying, it’s probably best to think of a high altitude picnic rather than a Relais & Chateaux extravaganza in the slipstream.

One of Thibaut Ruggeri’s dishes for Air France

Every airline does their own thing with an A380, and while Air France don’t have a bar upstairs in their A380, they do have an “art gallery” at the front of the cabin, which feels a bit like the spare room at home that you have no idea what to do with because it’s too small to be a decent bedroom or office. That said, it’s a useful place to stretch your legs, and the toilets next to it are impressive indeed. I do like a generously sized toilet. The upper deck features two Business cabins, with Premium Economy and Economy bringing up the rear. A nine-seat First cabin is downstairs, behind the nose, followed by rows 10-52, all Economy.

The flight itself – without a single seat free – was very good indeed. The lounge in CDG [pictured above] was vast, spick and span, and beautifully designed with curving screens of wood and huge lamps that resemble modernist tree sculptures, with leaf insignias in the immense shades. There was a good selection of full hot meals, wines and champagne. I flew upstairs, and as usual on the A380, the engine was close to silent, and I felt like I was on an all-Business flight. The service was good (although twice I rang the call button which was ignored), and the staff were friendly, bordering on over-familiar in some instances.

CDG to NRT is a difficult route, because it’s a night flight by the Japanese clock, but not by the European one. So, after a couple of movies, I popped a pill and slept. Air France still has an angled rather than truly horizontal flat bed on the A380, but I rarely have issues with this. I slept like a baby, albeit one that had snarfled up a Valium, until just before landing. Which brings me to my one real criticism, and one of which most airlines are guilty: the endless noise pollution of “thank you for this, thank you for that…” towards the end of a flight, interrupting my first barely-waking-minutes of the day, or night, or whatever the hell it is or feels like. On this route, each pointless pleasantry was translated into three languages and interrupted the AVOD. I’m very grateful that Air France are grateful, but I’d be more grateful for the peace and quiet. C

Airfrance.com