Air France Business Class Review: A Comfortable Flight from Reunion to Paris on the 777-200
Reunion was one of those places that was on my list for far too long. After ticking off that box, Air France Business Class was a seemingly a great choice to head back to the US.
Air France Business Class Review: A Comfortable Flight from Reunion to Paris on the 777-200 - The check-in and lounge experience at Reunion Airport
Reunion is a small island, but it's built up with enormous infrastructure projects. The airport is no exception. It has a surprising number of daily long-haul departures. (At times there were even daily Australia flights.) Air France, Corsair, and Air Austral all have major capacity to the "mainland."
Check-in in the morning was hectic with long lines for all the airlines with departing planes. However, Business Class check-in was quick and very efficient. The same can be said for security in typical French efficiency.
What else is in this post?
- Air France Business Class Review: A Comfortable Flight from Reunion to Paris on the 777-200 - The check-in and lounge experience at Reunion Airport
- Air France Business Class Review: A Comfortable Flight from Reunion to Paris on the 777-200 - The Lounge
- Air France Business Class Review: A Comfortable Flight from Reunion to Paris on the 777-200 - Air France Business Class Seats
- Air France Business Class Review: A Comfortable Flight from Reunion to Paris on the 777-200 - The inflight service and entertainment on the 11-hour flight
- Air France Business Class Review: A Comfortable Flight from Reunion to Paris on the 777-200 - In Conclusion
Air France Business Class Review: A Comfortable Flight from Reunion to Paris on the 777-200 - The Lounge
There is a surprisingly long list of Premium lounges at the St. Denis Aerodrome – the Air France lounge looks nondescript and the lighting isn't great. However, it has an amazing array of French and local treats, including freshly pressed juices, tropical fruits, and a long list of wines. There is even pretty good espresso coffee.
Sadly, neither the airport nor the lounge Wi-Fi would work. I found that a theme on the island – either the Wi-Fi was incredibly fast (think 800Mbit) or it would not work at all.
Air France Business Class Review: A Comfortable Flight from Reunion to Paris on the 777-200 - Air France Business Class Seats
Air France Business Class now uses a modified version of the seats that has become my favorite over the years. It definitely showed its age but has great vertical and horizontal space and plenty of storage options.
As long as you are seated, the privacy is great, and while there are no suite doors, it's quite sufficient.
Most flights from Reunion to the mainland are long daytime flights with a steady amount of sun as the flight path takes you from the Indian Ocean over Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt.
During our flight, we followed the Nile almost exactly from the Sudanese/Egyptian border up to the Nile Delta as it flows into the Mediterranean. For someone who likes deserts and aviation, it was an amazing sight :)
Air France Business Class Review: A Comfortable Flight from Reunion to Paris on the 777-200 - The inflight service and entertainment on the 11-hour flight
As with prior experiences with Air France, the catering is often hit or miss. This flight was definitely a miss, and I was not happy with the appetizers or entrees (they looked great but the taste was off).
Since it is a long flight of almost 12 hours, I eventually became hungry and feasted on some of the Business Class snacks. However, I felt it would not replace a wholesome meal. Many of the passengers spent the duration of the flight napping and adjusting to the time difference in Europe.
I quite liked the espresso drinks the staff made on request. Maybe that was the reason I was not able to sleep and instead read three books during this flight.
Air France Business Class Review: A Comfortable Flight from Reunion to Paris on the 777-200 - The Staff I found most of the staff absent and not interested in the well-being of their passengers. Yes, the minimum amount of work was put in, but it was done without much interaction or care. Robotic is the adjective that comes to mind.
Air France Business Class Review: A Comfortable Flight from Reunion to Paris on the 777-200 - In Conclusion
Air France has a solid Business Class and has managed to upgrade almost 100% of their fleet to a wonderful seat model. This is usually a wonderful thing for overnight flights but less of a win for daytime flights.
Sadly, the catering and staff were a complete miss for this flight. Not the most important aspect of a flight, but still.
Would I fly Air France Business Class again? Of course! I would not seek it out, but I would certainly look forward to it, especially on an overnight flight.