The third official Airbus A380 route has officially been scheduled into the United States. Air France, the third air carrier to take delivery of the massive, double decker airplane, plans on using the behemoth to fly between Paris (CDG) and New York (JFK), a hotly contested, jetset route.
The tightly packed 538-seat double decker will contain about 449 economy seats, 80 in business class and 9 in first, each with the latest in entertainment technology and sporting that snazzy new plane fresh scent.
Inaugural flights from Paris and New York are tentatively scheduled for November 20th and 21st respectively, with a fair share of pomp and circumstance planned in parallel. But the best part of the whole affair is that tickets are open to the regular public.
By auction that is. Starting on October 1st, the French airline will be opening up 380 seats from each flight for auction, the proceeds of which will go to humanitarian efforts local to each flight. Ebay will be operating the entire sale of tickets, which include return fare on a regularly scheduled AF flight, a local shopping and culinary experience in your target city and discounted hotel stays each night. And don’t forget that it’s for charity.
The auction kicks off in two days, which should give you plenty of time to dig through your couch for spare change. See you on the flight!
There’s plenty to kvetch about when it comes to flying. Every time I book a flight, I continue to look at the arrival and departure times as merely suggestions–a rough idea. I plan to be late. I plan for problems. In generally, I am pleasantly surprised and achieve a warm glowing feeling when flights land on time. In all the times I’ve flown, I’ve never lost baggage. Baggage has never been my gripe.
In general, my horror tales of flights that have gone awry are few. The ones I do have remind me about how I like to be treated. This summer’s trip on Air France from Venice to Detroit via Paris reminded me of what an airline should do to keep passengers pleased and coming back when problems occur. If what I experienced is any indication of how Air France usually treats customers, I’d say the airline’s customer service is one area where the airline works well–even when the airplanes have issues.
If other airlines consistently followed these tips I noted, flying would be more pleasant for everyone, including the staff.
Tip 1: Go above and beyond whenever possible: Although, the customer service person for Air France was not able to switch my 16-year-old daughter’s flight from KLM to Air France so that she could be on the same flight with my 7-year-old-son and me, the agent offered to check my daughter in on the KLM flight as she helped me navigate Air France’s check-in system.
The agent’s extra effort helped make all of us feel less anxious about my daughter’s first foray into flying by herself, particularly since her connecting flight was through Amsterdam. Because of the agent’s extra effort, my daughter, son and I were able to enjoy a leisurely breakfast, a smooth transition through security, and time to find my daughter’s gate before my son and I took off. Good for you, Air France.
Tip 2: Tell passengers right away if there is a problem with the plane and what will happen next: As our flight was to board, a mechanical problem with the plane was discovered. Air France announced over the Charles de Gaulle International Airport’s speaker system that boarding was being halted due to an aircraft issue and that we would find out more details as possible. In the meantime, we would be taken care of. We were also told that seat assignments would stay the same and that we would probably be changing gates. We were to stay at the gate where we were because that is where information would be given to us.
This set the tone that even though we would be delayed, the problem would be rectified as quickly as possible. It also gave us a job to do. Stay tuned for more information and stay where we are.
Tip 3: When there’s a problem, make amends with food. Once it was determined we’d be at the airport longer than expected, Air France gave all passengers a choice of one of three or four types of sandwiches and a choice of a can of soda or a bottle of water. The food was brought to us.
Tip 4: Give out phone cards if needed. One of the Air France agents gave me a phone card so I could call my husband so he could call my daughter when she landed in Detroit to tell her not wait for us. We were to meet up in Detroit to fly to Columbus on the same Delta flight. Originally, my son and I would have arrived in Detroit before her and had planned to wait for her at her gate. I was concerned that my daughter wouldn’t know what to do next and miss the Delta flight herself.
Because my concern was taken seriously, I was able to relax for the rest of the trip.
Tip 5: If the passenger is having problems using the phone card, help. Gladly. When using a phone in France, the recorded messages are in French. The phone call I tried to make to my husband wouldn’t go through. Because I couldn’t understand the message, I had no idea why not. An agent stepped from behind the desk, went to the pay phone with me, tried to use the card, found out what the message said and helped me rectify the problem which required finding out another access number. It’s complicated. The point is, the agent offered help and didn’t let me become more frustrated. Eventually, I was able to make the call I needed.
Tip 6: When the in-flight entertainment stops working properly mid-flight, apologize and do your best: The in-flight entertainment stopped working when I was in the middle of watching “I Love You Man.” There was an announcement that the crew was aware that the in-flight entertainment system had stopped working and that they were trying to fix it. In the meantime, we should please be patient. Part of the extensive system was fixed in a few minutes. The entire system was fixed in about 20.
Tip 7:Offer food that’s more than just palatable. The meals were terrific. There’s not much else to say about this tip. We all know good food when we see it and taste it. Rich Moffit who snapped the food picture echoed my sentiment with his photo labeled: “This is why you fly Air France.”
Tip 8: At the end of the flight, thank passengers for the flight and again apologize for the problems along the way: When we landed, the pilot again apologized for the delay and thanked us for our understanding. The smiling flight attendants did the same.
I smiled back and said, “Thank you for your efforts to get us here safely and for making the flight pleasant.”
**My daughter’s solo flight went swimmingly well. She did receive the phone call from her dad and knew just what to do. Thanks, Air France.
Welcome to the first installment of the Mile High Dining Club where I’ll be exploring and reviewing all things delicious (and perhaps not so) in the air, on the tracks, and on the ground.
As airlines continue to cut more services, the bygone Pan American days of bottomless champagne, caviar and carving stations of roast beef have unfortunately fallen to the wayside as more travelers now find themselves packing cold cheese pizza, cinna-buns and bagel sandwiches into their carry-on’s in an attempt to avoid spending more money while on board. Some food experts even argue that “complimentary” first and business class meals no longer offer anything edible of note other than, “the dreadful food in the sky”. Certainly, the culinary times are-a-changin’ due to economic woes, so is it still possible to enjoy a decent meal while in the air?
Let’s take a look at one of the more respected airlines for foodies– Air France.
It’s well known that the French have it going on when it comes to cooking, and my experience while dining on-board an Air France flight mostly held its ground to this effect. Recently, I booked an overnight flight from Washington to Paris in the airline’s Affaires (business class) cabin where the uber-spacious seats convert to semi-flat beds and little extra’s such as mini Clarins moisturizers, feather pillows, and drawstring bags for your shoes, make red-eye travel a lot less painful.
Dinner started off with an aperitif of salted cashews and a glass of Ayala Brut Majeur champagne, which like all of Air France’s wine selections, was chosen by sommelier, Olivier Poussier. After being presented with the Affaires in-flight menu, which typically offers a four-course option including an hors d’oeuvre, main course, cheese course and dessert, I moved on to a glass of white Bordeaux (Chalonnais Rully Rodet, 2006). Note: Air France’s economy class also offers aperitif, Champagne, and Olivier Poussier chosen wines along with a choice of two hot meals as part of their on-board service. First course was a classic cold duck foie gras accented with onion compote and served over butter lettuce. Simple, yet delicious. A nice addition were the mini bottles of extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic for drizzling, yet the accompanying baguette was disappointing. Hard, crumbly and dry, even smothering it in French butter couldn’t save it. After sampling some seriously tasty, crusty baguettes while jaunting throughout France, I’ve just got to call out a French airline for serving crappy bread. Non bon, people.
Second course was a platter of beef tenderloin in a mushroom cream sauce served with broccoletti and mashed potatoes. While the meat appeared properly cooked on the outside (nice grill marks) the inside was substantially undercooked. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m a rare meat girl all the way down to the moo, and filet mignon is designed to be served rare to medium-rare, but this slab of beef was about as raw as it gets. Too bad I couldn’t send it back to the chef for a few more minutes on the grill, but the fact is, airlines don’t have a lot to work with, especially when you consider that many meals travel up to twenty-two hours from kitchen to plane. With this in mind, the broccoletti was outstanding–al dente and crisp, as if it had just come out of a pot of boiling water, so kudos for that success.
Cheese consisted of perfectly sweaty, room temperature Fourme d’Ambert, Cabecou and Camembert along with a few pieces of fruit, and was an excellent match for the 2005 Jean Guyon Cru Bourgeois Superieur. Dessert held its own as a raspberry mille-feuille, although it tasted ever-so-slightly freezer burned.
In all fairness, I have to add that reviewing an airline’s in-flight dining cannot be held to the same standards to that of a restaurant. For starters, airline food is often cooked, chilled and then reheated on the plane versus being prepared a la minute, and you probably won’t be seeing any celeb chefs plating up their specialties along with the flight attendants. The fact is, airlines have many things working against them when it comes to preparation, yet luckily it isn’t all bad as many airlines are changing their culinary tune when it comes to pleasing their passenger’s palates.
Sure, the meal I had on board Air France wasn’t Chez Panisse nor was it trying to be. However, for an in-flight dining experience (cue endless pours of amazing French wine) Air France was pretty darn tasty, and I’d be happy to eat and drink my way across the Atlantic with them anytime.
Welcome to Gadling’s feature, Plane Answers, where our resident airline pilot, Kent Wien, answers your questions about everything from takeoff to touchdown and beyond. Have a question of your own? Ask away!
Tai asks:
Hi Kent,
I’m an avid reader of both your blog and Plane Answers and plan to pursue a career in aviation.
I generally keep an eye out in my news feeds for airline/aircraft related stories and came across a CNN article about an Air France A330 which was lost over the Atlantic. Officials are saying that the crash could have occurred as the plane encountered extremely heavy turbulence.
Is it possible for turbulence to be severe enough to actually cause a plane to come down, or would there likely be other factors or problems with the aircraft? Also, if there is turbulence that strong, wouldn’t the captain reroute the flight around it?
I’m often questioned about the dangers posed by turbulence and I’ve explained in the past that modern airliners are engineered to handle the worst case scenarios. But there are absolutely situations, such as extremely large thunderstorms that could cause structural damage to an aircraft.
It’s a big part of why airlines, and pilots specifically, are so concerned about accurate weather reports, good radar technology, flight planning and operating procedures that keep us away from thunderstorms.
Our manual even specifies a 20 nautical mile distance to be flown around thunderstorms. But don’t confuse every cumulous cloud as having the potential of a thunderstorm.
One of the few examples of an airliner being brought down due to turbulence that I’m aware of hits rather close to home for me. In the late 1960s the airline my grandpa had started 40 years earlier purchased a competing airline.
Just weeks after that purchase, one of the recently acquired airplanes, a Fokker F-27s broke up in-flight near Illiamna mountain after an encounter with severe-to-extreme turbulence.
It was the worst accident by far over the 60-year run of the company. So while I’d love to say turbulence could never cause an accident in a modern airliner, I wouldn’t rule it out as a possibility today.
But I’m not so sure that’s what happened to Air France 447. In fact, by definition aircraft accidents are usually the result of something rather unanticipated. So I don’t buy any speculation by the analysts at this point, even with the small clues the ACARS maintenance status messages give us. This is the stage of an investigation where nothing is ruled out.
Jackie asks:
Hi Kent!
What a great service you do here. I have read through numerous posts and it has surely helped calm some of my fears of flying.
A few months ago, I was on a BA flight from PRG to LHR and about 30 minutes outside of London, the captain came on to tell us that due to heavy traffic volume, we were to be placed in a racetrack holding pattern. This holding pattern lasted about half an hour before we began our final descent to LHR. As someone who is a very nervous flyer, anything out of the ordinary makes me very on edge. I’ve flown a great deal, but this was my first experience with a holding pattern. I guess I have been fortunate!
My question is: Just how common are racetrack holding patterns? Are some airports (such as LHR) more notorious for holding planes in that way? Also, I was curious as to whether there is any type of “hierarchy” for exiting the holding pattern? I mean, is it truly first-in, first out? Or since we were in a smaller plane (737 or A320) for the short hop from Prague, would preference be given to the heavies coming from the USA and such?
One final question, when we were in the holding pattern, and in the midst of a turn, the plane quickly jolted/banked to the side in which we were turning and then quickly jolted to the extreme other side as if the pilot quickly corrected this. He then came over the speaker to say that we had hit an air pocket. Does that sound right? Is there any danger in “hitting air pockets” while in a holding pattern turn? I do remember we were pulled out of the pattern to land soon after that experience.
Hi Jackie,
Holding while on the arrival portion of a flight is probably more common in London than any other place I’ve flown. I’d estimate that half the time I have flown into London involved a hold, usually for only one to three turns.
The priority is based on first in, first out. So you may start holding at 16,000 feet and be given lower as the airplanes below you clear out. Finally, at perhaps 11,000 feet, you’d be the next one in line and could then start the rest of the approach.
You almost certainly came across another airplane’s wake. You can think of these currents that are generated by aircraft much in the same way a boat creates a wake as it plows through the water.
In your case, there was probably an airplane holding at the same altitude that had been cleared lower and your flight began holding at that level as well. The wakes usually descend as time goes on, which can be an issue when holding below another aircraft.
Since the holding patterns drawn and flown by the airplane’s computer known as an FMS (flight management system) is so precise when coupled to GPS technology, it’s no surprise that you happened to come along another airplane’s wake.
Generally, they’re startling, but they don’t threaten the safety of airliners.
Coincidently I have a video that shows a flight we did last year as we were about to enter the London holding pattern over “OCK” or the Ockham VOR which is a specific point we navigate to near the town of Guildford. Notice the holding pattern drawn by our computers for our airplane to follow.
In the third to last scene, you can see the airplanes on the screen that we can view in the cockpit. And the final scene shows us selecting a lower altitude before I put the camera away.
Thanks for the great question.
Do you have a question about something related to the pointy end of an airplane? Ask Kent and maybe he’ll use it for nex
t Monday’s Plane Answers. Check out his other blog, Cockpit Chronicles and travel along with him at work.
An Airbus A330-200 carrying over 200 passengers lost radar contact off the coast of Brazil late last night. The flight was apparently reporting electrical problems experienced during turbulence on its route between Rio de Janeiro and Charles de Gaulle Paris.
Hope is still standing for some reemergence of the aircraft, although it has been several hours since contact was lost. In addition, the Brazilian Air Force has been deployed to the last sight of contact in order to search for any sings of the aircraft.
If AF447 did go down, this would be the first large jet crash in over seven years. We’ll keep you updated on the story
