Rebecca Harrington/Business Insider
- Flying in business class on Air France‘s Airbus A380 from New York to Paris round-trip was a treat.
- The airline only has five superjumbo jets in operation, and Airbus recently announced it was ceasing production on making any more new ones.
- Travel junkies laud the A380 for how quiet it is. I couldn’t believe how soundproof the mammoth double-decker plane was.
- Here’s what the journey was like, from check-in to the lounge, to the flights themselves.
- Visit BusinessInsider.com for more stories.
I’m rarely excited to get on a plane. These days, flying feels more like a chore. Airlines are packing more and more seats in planes to boost profits, and passengers are crammed in as tight as can be. If you didn’t know your neighbor before you got on the plane, you sure do by the time you get off.
But for a recent trip to Europe, I flew business class on Air France’s Airbus A380-800 — the legendary superjumbo jet. I’d never been on a double-decker plane, and I was so excited!
From check-in to the airport lounge, to the seamless boarding process, to the plane ride itself, Air France’s attentive service, delicious food, and thoughtful amenities made flying a luxury.
But the A380 is a dying breed. Airbus announced in February that it was discontinuing production of the model, and Air France said last fall it was getting rid of five of its 10 superjumbos, and retrofitting the other five. As Business Insider’s correspondent Benjamin Zhang has written, the plane is simply "too big, expensive, and inefficient for most operators."
I usually fly Delta, and we booked these round-trip tickets from New York to Geneva through them, so I ended up getting almost 14,000 SkyMiles for my flights. Air France and Delta are partners in a trans-Atlantic joint venture that allows them the ability to jointly market their flights and share costs. The highlight of the journey was flying on the superjumbo from New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport.
Here’s what it was like to fly business class round-trip on Air France’s A380-800.
After whisking through priority check-in and TSA PreCheck, then wading through the hustle and bustle of JFK’s Terminal 1, the Air France lounge beckoned with the promise of exclusivity.
Rebecca Harrington/Business Insider
Inside, the Air France employee at check-in asked if I wanted my dinner in the lounge or on the plane. The airline now offers this "Night Service" option for its two latest overnight flights, AF009 and AF011, so you can go right to sleep once you board.
Rebecca Harrington/Business Insider
Source: Air France
I arrived as the sun was setting over the New York City skyline, and the atmosphere felt truly magical. I was surprised by how few people were in the lounge when I arrived, but it filled up as we got closer to takeoff.
Rebecca Harrington/Business Insider
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- Check out the $230 million factory in North Carolina where Honda builds its private jet
- I flew on a $10 million Embraer Phenom 300E and I now understand why it’s the most popular private jet in the world
- Delta has a monthly warehouse sale with everything from old seats to airplane toilets — here’s all the vintage aviation gear you can buy
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Source: Business Insider – rharrington@insider.com (Rebecca Harrington)