Air France’s Salon La Premiere Experience at Paris-CDG

I was recently traveling on Air France from Yerevan to Boston via Paris. Unfortunately, I was booked on an itinerary with quite a lengthy connection time in Paris (7 hours 20 minutes). I could have gone out to town, or just lounged around CDG during my layover; but I recently discovered that Air France offers a service called "La Premiere Ground Services at Paris-Charles de Gaulle". Essentially, this provides access to AF's ground services that are usually reserved for its La Premiere (First Class) passengers; and is available for those whom are departing, connecting, or arriving at CDG.

The service is only available for a limited number of guests whom hold an Air France issued business class ticket and passengers must pay a fee of €300 or 40000 FlyingBlue miles for the service on a departing/connecting flight from CDG, or €150 or 20000 FlyingBlue miles for the arrivals option.

Personally, I would not spend €150 for the arrivals service, as it only provides an escort service from the airplane to the baggage claim area (arriving passengers are unable to access Salon La Premiere due to its location in the international area). Now, €300 is not an insubstantial amount of money to be spent on a meet & greet service or access to a lounge (as a comparison, US$400 would buy me an annual membership for American Airlines' Admirals Club). However, I have only heard rave reviews about the service, and with such a lengthy time of a layover, and for the sake of experiencing and being able to review it, I figured I would give it a try.

On arrival from EVN at CDG-2E, I was met on the jet bridge by a La Premiere agent who was holding a sign with my name on it. She introduced myself as an agent who will be escorting me throughout my journey in Paris today. At CDG, they seem to want to check everybody's passport multiple times, including on arrival, at the jet-bridge. The security person asked to see not only my passport, but "my ID". I was confused at first, but I figured he wanted to see my American driver's license, as asinine as that may sound. Once that was completed, I was escorted to a door on the jet bridge which took me downstairs to the ramp where a black Peugeot sedan was parked, along with a few BMW's too.

The drive to the Salon La Premiere took about five or so minutes.

On arrival at the entrance of the lounge, I had to undergo through security as if you were departing Paris, since Yerevan is not within the Schengen zone. The process was quick as I was the only passenger at the time (I can't foresee the security checkpoint screening more than one person at the time, given the exclusivity of the location). The contracted security employee wanted to check my hands and belongings for any residue of explosives, which went quickly but still seemed over-the-top. Once that was done, we took an elevator up to the actual lounge.

I was given a quick overview of the lounge, including seating areas, washrooms, showers, a rest area, a bar, and a Spa by Biologique Recherce. They asked for my passport and boarding pass for document verification as well as ensuring that my reservation is all intact, which were delivered back to me a moment later. I settled myself in one of the corners of the lounge, and a waitress came to see if I would like anything to drink. The lounge was very quiet and serene. Throughout my six or so hours in the lounge, I have yet to see more than five people including myself at all time.

To give you a visual description of the lounge, those who begin their journey at CDG will take an elevator up and will be welcomed to an elegant and understated foyer; whereas those who connect at CDG will come up via the back elevator from the ramp. The lounge basically consists of two large seating area, a smaller sitting area and a larger one that shares space with dining area. There is a small bar with four high chairs off of the larger seating area, should one wishes to have a drink there. Further along the corridor are the washrooms, showers, and the rest areas.

I asked about the possibility of booking for a spa treatment. They offer a 30-minute complimentary service (massage or facial, I believe), as well as other spa packages for a fee. Unfortunately, I was informed that the spa was fully booked (apparently the other group of four people, on top of a few others, had each booked a service). The agent apologised, and provided me with a card for "direct phone number to our La Premiere agents, so you can call ahead and book your spa treatment on your next visit with us".

Since there was no spa service available for me, I decided to shower and freshen up. There are four showers, each is equipped with Biologique Recherce amenities, nicely offered in an amenity kit for guests to take home. The kit contains various products, including a bar soap, shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, body cream, "oxygenating cleansing milk", hand cream, legs cream, face gel, a comb, razor, shaving cream, and a dental kit. Quite extensive offering, if you ask me. Once showered, I lounged around in the rest area adjacent to the showers. The rest area has multiple "loungers" as well as two small "benches" for guests to nap in. Rested briefly, I headed to the dining area, which I believe to be the highlight of the service.

I was seated at one the tables in the dining area. They have a buffet of charcuterie, sweets, as well as an extensive arrays of water to choose from.

The menu was created by chef Alain Ducasse, who is a world-renowned chef from France. I ordered myself a glass of 2005 Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs, which was very nice. For the food, I ordered Notre foie gras de canard des Landes confit, brioche parisienne (Preserved duck foie gras, Parisian brioche) as a starter.

For the main course, I ordered a "special item" of Canon d'agneau roti en cocotte, primeurs (Saddle of lamb roasted in a cocotte, early vegetables). The main course was accompanied by a glass of 2009 Paul Jaboulet Aine "La Petite Chapelle" Hermitage, which was excellent. I'll let my pictures do the talking, but suffice to say, it was probably one of the BEST french dishes I have ever had.

The cheese course was next, which was excellent, and for the dessert, I ordered Baba au rhum, which is apparently quite popular among the guests. It's basically a small cake, split in half, doused with rum and topped with vanilla cream. It was out of this world.

Of course, all the other assorted desserts available looked delicious too.

After dining, I made my way back to my seating area to do work. Interestingly enough, a lounge agent came towards me escorting a woman, whom introduced herself as someone who works for the US Government. She sat down and asked to see my passport and boarding pass. She asked about my travels, my job at home, my address, and my travel history. I travel frequently to many countries, so I just told her to "go look at my passport". She wrote things down, and thanked for my time. Strange, but along with other "security theater" experiences at CDG today, I was not surprised.

Boarding was supposed to commence at 6:15PM for a 7:10PM departure. A lounge agent came at 6:40PM and informed me that the flight is ready for departure and she will be driving and escorting me to the aircraft. I packed up and headed towards the elevator. Once again, a contract security employee asked to "check my belongings". I was taken to a private room, where my bags were visually inspected and I was given a quick "wand through". All in all, she was courteous, but I just couldn't help but feeling annoyed. Again, I'm heading to America, who am I kidding?

Once outside of the building, I was met by two Air France valet employees who took by bag and stored it in the boot. It turned out that the aircraft itself was parked at a remote stand, and it took us about 10 minutes to get to the remote stand. Nothing but getting on a black limo and driven straight to the aircraft steps. The agent escorted me up to the aircraft, introduced herself (she had to show her badge to the purser) and introduced myself to the whole crew of the flights. It was definitely an exclusive experience.

In summary, the La Premiere Ground Service really delivered. I think I would have been more compelled to purchase the service, had the price tag was slightly less. However, if you have a long layover (definitely longer than 4-5 hours), it is money well spent, especially given the exclusivity of AF's La Premiere cabin (one is unable to redeem miles for it unless you are Flying Blue elite and willing to spend quite a few of your Flying Blue miles -- La Premiere award is only available to redeem at the Flex/highest fare).

Thank you so much to Kevy for sharing his experience of AF's Salon La Premiere Ground Services Experience at Paris-CDG. It certainly sounds like an interesting proposition. You can follow Kevy on Twitter as @K3vy.