T RIED AND TE ST E D FL IGHT


The wines were Taittinger


Brut Réserve NV champagne, a red Bordeaux (St Emilion Grand Cru Classé Château Jean Faure 2013), a Languedoc red (Gérard Bertrand Château de la Soujeole 2015), a chardonnay from Burgundy (Domaine Laroche Chablis 2017), and for sauvignon blanc fans, a very nice Sancerre (Joseph Mellot La Chatellenie 2016). As with other long-haul Air


France flights I have taken, we experienced moderate turbulence without the flight crew ever communicating to passengers other than the seatbelt sign coming on. During the flight it was possible


I was sitting, they had run out of most of the meal choices so I was only given the option of pork or squid. If there is a better incentive to pre-book a meal I can’t think of it. The meal started with a


mise en bouche (pre-starter) of shrimp and grapefruit jelly with a cocktail of Martini Rosso, Campari, champagne and ice. The starter proper was a neat slab of poultry terrine served with a fruit chutney, spelt salad and crusty roll. The main course


to go up to the rear galley to get a drink or snack. It was a day flight, but the cabin lights were dimmed for a few hours and so I reclined the seat to sleep. It’s comfortable, though when fully reclined there isn’t quite enough room for your feet so you have to sleep sideways. About two hours from Cape


Town there was a second meal service. The options on the menu were chicken and mushroom flan in a creamy onion and carrot sauce; chicken fillet in a green curry and tomato


On the flight I was only given the option of pork or squid. If there is a better incentive to pre-book a meal I can’t think of it


moisturiser, a pillow mister, eye mask, earplugs, and toothbrush and toothpaste. There is no washroom at the


front for passengers’ use, and at the back there are only two. I’ve come across the option


of pre-booking your meal online before (Singapore Airlines’ Book the Cook, for instance), but the Joon model is slightly different. There is a choice of four hot courses with another six courses available for pre-booking at no extra cost. By the time they got to the last row (row 5) where


bus ine s s tr a v el ler .c om


options (potentially) included chicken in a lemon sauce with dauphiné ravioles (French cheese-filled ravioli); risotto with saffron and basil cream; orecchiette pasta with squid; or pork loin with sesame in an orange and vinegar sauce. The menu lists the option “Or your preferred dish”, which must refer to the meals pre-booked online. There are also French cheeses – Cantal, similar to Gruyère, and a goat’s cheese. To finish there was canelé (a small pastry) with fruit and some milk chocolate.


sauce, bulghur wheat risotto; grated potato cake with thyme and smoked cream, asparagus and porcini mushrooms; smoked salmon fillet and mint pesto with fregola salad. I had the chicken fillet, which


wasn’t in a green curry and was cold, so I left it. The attendant offered to warm it up, but I declined. The flight was smooth for the final few hours.


A RRIVA L We arrived at Cape Town on time and were quickly off the aircraft. There was a


queue at immigration because we had arrived at the same time as the KLM flight.


VERDIC T In business class there isn’t much to choose between Air France and Joon, which is probably how the parent airline wants it. For passengers the improvements are likely to be in economy and premium economy with the new seating. Check out the video review of the flight on the Business Traveller Youtube channel. Tom Otley


JUNE 2 0 18


WHAT ’ S NE W


The branding, the look, the option to pre-book meals, and the IFE.


WHAT ’ S NO T


The Air France aircraft, and the Air France -style service.


P R ICE The internet rate for a


return business class flight from Charles de Gaulle to Cape Town in August 2018 starts from £3,358.


F L IGHT TIME 11 hours 45 minutes.


C ONF IGUR A TION 2-2-2


S E AT R E CL INE 175 degrees


C ONT A C T airfrance.com 83


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