Flying to the Basque country in style

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sun, 03/20/2005 1:01 PM  |  Life

How can the long-haul journey from here to the Basque country be made more tolerable?

To facilitate their travel to the Basque country, Air France flew a group of Southeast Asia-based journalists to Paris from Singapore, then on to Bilbao.

Nonstop flights to Paris leave Singapore at 11:30 p.m. every day, arriving at 6:15 a.m. the following day. For the return journey, flights depart Paris at 11:15 p.m., arriving at Singapore at 6:40 p.m. the next day.

Since early November, Air France has been offering totally redesigned l'Espace Premire (first class) and l'Espace Affaires (business class) cabins in its Boeing 777 extended-range aircraft.

Aimed primarily at the business market, these two options provide, says Air France general manager for South East Asia and Australia Jean-Claude Moutic, "" ... not only the latest but also the most comfortable and spacious cabin fittings. The aim is to give passengers a travel experience in distinctive French style.""

At a time when many other airlines have decided to withdraw first class in their flights, Air France has opted not only to keep the cabin but also to enhance it. Cabin upholstery is in leather, wool and cashmere, while passengers have two-meter beds with real mattresses, a soft duvet and hypoallergenic down pillows.

Dcor in the business-class cabin is mainly in restful, light beige, with navy-blue upholstery. The seats convert into lie-flat beds that fold out a full 180 degrees, although they remain at a slight angle to the floor.

The rigid shell that contains the seat backs provides both privacy for the occupants in front while eliminating disturbance to passengers in the row immediately behind.

The food is everything one would expect from a French enterprise. Guy Martin, the Michelin-starred chef of Grand Vefour restaurant, Paris, has been commissioned as a style consultant and has created the menus in first class.

Pan-seared noisette of lamb, herbed artichokes and simmered carrots, or grilled fillet of salmon with pesto olive oil vinaigrette and mashed potatoes with olives, are just two examples of main courses available in the business-class cabin.

While the flight comfort and punctuality of the airline could not be faulted, it must nevertheless be said that the lounges at either end of the journey were both of a lesser standard and overcrowded.

Transfer arrangements, including a long wait in a bus outside the regional-flight terminal while Arctic winds blew in through its open doors (during the recent cold snap in Europe) took some of the pleasure off the trip, too. -- Jim Read

(Daily flights between Singapore and Paris (in both directions), are available on Air France. The cost of an economy-class return from Singapore to Paris is about US$1,000, and is just over $5,000 business class).

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