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L'espace Affaires -
Business Class |
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Extraordinary
September - 2007 |
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5 Stars
& 5 Stripes
Overall - 'Service & Comfort' |
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The
Ultimate Award:
Seven Stars and
Stripes® |
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| We boarded in Paris at Charles de Gaulle's
International Airport 'CDG' one of world's principal aviation centers, as well
as France's main international airport. The port was named after Charles de
Gaulle (1890-1970), famous leader of the Free French Forces and founder of the
French Fifth Republic. CDG is located near the city of Roissy, just 25 km to
the northeast of Paris. In 2006, Charles de Gaulle Airport ranked second in
Europe in regards to passenger traffic, after London Heathrow and ahead of
Frankfurt International. Air France L'espace Affaires Business Class offers
rather extensive connections throughout Europe and also worldwide. L'espace
Affaires' new
Business
Class lounge in Paris provided well kept, private shower facilities,
comfortable newly designed
leisure
space, and a selection of French pastries, French Champagne and plenty of
other typical French delicacies that are surprisingly more on the healthy side.
The lounge style is definitely a new designer concept - a slow dance of
relaxing colors and carefully accentuating light. Fifty private lounges around
the world will soon get the spirited look; Tokyo Narita has already received
its flattering facelift. The designer firms Noe Duchaufour-Lawrance and
Desgrippes Gobe have stretched Air France's former more conventional design to
a new more relaxed, more modern style, though WiFi was still a
challenge. |
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“The lounge style is definitely a new designer concept -
a
slow dance of relaxing colors and carefully accentuating light.” ~
TB |
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| On board we were welcomed by
the well-dressed crew, Captain Capocci, Chef Purser Guery Philippe and our
steward Viallefont Steve. We explored the large comfortable dark blue sleeper
chairs, which were truly relaxing, but are not recommended for belly sleeping
;) I found the 'vogue' on-board magazine well designed and captivating. During
the entire flight we were most pleasantly and attentively cared for. It's the
little things that make the difference, like the design of the classy little
dinner menus and three different kinds of gourmet mustards, and then some.
Dinner was served on stylish, white china, which featured just a couple of fine
pink and grey wavy lines on one site to break up the white. |
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| Thorsten
Buehrmann - L'Espace Affaires |
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| For dinner we were enticed to choose for our
appetizers between a 'Duck Foie Gras Terrine with Gingerbread and marinated
dried fruit' and a 'Goat Cheese Tomato Cake & Arugula with a Balsamic
Vinegar'. This duck foie gras hours d' ouvre was superb, although it would have
deserved a fine Sauterne rather than a Bordeaux. Our main courses were well
prepared and designed and the cuisine and the desserts overall were quite
enticing. The limited wine list included a Cigalus 2005 Gerard Bertrand (white
Languedoc) which was discovered by sommelier extraordinaire Olivier
Poussier. |
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| Air France
Business Class - L'espace Affaires |
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The in-flight entertainment, along with the rest of
the ICE system featured a nice selection of movies to choose from (in English
and French) and was adequate. I discovered the hygienic ear pads in the unisex
travel kit. The sound quality on my noise reduction headphones was exceptional.
Incumbent Chairman and CEO Jean-Cyril Spinetta, who was in 2004 also
appointed to Chairman and CEO of the Air France KLM Group, is one of the most
well-connected and intellectual people of the century. Born in Paris,
Jean-Cyril Spinetta has served as Head of Information for the French Prime
Minister, the Ministry of Education and Chief of Staff for Michel Delebarre,
who was sequentially Minister of Labor & Vocational Training, Minister of
Social Affairs & Employment and Minister of Planning & Development,
Housing and Transport. Mr. Spinetta served also as Advisor to the President of
France for Industrial Matters in '95.
Air France encourages its partners,
service providers and suppliers to support actions that encourage environmental
protection, see
CO2 calculator. |
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| “…… le gout du voyage.” ~ par Air France
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by
Thorsten & Simone Buehrmann
Editor: Ingrid
Lemme
Editor-in-Chief: John Lomitola |
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| © 2007 ~ Seven Stars and Stripes, Inc. |
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