About this time last year my esteemed colleague Jenny Evans made a big claim.
She boasted that she had found “the best seat in the sky” on an A380 flight to Singapore.
That seat was 42K…but I may have found a contender.
I believe that forward planning is absolutely vital when booking a long flight so I always check out an airline’s cabin map before choosing my seat.
So it was that when contemplating a flight from Paris to Singapore I was studying the Air France premium economy cabin on their 777-300ER. These days I also reckon it’s wise to upgrade from economy (if you can afford it) as it’s worth paying that little bit more for the extra comfort and benefits you get with premium economy.
Checking the seat map, 23B caught my eye. More on that in a moment.
For those who haven’t experienced it yet, Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris is a behemoth, one of the world’s largest and busiest. My internal flight up from Bordeaux required me to change terminals and it was a good job I had time up my sleeve because I took a couple of wrong turns along the way.
I eventually found my way to Terminal 2E (editor’s note: there is a distinct lack of hot food or bars available) and boarded flight AF256 on time and ahead of the crowd thanks to my premium economy status.
Being 1.82 metres tall, leg room is always a crucial factor when I fly so when I first laid eyes on 23B I almost wept tears of joy.
Situated next to an exit door, there was just empty space in front of me – I could have laid on the floor and still not touched the wall separating premium economy from business class. Pure bliss.
The other bonus was that, unlike some airlines where the bathrooms are situated facing the exit row seats, on Air France the toilettes are in the middle of the cabin, facing the front of the plane. This meant no-one was going to tread on my outstretched feet during the night.
As I settled into my home for the next 13 hours, I took stock of the gadgets around me. There was a tentacle reading light over my left shoulder and a pair of headphones tucked away neatly in a purpose built space between the seats.
My fold-away table was neatly stored in the right hand armrest and there were charging ports for phone and laptop inbuilt between the seats. There was a pillow and blanket waiting for me as I arrived, along with the ubiquitous amenities kit (socks, toothbrush and paste, eye mask, ear plugs).
There was a complimentary bottle of water in a compartment set in the wall alongside the gentleman sitting next to me in 23A but it was a bit of a stretch to get to.
A pop up TV was located in the armrest to my left and although on the small side it was very easy to navigate with a simple swipe action (the remote was the smallest I’ve ever seen on a plane and was in a specially designed housing by my left knee)
Usually only business class guests get champagne before departure but this is Air France where complimentary champagne is available in all cabin classes before take-off, so I was offered a delightful glass of bubbles while we waited for the plane to finish refuelling. The stewardess serving in her red leather gloves was a tres chic touch and just so French.
Not long after we were in the air it was time for dinner and I was particularly looking forward to this as Air France has Michelin-starred chefs overseeing their menus; in the premium cabin its meals designed by Frédéric Simonin.
A slight communication breakdown saw me end up with scallops in a citrus fruit sauce with tapioca pearls rather than the Trofie pasta gratin, and chardonnay rather than sauvignon blanc, but I blame my schoolboy French for that. Despite the language barrier, both were delicious, as was the lemon tart for dessert.
The entertainment options were plentiful, with a good selection of first run movies, classics, TV shows, games and music. I passed a couple of hours watching Hugh Jackman do his bone-claw thing before deciding it was time to put my seat to the sleep test.
With all that leg room I managed a comfortable few hours’ sleep but as anyone who’s done a night flight knows it’s always a tricky procedure. You just doze off and then your foot goes to sleep – somewhat ironically – and wakes you up! Fortunately 23B allowed plenty of room for a variety of sleeping positions.
Two hours before landing breakfast arrived. Again, being a French airline the pastries and bread were fantastic, accompanied by a delicious mango yoghurt. You can guarantee the food and wine on an Air France flight is going to be of the highest quality.
We did land a little later than scheduled but that was only because of heavy traffic over the airport. It clearly threw the cabin steward because as we landed he happily announced our arrival at Charles de Gaulle airport!
So would I fly with Air France again? Bien sur….as long as 23B is free.
https://wwws.airfrance.com.au/
Flight details
Flight: Air France AF0256
Date: March 25, 2025
Plane: BOEING 777-300ER
Route: Paris Charles de Gaulle to Singapore
Duration: 12 hours, 50 minutes
Class: Premium Economy
Seat: 23B
Departure: 20:00
Arrival: 17:30
