There are many cities to connect through when travelling from North America to Europe. While we usually frequent Star Alliance carriers connecting in Frankfurt / Munich, Germany on Lufthansa, or occasionally Air Canada connecting onward from London, this would be our first connection at Paris Charles de Gaulle on Air France. Our experience with them would have us through their Air France Salon Business Lounge at Terminal 2F in the Shengen departures zone of the airport.

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This post is one chapter on our trip to Malta, Italy and Germany. This trip was enhanced through Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status and credited to Alaska Mileage Plan and Air Canada’s Aeroplan. For more information on how this trip was booked, please see our trip introduction here. For other parts of the trip, please see this index.

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Review: Salon Air France Business Lounge, Paris Charles de Gaulle Terminal 2F, Paris, France.

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Connecting at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport:

We were off our Air France Business Class Vancouver – Paris flight without any major issues. There was an air traffic control strike that was supposed to occur two days before we arrived. When we got off the plane, there were no lingering signs of it – all the flights appeared to be operating normally and without delay.

We took the underground tunnel from CDG Terminal 2E to 2F which is directly across the width of the airport. I had downloaded a connection map from Air France, but it didn’t really make much sense; along with many French things.

When we got to the immigration and customs areas, it was divided by business and economy class. It was clearly marked with separate Sky Priority (business class lines) for security screening and arrival immigration. The hallways were quite thin and congested and more like a mall in a small town near you instead of an airport serving one of the largest cities in Europe.

We cleared immigration into Europe, and headed over towards our connecting flight to Germany within the Shengen area of Europe.

Locating the Salon Air France Lounge:

The Paris Charles de Gaulle airport has an unusual shape and configuration to it. I’ve never actually gotten the feel to it on the several occasions that I’ve flown through there. It’s certainly a facility that has lots of odd shapes and sizes.

We headed over to the Salon Air France Lounge near gate F25. I had tried to locate the “better” Air France Business Lounge before hand (if there was such a thing), but there weren’t many reviews about them. The mantra “use the one closest to your gate” seemed to be the best advice. The ceiling of the pods by the lounge were interesting and of a modernistic seventies design.

We eventually made it out to the concourse and a bit closer to the Air France Lounge. This portion of the airport would serve the rest of Shengen area Europe for the shorter connecting flights.

We eventually located the non descript entrance of the Salon Air France Lounge near Gate F29 as marked by a set of escalators downstairs.

We headed down a level using the escalators though another narrow entry way into the lounge.

Accessing the Air France Lounge:

The Air France access rules are as can be expected for class of service and similar to the other airline alliances.

Guests travelling in Business Class are afforded access with no guests. Guests travelling in their La Première First Class are permitted to bring in one guest. Premium Economy and Economy guests travelling on Air France can gain access by paying a visit fee of 25 – 30 € in Europe, 30 – 50 $ USD in the United States and South America and 30 – 50 $ CAD in Canada.

Frequent travellers in the Air France Flying blue program at the elite level of Flying Blue Platinum or Gold are permitted to access the lounge in any category of travel with no guest privileges.

We were admitted without issue based on class of service on our departing Air France Business Class boarding pass.

Inside the Salon Air France Business Lounge:

This Salon Air France Business Lounge was at the end of the concourse on a double level basis. The bottom level was two levels below the concourse. It was full on the arrival floor. Of course, being all things French, there was no escalator or working elevator to get to the bottom of the two levels. We ended up schlepping our carry on bags down the circular stair case and found some loungers to relax in.

Food and Beverage:

There was a small cafe area for dining. It was marked by some rather institutionalized round tables.

The Air France lounge was serving a very light breakfast at this hour. There were mini croissants, pain au chocolat and some hard cheeses which appeared to be cheddar and comté. There were also shaved chicken slices rounding out the continental breakfast offering.

There were hard liquor available for consumption, but surprisingly no wine or sparkling. There was an espresso machine but straightly all the milk drinks were zeroed out and not available (cappuccino, latte etc..) leaving only American coffee and espresso available. Maybe the strike also affected the milk truck’s delivery schedule. 

While we enjoyed an espresso straight up, we enjoyed the airside views. There were interesting views of the air side operations. Air France seemed to have intersecting jet bridges that allowed for flights to be boarded from parallel gates, without having to move the aircraft’s to accommodate a gate change.

All in all, it was a reasonable place to hang out for a little bit, with some basic amenities. As Paris is a home city for Air France, I might have expected a larger and more elegant space. This one fit in the functional category quite nicely, offering everything you’d expect, but nothing over the top that you wouldn’t.

My Thoughts on the Air France Salon:

The Air France Salon Business Lounge at Paris Charles de Gaulle Terminal 2 F was as expected for a Shengen Lounge. On the bright side, the lounge was situated close to the gate and had tasty french croissants and pretty good french cheeses. On the down side, some of the features of the lounge were missing or not working. The milk truck never arrived for coffee and the wines were never put out or made available. The layout of the lounge being buried in the basement and the lack of elevator was also a little odd but consistent with the era of the seventies building. It was a reasonable place to stop over but certainly no reason to get to the airport early.

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If you’ve fly the Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, do you have a favourite lounge?

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