Terminal 2F Charles de Gaulle, a review of the (nearly decommissioned) Air France business lounge

This lounge, like its twin, was decommissioned and replaced by the beautiful and brand new Air France lounge, which of course we have already visited.

The Charles de Gaulle is the home of Air France, being the Paris airport is also one of the largest and busiest airports in the world.

For all those who have never been there, it is only fair to explain that the airport is divided into three terminals connected by a people mover called CDGVal. At this particular time in history, only terminal 2 is operational and, of course, not even in full service. It is so big that there are even internal metro/people mover connections to get from one terminal to the other.

Being the home of Air France, it is obviously the realm of Skyteam, the alliance of which the Franco-Dutch group is one of the symbols along with the American Delta.

Passengers who have elite status in the alliance also have dedicated check-in areas, separate from the rest of the travelers.

As well as fast track routes and of course many lounges where you can relax while waiting for your flight.

The design of the terminal structure might confuse passengers on their first visit, mistakenly thinking that going from zone 2F to 2E is a matter of a few minutes. Instead, much more walking is required.

To cater to its passengers, AF has plenty of lounges scattered around the airport at starting with the very exclusive La Premiere, reserved for first-class passengers, to the lounges in Pier K, dedicated to long-haul flights, to boarding area E,F,G for Schengen and domestic flights.

Lounge access

To access these lounges, one must either travel in business with one of the Skyteam companies, or Air France's partners, or fly economy but hold the alliance's Elite Plus status. At this time AF also allows paid access to some of its lounges; however, we do not recommend this solution given the meager offer in terms of food & beverage.

Location

My flight departed from Terminal 2F, a terminal that has twin piers that contain within them one lounge each, and in a very few days they will see the arrival of a brand new lounge that will replace the two present today.

The lounge is located at the tip of the pier, one floor below the embarkation area, the lounge is horseshoe-shaped, and during my visit, at 6:30 a.m. on a Tuesday morning it was very crowded.

It is easy to get to and most importantly, it is no more than 5 minutes away from all sides of the pier, making it really convenient to move from the hall to the gate, even at the last minute.

The entire lounge overlooks the runway, you can see staff working underneath the planes, enjoy the "behind" the scenes and get a sense of how many people are busy every time a plane arrives from the moment it is parked to when it takes off again.

The lounge is not large in size; this is surely one of the reasons why the company built a new mega lounge from scratch in the middle between the two piers, in the middle of the 2F termina.

There are various types of seating, but since it is a lounge dedicated to short- to medium-haul travelers, it is designed for frugal visits, for commuters of the skies who need a place to sit, have a drink and a bite to eat, recharge their devices, and send a couple of emails before taking off.

My visit at breakfast time left me a tad disappointed in terms of both food and beverage offerings. No barista, just the classic vending machines, no hot items to eat, just a few sliced meats, some cheese, and mini brioches.

A cooler to get a soda and/or yogurt and little else, definitely insufficient for a company of AF's caliber.

The reduction of seats due to pandemic makes it complicated to find a place to sit, the lack of a work area forces you to work with your notebook on your legs, not too comfortable. The staff inside the hall is nonexistent, except for the cleaners one then has to go back to the lobby to ask about the flight or anything else.

In conclusion

AF's choice at its main airport is different from that of other airlines, e.g. KLM has with a very large Crown Lounge dedicated to Schengen passengers and one for long-haul flights. Lufthansa, too, has secondary lounges closer to the remote gates in Frankfurt, but in each case they are still larger and richer in amenities. Not to mention British Airways, which in Heathrow's Terminal 5 offers two pairs of mirrored lounges at the extremes of the terminal capable of meeting the needs of all passengers.

The advent of the new lounge, which is expected these days, will completely change the situation: this lounge and its twin will be closed and all passengers will be able to enjoy the brand new lounge where they will definitely have a better experience.