Air France, SF-Paris

I have been a big fan of United’s nonstop from San Francisco to Paris, but it has been dropped, so this time (Feb. 14 and 26, 2007) we went Air France.

An excellent trip, 11 hours’ flying time. The staff were courteous and attentive. Good food, needless to say better on the westbound trip than on the eastbound. In our coach section, they served free champagne before the meal, wine with the meal, and cognac after. Between meals, the staff made a trolley available in the galleys with bottled water and soft drinks to which passengers could help themselves — much appreciated.

Terminal 2 at Charles de Gaulle Airport is still under construction, so instead of taxiing to a gate the plane stopped and wheeled stairs came up, thence we went by bus apparently halfway back to San Francisco before finally coming to a gate. Count on it taking one hour from touchdown to when you get your checked luggage.

The arrival area is maybe a 200-meter walk to the RER station for trains to Paris, if you can figure out the baffling signage.

The RER ticket machines claim to take credit cards but don’t always do so; there are, however, ticket booths manned by humans.

MICHAEL MAHONEY

San Francisco, CA