BA315 CDG-LHR 2 SEP 12 (CLUB EUROPE)
Posted: 16 Sep 2012, 10:39Anyway back to the flight home! We had to go via the check-in desks to pick up a boarding pass (one of us isn’t an executive club member and therefore can’t use the iPhone app). Headed through security and tried to find the Cathy Pacific lounge. The “official lounge” is the American Airlines Admiral Club, but we thought that the CX lounge would be nicer and we had access as two of us as One World Sapphire. Unfortunately this has recently been moved and upgraded and no-one seemed to know where the lounge is! Therefore we headed off to the Admirals Club.....this is in the end almost satellite terminal and has the usual AA offerings (self-service bar, crisps, sandwiches and free WiFi). After a diet coke and asking twice at the desk we tried to find the CX lounge again. It wasn’t where the desk people had said, but we carried on into Terminal 2C and finally we saw a sign for the lounge.
After we had climbed the stairs, we realised that this was a much better option! Nice open plan lounge with huge floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the apron and runway. Champagne and fine French wines, nice self-service hot food and cook to order noodles. Much better than the Admirals Club. Our flight was delayed and the CX lounge is only open until 14:00 (after the HKG flight departs it shuts for a few hours) – we made the most of the time that we had in there and had several Kir Royales! When the lounge closed, we headed to the gate - loads of people there and everyone bunching around the fast-track entrance. The flight had 14 rows of club and there was lots of moaning about the delay and everyone having to wait for fast-track lane. There was nothing that people could do – the flight was late and to get to the plane you have to cross incoming passengers, so we had to wait until a long-haul flight had cleared.
Anyway once boarding started we were quickly on board and settled into Row 2. It was obvious that a lot of people didn’t normally travel in club as they were sitting next to each other in E/F seats rather than leaving the E seat free
Was a busy flight, and as I said 14 rows of club is the most I have seen on a short-haul Europe flight!! Long taxi to the runway and then we were off. Similar to the outbound flight, the food option was an excellent cold tapas plate - this one had chicken cooked in three different ways (the outbound had chicken and fish), so overall was better (both were tasty and a great option for food). Champagne was offered and taken – despite some people looking at as though we shouldn’t 
be in Club and 
be drinking champagne! To ensure that those eyebrows remained raised, we had a second round of champagne before landing (plastics glasses to continue drinking during approach and taxi!). All in all a very good flight – too short really! If you fly through CDG and you are One World Sapphire / Emerald, then check whether the CX lounge is open rather than heading off to the Admirals Club. You won’t be disappointed!!
