Brit Air by Air France – Gatwick to Strasbourg
by JFC AdminThe second time I’ve flown from Gatwick so far this year. This time the flight was on an Air France flight operated by their Brittany based regional subsidiary Brit Air. Flight was on a Saturday AF5811 departing Gatwick at 11am.
Originally there was not much of a budget for this trip so the plan was to get the train from London Bridge to Gatwick in the morning should be an easy stress free journey as long as there’s no problems with the trains. However, after an increase in budget it was decided to spend Friday night at the Sofitel Gatwick Airport (formerly Le Meridien) and travel down to the airport after finishing in the office on the Friday. Doing this would give us an extra hours sleep, more time to relax for breakfast and no worry about transport issues.
So flight and hotel booked, 24 hours before the flight I check in online and we’ve got seats 2DF, row 2 was the front row on the right hand side and the aircraft (CRJ-700) and the seats are in a 2-2 arrangement. At the end of the day, left the office headed to City Thameslink station and got the next Southbound train to Brighton (which stops at Gatwick Airport). It’s the end of the working day so the train was fairly busy, but the station is a few minutes away from work and so it’s much easier and cheaper to get a direct train from here than it would be to get a tube or taxi to Victoria for the overpriced Gatwick Express.
Like the last time, the flight was from the North Terminal so off at the station and hop on a monorail, these run very frequently so no hassle there. The Sofitel has the advantage that it’s connected directly to the North Terminal so there’s no annoying shuttle buses to have to take to get there, but before I go to the hotel I thought it’d be a good idea to go up to the check in area to see where Brit Air/Air France checks in. Having found that it was time to go to the hotel.
A very impressive building with a number of bars and restaurants was what you’re greeted with when you enter the hotel. At the check-in desk I was upgraded to an executive room (space available upgrades at Sofitel are one of the lesser known benefits of Flying Blue Elite membership). The executive rooms are on the 8th floor and this floor also has an executive lounge that we can use. First things first, let’s drop off the bags in the room. The room was tastefully decorated although seemed a bit small for an executive room (can’t complain about an upgrade though), complimentary chocolates and bottled water were on the table and had good views of the airport. The bed was Sofitel’s ‘MyBed’ which they are rolling out across the chain. I find these beds very comfortable and a pleasure to sleep in so it was worth choosing this hotel just for that.
The 8th floor lounge for executive customers was empty when we arrived and the lounge attendant made us feel very welcome always serving us complimentary drinks, as soon as the glass would be approaching empty she’s see if we’d want any more. There was a buffet also here with a selection of light snacks. The selection of light snacks was better than most airline lounges. A few other people arrived and she extended the same level of service to them, the lounge also had free internet access which was useful for finding out directions to the hotel in Strasbourg.
Although it was tempting to stay in the lounge and enjoy the never ending flow of free beer we decided that it maybe a good idea to venture downstairs and take a look at what other bars the hotel have to offer. Of course, the main bars require you to pay for your food and drink (except for the complimentary welcome drink vouchers we were given). Main benefit of going to a bar rather than a lounge is if you want a livlier atmosphere, they also sell a wider selection of beers and the exact range varied between bars. Alcohol tends to wipe my memory so the rest of Friday night I’m light on details.
The plan for Saturday is to get to the check in desk before 10am. Set the alarm for 8:30 and ledt the room about 9:00 had a complimentary continental breakfast in the hotel lounge while checking out (offering in lounge check out really does save time). Left the lounge about 9:30, made the way out of the hotel over the bridge to the North Terminal. Where the Air France check in was previously was now a check in for Delta for a flight to New York. I asked a member of staff and was sent to a small check in area hidden round the corner. Arrived at the check in desk around 9:45, only one desk was open. This wasn’t a major problem and had my baggage sent on its way before 10.
The security checkpoint was not too busy, although it was a bit busier than my previous flight to Newcastle. I noticed that the Fast Track security lane was empty. At Heathrow they usually stick a fast track sticker on your boarding pass if you’re on an economy ticket but are a Flying Blue Elite member. This did not happen here so I just showed my boarding pass and my Flying Blue card and they let me through. Fast and painless, the only hassle was having to remove shoes.
Headed to the lounge area, read on FlyerTalk that there’s two lounges that we can use. There’s one operated by SkyTeam partner Delta Air Lines and another operated by Brit Air’s handling agent Aviance. Both these lounges are on the same level right next to each other. The Delta one looked the most interesting so decided to use that one. They had a selection of sandwiches. Never looked at the drinks selection as all I wanted was an orange juice.
Boarding the Brit Air flight, nothing much to say really, the aircraft was too small to attach an airbridge so you just walk out of the gate and up the aircraft steps. The aircraft interior looked dated but clean. Catering consisted in a choice of a chicken or salmon sandwich both looked reasonable. Usual selection of drinks seemed available (tea, coffee, water, fruit juice, soft drinks, alcohol) decided just to have another orange juice and relax a bit. The flight was on time.
On arrival at Strasbourg we were bussed to the terminal. Small aircraft meant very small queue at passport control. Then when at the baggage reclaim a bit of confusion arose as the luggage was put on the wrong belt. It was put on the belt for domestic arrivals which meant that the bags never had to pass through customs (which was unmanned anyway). Decided on a taxi to the hotel, just under 25 Euros.
Overall, Gatwick is definitely my second choice London airport behind London City. It has good rail connections, I’ve never had any long lines at security and has decent facilities. I can definitely recommend staying at the Sofitel if your budget stretches to it.The main drawback with Gatwick is it seems to be neglected by many main airlines who’d rather base their operations at Heathrow, this means I don’t get to use Gatwick very often, twice in a year is my record.
The Brit Air service for Air France to Strasbourg is the only service from either Air France or KLM that is based in Gatwick. In fact I’m fairly certain out of all the European SkyTeam operators none of them offer regular services from Gatwick. It’s a different situation altogether for SkyTeam’s US based airlines Delta, Continental and Northwest, they all operate services out of Gatwick but this is due to the difficulty of getting departure slots to the US from Heathrow.