For the next four hours, I slept deeply and was woken up just in time for breakfast: scrambled eggs topped with truffles, fresh fruit, and some more hot tea. As we descended into Paris, a live camera feed of the approach played on the large screen in front of me, a small but unexpectedly moving detail that made our arrival feel straight out of a movie.
Post-flight: CDG airport
As expected by now, I was met the moment the plane doors opened: no struggling to get my bags up the walkway, no waiting in the aisle. Within minutes I was brought directly to a private exit adjacent to our gate, from which a Porsche whisked me away to passport control. I didn’t even need to get out of the car—my driver collected my passport, walked it inside, and within minutes returned ready to go. It was the kind of detail that makes you realize how much of the exhaustion surrounding air travel stems not from the flying itself, but from all the little tasks and stressors required to get to and from the plane. Just like that, we were back on our way into the airport for the crown jewel of Air France’s ground experience: the La Première Lounge at Terminal 2E in CDG.
Designed by Paris-based architect Didier Lefort, the 11,000-square-foot space is utterly serene. Much larger than its LAX counterpart, the space was divided into distinct zones, all while feeling fluid: a library, a large bar area, a relaxation area, and a handful of different seating areas, just to name a few. Despite its scale, though, it still felt intimate due to the inherently small number of passengers granted access here. For high-profile individuals seeking complete privacy, there are three fully-enclosed suites inside that can be reserved for rest or work. As with the outbound lounge and in-flight experience, there were some impressive food options available like Air France’s signature elbow pasta dish, croissants, baguettes and butter, scallops, and so much more.
The true luxury of this lounge are the private shower suites, which would not feel out of place in a five-star hotel spa. Each suite is outfitted with a Dyson hair dryer, a robe, several fresh towels, more Sisley products, and plenty of space to lay out your suitcase. After an 11-hour overnight flight, that shower was a moment of pure transformation. I nearly skipped it—“How great can an airport shower be?” I naively thought—but I’m glad I didn’t. Within minutes, I felt refreshed, reset, and ready to take on my day in Paris without missing a beat. My ride to the hotel was yet another private Porsche, allowing me a final quiet moment to linger in the dreamlike haze that was my past 12 hours.
How to book
An experience as luxurious as this is priced as such, with round-trip tickets from the US to Paris starting at $13,000. The suites are not bookable with points unless you hold top-tier Flying Blue status, and upgrades from business class are unheard of, even when seats are empty. Every element of this experience, from access to execution, is designed to preserve its mystique and glamour.
