Paris Meets Cairo: A Dramatic Journey

So, folks, buckle up because we’re diving into yet another travel tale. This time, I set off for the City of Love—Paris, that is—with a winding road back home via Africa. Spoiler alert: The journey turned out to be a bit of a rollercoaster. Picture aircraft swaps, and oh, I might’ve (almost) found myself persona non grata in an entire nation. Intrigued? Let’s unravel this story.

In the coming chapters of this saga, get ready for flight assessments aplenty. We’re talking about Emirates’ A380 business class, ITA Airways riding both the A320neo and A321neo waves, Ethiopian Airlines’ chic A350-900 business class, and not forgetting American’s grand 777-300ER first class. Hotel and lounge reviews will add a cherry on top.

Why This Trip, and the Curves Along the Way

Now, unlike my usual mile-in-the-sky-only ventures, this one had a twist. Ford had his plans set for Paris, attending the DUCO Travel Summit—think “travel advisor gathering extraordinaire.” Joining him there was a no-brainer, but our flights? Solo journeys for both! So, a blend of leisure and the good ol’ reviews brought me to Paris. But my journey home wasn’t exactly a proverbial straight line, taking a twisty detour through Africa. I covered eight flight segments, totaling a whopping 17,190 miles.

Before I delve into the bookings, let’s just say, expectations? Yeah, they spiraled down faster than a plane in turbulence:

• Plan A was EasyJet from Milan to Paris. Instead, a tardy Emirates flight led to me missing my connection.
• Excitement was at an all-time high for Ethiopian Airlines’ newest A350-1000 and 787-9. Spoiler: both flights swapped, and I ended up on the mid-level A350-900s instead.
• British Airways’ swanky new 787-8 Club Suites were on the docket—until a last-minute switcheroo had me booking straight to Miami with American’s first class instead.
• And the pièce de résistance? A blunder at Cairo airport turned into a diplomatic faux pas. Let’s just say my comments went down like a lead balloon with Egyptian authorities.

Airlines: The Wings of My Adventure

You’ll find I split this trip over four separate tickets. So, here’s how it all pieced together.

The adventure kicked off with Emirates’ A380 business class from New York to Milan. Newbies to my tales, behold: typically, I’m team Emirates first class. This time, I decided to give business class a whirl.

11/05: Departed New York at 10:20 PM, reached Milan by 11:55 AM the next morning. 87,000 Skymiles plus $105.30 down the drain.

In Milan, due to an unexpected drama involving the A380 parking, I missed my connection and found myself booking Air France at the eleventh hour—using just 12,000 Flying Blue miles. Review? Let’s skip that chapter.

From Paris, next was a hop over to Rome and then Cairo with ITA Airways. Big fan of their A330-900neo and A350-900 business class, I was getting a taste of their A320neo and A321neo services this time around. $907.09 plus an optional $107 for a plus seat. A little pricy, but it did rack up those Air France-KLM Flying Blue points.

Cairo offered a tempting stopover fare to London via Addis Ababa—thank you, Ethiopian Airlines. However, instead of their brand new birds, a last-minute swap put me back on their A350-900s. $1,034.27 disembarked from my wallet.

11/11: Cairo left early at 2:20 AM with an Addis Ababa touch down at 7:20 AM.

11/12: We revived the sky high at 1:35 AM, back to London by 6:35 AM.

Returning to the States was to be onboard British Airways till destiny had other plans. So, American’s 777-300ER first class it was.

11/12: London to Miami, took off at 11:45 AM, landed at 4:45 PM. And boom went 117,500 AAdvantage miles plus $332.41 in tax tolls.

Let’s not forget the Ethiopian Airlines Business Lounge at Addis Ababa (ADD). Though the lounge reviews will be sparse this journey—they’ve been summed up in previous tales of Emirates in New York and ITA in Rome.

Hotels: Resting My Weary Bones

This escapade involved a quartet of hotel stays, three perched in Paris, one more at Addis Ababa.

In Paris, I caught up with Ford in a couple of glorious stays, starting with La Reserve Paris—an exquisite, intimate little gem packing 40 rooms with a touch of Palace cred.

Our second Parisian stop was Le Bristol Paris, an iconic landmark with a vibe worlds apart from La Reserve, but brilliant nonetheless.

Eventually, before bouncing on an early flight, I took a pitstop at the Moxy Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. From palaces to pleasantries, it proved charmingly convenient.

During my extensive layover in Addis, I made use of Ethiopian Airlines’ gratis transit hotel courtesy. Skylight In-Terminal lived up to its daylight name.

The Bottom Line

There you go—a zippy glimpse into my latest get-up-and-go from Paris, looping back home through Africa’s vast skies. Sure, unplanned aircraft swaps rearing their mischevious heads and getting wrapped up in Egyptian entanglements wasn’t on the itinerary, but hey, it’s all part of the journey.

Hold your hats, more tales are on the wind. In the meantime, take a wander through the snowy Val Seny ski resort.