Review: Air France Business Class Lounge CDG Terminal 2E Hall K

~ cswada

A decent business class lounge that offers good desserts and a good assortment of alcohol, but lacks features for children.

This visit occurred in April 2023.

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Location

This lounge can be found in Paris Charles De Gaulle (CDG) airport in Terminal 2E (Hall K). There are three business class lounges in Terminal 2E (Halls K, L, and M) and mainly chose this one since it was closest to the security checkpoint. Normally I would say to choose a lounge closest to your gate, but many airports in Europe do not announce a gate early enough to give you a sense of which lounge is located in the best position, which is a bit unfortunate. Terminal 2E of CDG airport only contains non-Schengen gates, so your only chance of visiting this lounge is if you are traveling to a destination outside most of Europe.

The signage in the airport make this lounge easy to find. Just past security and immigration, there are signs on the left that help guide you along the way and you’ll find the entrance right under the Starbucks sign (which is a classier way of saying it than right next to the restrooms). The one benefit of this lounge location is it’s also right next to a Laudrée, so if you need a last-minute gift to bring to loved ones, this is an easy opportunity.

Access Rules

We accessed this lounge because we were flying in Air France business class. Other methods to gain access include:

  • La Première First Class (for you plus a guest, but you should be in the first class lounge in this case)
  • Business class on a SkyTeam airline (assuming it’s not a business class lite fare)
  • SkyTeam Elite Plus status flying in any cabin on a SkyTeam airline (for you plus a guest)
  • Purchase access for €75 or 15,000 miles

I wouldn’t recommend purchasing access at €75 per person. While it is a relaxing environment, if you must pay for access, I’d recommend instead finding a restaurant or bar in the airport instead.

Also, please note that while Priority Pass has arrangements with a subset of Air France lounges, that’s not the case in CDG airport. There is a sign just before the entrance reminding passengers with Priority Pass to go elsewhere.

Arrival and First Impressions

We arrived at the lounge and presented our boarding passes to an agent standing at the kiosk. After scanning our boarding passes, we were warmly welcomed and directed to choose seating in either of the rooms to the left or right. We ended up going left and found most seating already taken. Since there were six of us, it was a little challenging to find a good section for all of us, at least until we discovered the upstairs section at this lounge, where we found plenty of space.

Lounge Seating

It seemed like people were actively avoiding the upstairs section either because people didn’t know about it or because it’s a little more inconvenient going up and down the stairs. This section does have its own selection of food and drinks, so it’s not like you’ll need to head downstairs when you get hungry. Though note that there were a few extra options downstairs, but nothing major.

There is some view of the apron from this lounge, but this is pretty much all you’ll get as you head up and down the stairs. So if you were hoping for some great views while seated, you won’t get it here.

If you turn right instead of left, you will find a larger section of seats but note there is no upstairs section on this side. The spa (not complimentary) and showers are also on this side. The food and drinks on offer on this side are the same as on the left side, so don’t expect some hidden treats here.

Food

There is a decent selection of food at this lounge, with quality mostly in line with other business-class lounges in Europe. I was hoping for some better breads given we were in France, but sadly I didn’t find it here. There are some hot options here, but aside from some light sampling, I didn’t indulge given we were going to be eating soon on the plane. Keep in mind the flavors here seemed more catered to adult tastes, so if you have younger children with you, they may struggle to find something substantial (aside from the simple pasta that’s otherwise a bit dry if you do not mix it with something else).

The lounge does have an above-average amount of desserts, so that’s where I spent most of my limited appetite. I found the quality here to be better than the main dishes.

Found throughout the lounge are a number of drink stations where you can act as your own bartender. Personally, I prefer it if someone makes a mixed drink for me, but that doesn’t exist in this lounge. Instead, I stuck to the wine and champagne. When in Paris…

Shower Facilities

I gained a reputation among Jenn’s parents for always hitting up the showers in an airline lounge. I just do it for blog research of course. The showers are easy to find as there is some signage to help you along the way.

Once inside the shower room, you’ll find a fairly modern design with good temperature controls and a nice bench. Conveniently, they also provide a few single-use items proactively, such as a comb, toothbrush, and a deodorant wipe (I didn’t use that so I can’t comment on its effectiveness). Toiletries are by Clarins, the same company promoting the spa in the lounge. I didn’t use the spa, but the toiletries were good. Certainly no complaints here at this shower!

Recommendation: Yes

The Air France lounge at CDG Terminal 2E Hall K is good and functional, and is worth a trip if you have access, but it’s probably not good enough to spend extra time here if you would otherwise be sacrificing time in the city. If you end up spending less than an hour in this lounge, I think you’ll find it enjoyable.

There aren’t any special features to make this lounge memorable. The desserts are good, but aren’t great enough to make it worth the trip. At the same time, there’s nothing here to make me say you should avoid this lounge over other options. I didn’t get a chance to try out the other Air France lounges in this terminal, so I can only make a judgment based on its own merits and think it’s fine. I’d say it’s a better lounge experience than the British Airways offerings at LHR for most people (ignoring the children’s play area in Galleries South). This Air France lounge unfortunately has nothing to offer to entertain your children.

Have you been to any of the Air France lounges at CDG? How do the other lounges compare?

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