XL Airways France

I booked XL Airways well in advance as we were looking for a great price to fly our family of 5 from San Francisco to Paris in June. I read all the negative reviews and decided to take a chance with this low cost operator. We had an excellent experience. We were prepared for delays and extra charges. What we experienced was excellent cheerful service from check in to arrival. The flights were efficient and on time in both directions. We paid extra to check bags and get better seats, but we still saved hundreds of dollars per flight. If I needed water when service wasn't offered, I simply went to the back and asked. It was good to stretch my legs on a long flight. They even fed us two meals that were included in the price. The seats were uncomfortable, but I was prepared for some discomfort. If you're looking to save some money on a flight to Europe, this is a great choice.

This was the least expensive flight I saw advertised and was not as bad as some reviews had made me fear. The legroom is scarce for a taller person (I am 5 foot 9) and it seemed that this flight was slightly longer than it actually was. The food was average, but, given the price, I cannot say I won't fly this airline again.

Had an 11.55pm flight. Get to airport at 8.30 pm for check in - no one at desk. Sign says delayed until 6.30am. They start checking in at 9.30pm. Tell us we can't leave. Give some food vouchers and we have to sleep on the floor. Start boarding at 8 am with busses to take us out to the plane since they lost the gate. Finally leave at 9.00am. Lost a whole day of trip with no compensation. No TV or movies. One meal. Coming home another 3 hour delay with no information. Next time pay the extra.

This was by far the worst flight I have ever experienced, and I am sad that I have to take them home for my return. The flight began with being delayed by over half an hour (we were made aware of this and this is the least of my concerns). I was assigned seat 17J - it had a broken seat belt (it was missing the entire part that the buckle clicks into. Luckily the flight was not full and I was able to move. I could not get any of the outlets under the seats to work, and I have never been on an international flight that did not at least have TV screens built into the seats and a USB port for passengers to charge their devices. The closest TV screen to me was in row 15 in the middle. The majority of of the films shown ended up having squiggly lines running through the screen so I could not watch and/or even make out the subtitles from where I was sitting. On this flight of roughly 10 hours, I was also shocked that the staff walked aroung only twice offering water outside of the food service. During dinner I enquired about getting a soda and they said there would be a charge! 15 minutes after that I asked a flight attendant if I could purchase a soda, and she informed me that the drink service was over and I would have to go to the back of the plane to purchase. Overall I am disappointed, for what I paid for this flight, the service was completely inadequate.

This airline offers cheap flights to Paris but, you get what you paid for. I took a round trip flight from NY to Paris in July 2015, and it was one of the worst experiences I have had. The airplanes I took were old model, they did not have TV's, they had monitors. Because the planes were so old, the seats were extremely uncomfortable. There is no option to push your seat back because there was no space! Even if you had that option, it would be almost cruel to the person sitting behind you. I am 5’1 and my knees were almost touching the seat in the front. So if you are taller than 5’3, the economy ticket of this airline is not for you. I had to stand up a few times during the flight in order to have some blood circulation though my legs. Also, if you are a person who likes air conditioning, their planes are room temperature. Meaning, for me, it was hot throughout the whole flight. The food was decent, but the flight attendants were rude. You are only allowed to get water or coffee with your meal, for everything else, you have to pay extra. $4 for a can of coke! Overall, it was a nightmare for me, mostly because I was so uncomfortable, spending 8 hours in a hot small space was not pretty. So if you have the money to pay a little extra and have a better experience, do it.

XL Airways provided a great service for the price. I am not skinny by any definition and am 6ft 1 but the seats were as comfortable as economy on any of the big name carriers. Staff was professional and genuinely seemed to want to make the 7.5 hr flight as comfortable as possible. If your budget stretches to first class on one of the major carriers with a comfortable bed and Michelin starred dining then you shouldn't be booking on XL Airways France if on the other hand your budget would normally have you in steerage on any of the other airlines and you want to save money to do something fun at your destination book XL Airways.

My sister and I flew to and from JFK to Paris (CDG) this past weekend and had an excellent experience. All the processes from checking-in to customer service to inflight to claiming our luggage to doing it all over again on our way back were flawless. I was impressed at the level of professionalism the airline's personnel exhibit. Our flight was on time out of JFK and 10 minutes late out CDG. Both ways we arrived on time. Our luggage was not lost but instead it was delivered promptly and with all the contents. The seats are just like any other airline. They're small yes. They are comfortable enough I chose to sit in the middle and do not regret it. The food is airplane food. Any real traveler knows what that means. It doesn't come from a 5-star restaurant nor is it cooked by a Michelin star awarded chef. But it's not bad either. The inflight entertainment was good too. We watched 3 movies we very much enjoyed and had no technical problems with the entertainment system. Our experience was much better those I've had with the big names. I would fly again with this airline.

We traveled from JFK to Paris the flight was on time the staff more than friendly. Our baggage was over and didn't charge us a dime extra each of my 3 children were entertained by movies TV shows or music that was provided by individual screens. The food was nothing but typical airline food! Really what do you expect? Eat a good meal prior to your flight. We arrived on time as for as charging for water that is ludicrous! They walked around the entire time offering water! Our experience on the way back was exactly the same. Very satisfied. I would save the money and use it for your destination.

Most of my party was on XLF1670 CDG-PTP 28th June. There was a notification late the evening before that the flight would be "late". By arrival at the airport it was confirmed that indeed it was - by 3 days. Absolute chaos at CDG with XL's systems falling apart not enough staff all but one of those standing around doing nothing all information entered by hand since they had no method to get passengers accommodation etc. I'm lucky in that I was able to rebook via Air France (amazingly XL did reimburse for their failure). The rest of my party was on the same flight but on 1st July. Nine hours of delay arrival at 04.30. Summary: XL doesn't have as many planes as they book flights for. They hire in planes as far as can be seen wherever obtainable on the charter market. If the supplying airline has problems - the 1st July flight was on an antique jumbo - XL will just not bother flying. If you want to save a little on the flight cost - assuming you can actually buy at a price which is first visible - be aware that there is a high chance it will go wrong.

Just had a round trip MIA-CDG / CDG MIA. I cannot complain about anything. The timing was right very clean. Yes no inflight entertainment but who does not have some sort of personal electronic device these days. Got my iPad uploaded 4 movies for the trip and everything went fine. The crew was very polite. The food? Way better than AA. I was able to upgrade to the Galaxy seating option. Not the equivalent of a full first class accommodation yet very comfortable with a very good service. The price overall was not bad upgrade included!