Air France

AF BUD-CDG-HKG 4 Nov 2014. BUD-CDG on A321. Uneventful flight however seating on board AFs A321 fleet is not too comfortable. Pitch and width quite tight. Connection in CDG (late evening) a breeze - hardly any other passengers at passport control did not have to go through security again. CDG-HKG an A380. Upper deck economy seating feels much more private - and the boarding process is usually quicker as you get to join a separate line for upper deck (only 8 rows). Onboard service good nice meals for ecoonomy (and even a hot breakfast). bars are set up on both decks with drinks and snacks (ice cream is a nice touch). Seats on AF's A380 are quite spacious - more width than Emirates and ample pitch. Easily one of the best longhaul economy experiences. The IFE is usable but not top- notch (anymore) - the responsiveness of the screen is annoying. The selection of movies and TV shows is not very large but okay. All in all a nice experience at a very competitive price.

CDG-KL travelled long haul with Air France for the first time. Had heard that the Premium Economy seats were uncomfortable but that turned out to be an understatement. They were as hard as park benches. I had to resort to scrounging cushions from other seats to sit on - not worth the price premium. Leg room was OK and could extend my legs fully under seat in front (I'm 62"). The food was OK but the service appalling. No attempt was made to deliver an aperitif before the food but rather had to be requested at the same time. Took a good 45 minutes for them to come and clear away the plates with all the attendant issues of having it left there on the tray. No offers of digestif despite being listed on the menu. During the cabin darkness period was not approached a single time to be offered a drink hot flannel etc. The only time I saw crew during this time was when I got up to walk front to back of the plane and discovered a couple of them in the galley reading magazines. All in all doesn't come anywhere near Emirates or Singapore so would actively look to avoid in future for long haul.

CDG-Miami (round trip). On CDG-MIA flight we had a lovely staff who seemed happy to serve passengers. In return the crew seemed so tired. Some didn't say a word to passengers and others yawned. Air France product has fallen a lot in recent years and it's sad to see such a different quality between the 2 flights.

Booked flights MAN-CDG-ATL and return 9 months ago before our trip we reserved seats online as soon as we were allowed. On checking a few days before our departure I discovered the seat reservations had been cancelled by AF. Had to phone AF Heathrow who explained it was due to "operational needs" but he reserved us middle of the plane seats in both directions as no window seats available on reaching CDG I asked for an explanation and was told it was a problem with Delta (flight was codeshare). On the flight despite asking for the meat option meal all we could get was the vegetarian option which was just about edible-we were 25 rows from the back. The seats were not comfortable to begin with so you can imagine how we felt after a 9 hour flight.

JFK-CDG-AMS. Check in at JFK - friendly staff but boarding announcements not clear and confusing (A380). Premium Economy bought at airport - although comfortable I find the price is not truly value for money. Food and staff good to excellent. Hassle free transfer at CDG including entering Schengen and additional security check.

London - Rio de Janeiro via Paris A330-200. Good flights overall. I paid £50 for an exit row seat one way at the time of booking which I think was good value on a £500 return flight and the configuration of 2-4-2 is good as it means only ever one person to climb over regardless of seat position. My baggage didn't make it to Rio although the connection was tight and they were punctual with delivery in Rio the day after. Food onboard was pretty good although IFE left a bit to be desired - not all that much choice available. Overall the experience was good and at around £490 at the cheaper end for Europe to Brazil - Paris CDG is a ridiculous airport to transfer through. It's a huge maze and you do security again despite having just done it in London 45 min before.

Oct 23 AF SFO-CDG-NCE. Economy - reserved seats on SFO-CDG in advance. Chose seats on top level of A380 as there's less movement around the cabin compared to downstairs. FA's were friendly. Food average but was given champagne upon asking. Discovered the 'bar' upon going to the back of the plane to the toilets. Sweets ice cream soft drinks. They don't wait on people much outside of the organized mealtimes but it doesn't bother me to get up and fetch a drink as it's an opportunity to stretch my legs. Boarding at SFO was quick as there were several airbridges and we were boarded first. The problem came from the transfer at CDG. AF changed our flight to Nice because SFO-CDG was leaving later (due to delayed arrival) except they booked us on a flight out from Orly the other side of Paris. The check-in guy at SFO airport managed to change us to a flight out of CDG. However the flight SFO-CDG caught up on the delay and arrived on time in CDG so we then had to queue at the transfer desk to get back on our original flight CDG to Nice! We were dubious about our baggage making the transfer - but it did! AF doesn't match some other airlines but the ticket was cheaper so I'm not complaining. I liked the A380. The CDG-NCE was uneventful with a drink and a packet of biscuits - surely they could do better than that?

LA to Amsterdam via KLM and yesterday October 21 2014 returned from Paris to LA on their partner Air France [AF]. I received an email ahead of time from AF regarding online check in only to be informed I needed a visa or green card and could not check in except at the airport. We arrived 3 hours ahead of departure time went to obtain boarding passes and check in our one bag each only to find it was all done electronically. There were long lines in front of each machine with much confusion and unfamiliarity with the how to navigate the process. One in front of us took at least 10 minutes to complete the process. After 25 minutes we entered another long line to drop off our check in bags which took another 15-20 minutes. At no point were our carry-on bags weighed as they were with KLM. We then walked about 10 minutes to enter the longest line yet which was for passport control and after few minutes were “randomly” selected to go to another line for carry on weight and size control. We observed bags being shoved into a steel frame for sizing. Additionally they added purses and shoulder bags to the total weight calculation which easily put most over the limit of 12 kg. The handlers then slapped a large red AF tag on the bag marked up the boarding pass and sent us back to the baggage area. We returned to the baggage area and discovered the fee for each bag was 70 Euros about $100. When we explained this could have been avoided if our carry-ons were weighed at the same time as our check in as we could have redistributed some items. In the end we had to check in one additional bag. We arrived at our gate as the plane was boarding. While doing so we observed many passengers with 3 carryon bags. We learned many lessons not the least of which is we will not fly AF again.

AF76 to Papeete Tahiti on 10/7. Eight hour flight arrived at 5:10 AM. Required check-in in Los Angeles on transfer from Delta. No indication of location of Air France Counters outside of International Terminal. Sky Priority check-in very hectic so much that we just made it to the plane as they were boarding. Flight was okay except my traveling companion and I were separated in our seat assignments as were other travelers and the flight attendants managed to re-seat everyone except us - French speakers first.

I travel frequently with Air France to Brazil and I am always impressed with the service I get and the friendly air crew. They speak the language of the country that they fly to as well as English and their own French. They are quick to attend offer champagne as an aperitif wine with your food and also a digestive cognac after they have collected your empty food tray. It's always been a pleasure flying with them.