Air France

✅ Trip Verified | Nov 2023 Flight from Vancouver to Rome with stopover via Paris. We landed at the opposite end of the airport and had to dismount onto the tarmac in pouring rain. No overhead coverings to keep the passengers out of the wet and cold; many passengers were rightly not expecting this and not dressed accordingly. We were crammed onto a shuttle bus and transported to the security checkpoint. Plane disembarkation to security checkpoint took about 25-30 minutes. Our next flight was with Air France and the scheduled layover was 1hr 40mins. Massive lineup at the security checkpoint and were shunted to a severely understaffed overflow line. This overflow line had approx. 3 planes worth of passengers and they were being screened by 1 staff member using an old system – baggage and security trays were ferried by hand, no automation whatsoever. There was a free line next to us but that was exclusively for the 20 or so flight staff, all other passengers were ignored. It took 1hr and 10mins to get through the security checkpoint. There were arguments with passengers and staff, there were arguments with passengers and passengers as people were beginning to panic that they were about to miss their connecting flights. People were begging each other to be let through first, but all were in the same situation. Other lines to our right were moving quickly again but people were expressly forbidden by staff from transferring lines, nor did they offer to redirect. Once we were through, we went straight to our flight gate as they were beginning to final call our names over the PA system. Keep in mind we were as efficient as the airport allowed us to be, no bathroom breaks, no shopping, and walking as quickly as possible. Doors closed a few minutes after boarding and there were still at least 70 people in the line at the security checkpoint many of whom had now missed their flights through no fault of their own. At our departing flight from Venice to Vancouver (via CDG and Seattle) I had found that my PR Card was lost or stolen and denied boarding the flight; saying that the USA would not let us through. Even though I had my valid PR number, Passport and ID they would not let me board without the plastic card. The staff were not helpful or sympathetic and were offering bad immigration advice – they were insistent that we quickly purchase a tourist travel visa to Canada online – as much as we told them that was for non-residents only and even showed them policy on the Canadian Immigration website, they were insistent that was the only way they would now let us through as apparently they were now deputised as US immigration officials. We informed them that we as Permanent Residents were allowed to privately cross the US-CAN border in our own vehicle and we asked them to cancel to Seattle-Vancouver leg of the journey and let us finish the flight in Seattle. They told us to go to the ticket desk 30 meters away and try there. Once we got to the indicated ticket desk, they were confused what we were doing there and told us to go back to the Air France staff who had clearly fobbed us off, and again told us they can’t cancel the last leg of the trip.

✅ Trip Verified | Booked a flight with Air France, then had to change plans. Looked at the cancellation/refund policy and it said they would refund if cancelled within 24 hours. I thought I was within the 24 hour window, so I went to my booking to cancel. There was nothing on the cancellation confirmation saying that I was outside the 24 hour window, which I was. When I realised my mistake about 20 minutes later, I thought it was better to keep the flight than cancel and get zero refund. I went back to the website, and it said refund takes awhile to process. I didn't see anyway to stop the cancellation process. I called them and they said I need to contact the refund team, I asked how, they said they would do it for me. When I didn't hear anything the next day I called them again, lady was very unhelpful and said it couldn't be stopped when it was started. Air France kept my fare for providing zero service. Extremely unhelpful staff, and terrible website functionality.

✅ Trip Verified | If you live outside of the EU, Air France will not compensate you for a severely delayed or cancelled flight. On September 22, just a few hours before boarding an Air France flight from Vancouver to Paris, I was informed by email that Air France had cancelled my second flight from Paris to Nairobi where I was supposed to begin a safari. My only option was to take a Kenya Air flight from Paris to Nairobi, 12 hours after I landed at Charles de Gaulle airport. Usually when you are forced to wait 12 hours because your airline cancels your flight, you are offered a minimum of 600 Euro compensation (this is even written on the Air France info site). But Air France refuses to compensate me, using the loophole of an obscure 2004 regulation that states that if the flight does not originate or end within the EU, they're off the hook. First of all, my cancelled flight 814 originated in Paris, which in the middle of the EU. Secondly, since when does an international airline that flies all over the world, compensate only those who fly witin the EU? Air France has an obligation to treat all customers equally, and not give preferential treatment to customers who fly only within the EU. When I flew from Dublin to Vancouver last year, and the flight was delayed by 10 hours, Air Canada paid me compensation.

Not Verified | Air France lost our three bags, someone was in my seat on the plane. The woman who tried to help us fill out forms about our missing bags could barely use the touch screen, so we had to do it for her completely. We had to wait more than three hours after we got off the plane to get our bags at our destination after they were left in Paris (our layover). The aircraft’s wheels were exceptionally squeaky, and they screeched loudly constantly while we were on the ramp. Also, the food was terrible. It was a sloppy cream cheese and cucumber “sandwich”. It was barely edible. They forced us to check our bags in the first case despite there being plenty of open seats and thus, room to carry our bags onto the plane like normal. They needlessly created the conditions to lose our bags and followed through and succeeded in it.

✅ Trip Verified | Very disappointing and that has become the normal experience with Air France. Poor catering on board, and on a nine-hour flight no one came to offer more drinks. I went to the back to fetch my own but found that the cabin crew had sealed off our compartment (limiting 16 rows to one toilet) with locked curtains, so they can be alone. Upon arrival, there was no wheelchair for me (and this happens all the time at CDG airport). I have an artificial leg and it is difficult for me to walk long distances, yet they have me walk up the boarding bridge to the lobby, then walk outside to catch their van, where it drops you off at another terminals and you have to walk up steps and then an elevator and then a longish walk to where they have their wheelchair staff. If you wish to fly with this group, choose KLM who are efficient, they have wheelchairs available when you arrive, take you to where you want to go. We flew to Bucharest, and there has never been a wheelchair waiting for me so I guess they do not do that there. My last three trips with AF/KLM have resulted in delayed suitcases of up to a week. They arrived as expected this time, and that is the only thing Air France did correctly.

✅ Trip Verified | My seat was broken and would not fully recline and the tablet was also broken. My food was the same as economy. WiFi did not work, neither did my USB socket and power plug.

✅ Trip Verified | We booked our flight through air France from Toronto to Tangier. Routing us through Montreal, Paris then Arriving to Tangier. The first leg of the flight to Montreal was operated by WestJet. The plane was late and arrived for our connecting flight late. This cause us to miss our flight after that it was a complete chaos and unprofessional. We went to air France to book us on the next flight, air France says we should go west jet. We went to WestJet, they said to go to air France. No one wanted to take responsibility and kept sending us back and forth. Saying its the other airline fault. We were at the airport for 4 hours going back and forth. They said we should call air France to get our refund. When we called air France they said we should call WestJet to get our refund. Up to now we still have not gotten our refund.

✅ Trip Verified | I’ve been on “bad” airlines and even though the amenities may be lacking the customer service was at least decent. This cannot be said for Air France. After struggling to find room to store my luggage I had to squeeze my way up and ask the flight attendant for assistance. She told me “you need to figure that out yourself” along with “I don’t know how to help you”. I kept telling her that I wasn’t able to find bin space and that I needed help moving stuff out of the way (I’m 4’11 I can barely reach the bins) along with lifting my suitcase into a bin but she kept saying “you need to figure it out on your own”. Luckily a passenger was able to help me out.

✅ Trip Verified | I recently booked a round-trip flight from Zurich to Antananarivo with Air France, and the experience was nothing short of a nightmare. From start to finish, it was a series of mishaps and poor service that left me deeply stressed and unsatisfied. The outbound flight from Zurich was delayed by more than 30 minutes. This delay put us in a precarious situation, and we were forced to rush to catch our connecting flight at Paris CDG. The stress of almost missing our connection was certainly not the ideal way to begin a vacation. On the return journey, the problems persisted. The flight from Antananarivo to Paris CDG experienced another significant delay, causing us to miss our initial connection to Amsterdam. While we were rebooked on a later flight, the flight from Paris CDG to Amsterdam was delayed by 30 minutes. In an attempt to ensure we caught our connection in Amsterdam, we requested assistance from a flight attendant, only to be met with a disrespectful attitude and a dismissive response. Upon arriving in Zurich, the troubles continued as our luggage was nowhere to be found. Three of our bags were stuck in Amsterdam, and one in Paris CDG. We were left waiting for over 2 hours and 30 minutes for our luggage from Amsterdam to arrive in Zurich. This was particularly distressing because two of us had another flight scheduled for the following day and were uncertain whether our luggage would make it in time. As a result, we also missed our train connection from Zurich Airport to Thun. To top it all off, the in-flight meals provided by Air France were subpar at best. On the way to Antananarivo, the tomato salad had a rotten taste, and for a 10-hour flight, the meal options were shockingly limited. On the return journey, the meals were disappointing, with the second meal consisting of bread with some sauce, a cold mini croissant, a jam, and a yogurt. In summary, my experience with Air France on this trip was marred by delays, unhelpful staff, lost luggage, and inadequate in-flight meals. I expected better service and reliability for the price I paid, and this experience fell far short of those expectations.

Not Verified | I found the experience very poor compared to other airlines I have used in Europe this past year. The food quality was poor. They served drinks in tiny paper cups. The snacks were fruity flavored kids drinks that were like getting a yogurt with extra sugar. You rarely saw an attendant. The inflight entertainment was very poor.