Air France

KIX-CDG. Flight departed on time and after the terrible and insufficient meal service attendants passed and lowered all window blinds I refused to close mine (the main reason I chose this flight though I know how mediocre AF is was exactly because I wanted to avoid a night flight) and 3 different attendants came to ask me (politely though) to close it since most passengers wanted to either sleep (it was 2 in the afternoon) or watch a film. Most windows shields were only opened upon landing this is 10 hours later! During the second meal service (even worse than the first one) a hostess dared wake up the passenger sleeping next to me in order to offer him a tray . I consider this a lack of respect. I read that they are trying to raise their standards in order to match the Gulf and other Asian airlines but they still have a very long way to go.

A380 JFK-CDG-VRN and back. The service was very good on both flights. Flight attendants were very polite attentive and friendly. All requests were given promptly. The check-in escort experience at JFK was very good. The agent visited me in the lounge to make sure everything was ok engaged in small talk escorted me to the plane and introduced me to the FAs. The food on flight out of JFK was average for first class. The seat privacy may not be an enclosed suite but it is far enough from other seats to feel the privacy. I am not a privacy freak American anyway. IFE/TV may not be as good but it is not the thing I care since I rarely watch anything on the flights. Bed quality and size were very good. The lounge experiences in Paris is nothing to compare! Nothing comes close to Air France First Class Lounge experience. The design of the lounge is modern and tasteful. Everybody at Air France First Lounge was friendly attentive. They also leave you alone to give privacy but when you gave the sign that you need anything you get fast/polite/genuine responses. Every agents that will give me some service/escorts came to introduce themselves and engaged in small talks. The massages were very good. The food and wine were also the highlight. Food quality/presentation/taste and service were on par with top restaurants. The Limo escorts to the flights were very nice and made me feel like a king. The agent from the first visit remembered my return flight to JFK. While he couldn't be there that day he sent over another agent to come say goodbye and wished me a good flight while I was seated on the plane. CDG-JFK service was even better the FAs were very professional genuinely friendly and attentive. The food out of CDG was much better. Arrival escort at JFK was good. She walked with me all the way outside to send me off with Delta Agent for my connecting flights. All in all the best experience I ever got in first class.

AF 184 CDG-HKG with Boeing 777. Seat plus in Economy class on Emergency exit so plenty of space for the legs. Food was ok not gourmet-cuisine but a lot (snacks dinner sandwich ice cream snacks breakfast). Crew very nice. I was expecting a horrible long flight it actually turned out to be one my most enjoyable AF flights in Economy. On the other hand Flight back to Paris with KLM on the old 747 half cargo was a bad joke.

Flew CDG-BKK-CDG with the awful Boeing 777-300ER (77W) that Air France is using on the BKK route. Just two words: never again! The seat is very uncomfortable and is announced 32" pitch but I cannot understand how this is measured as you feel confined in a tiny space and your knees keep being hurt with the magazine holder. Forget if you are taller than 5'6". For drinking and although AF advertises about Champagne even in Economy it was not possible to obtain more than a reduced choice of beverages and of course no Champagne. As I had ordered a vegetarian meal there was no wine with my dinner and the food was bland. Staff very ineffective and chatting loudly all the time in the galley never cleaning the cabin (some rubbish have been staying on the floor for 9 hours). IFE screen is very poor. A pity for more than 900 euros comparing with other airlines for instance Thai Airways that also has a direct flight. Maybe Premium Economy or Business classes are more comfortable but Premium Eco is double price and I do not think it is worth it.

Ho Chi Minh to Paris seats in economy were good and the entertainment system was fine. We boarded on time and took off the cabin crew came round after an hour with first meal and it was ok. There was supposed to be a self service system on board but it apparently ran out of sandwiches and snacks. It was supposed to be haagen dazs ice cream but in fact it was a cheap type. The food running out is a disgrace and on such a long haul 12 hours it is the only flight I have been on with nothing to eat for 9 hours between meals. The crew could not be bothered.

Flew LHR to BKK via CDG (Economy) December 2013. Seats very narrow on Boeing 777 and less comfortable than seats on British Airways EVA and Thai Airways which I have used on flights to Bangkok previously. IFE was OK. Food outbound to BKK was good with good wine and cheese. On the return journey back from Bangkok the food was poor with some type of very fatty meat as a main course that I (and my wife) could not eat or even identify. Furthermore after the main meal it was a long long time until breakfast was served leaving myself and my fellow passengers hungry. I later established that snacks were available if you made your own way to the galley to collect them but this availability was not announced and by the time I realised (whilst visiting the toilet) all of the sandwiches and most of the ice creams had gone (NOT acceptable). Cabin crew were pleasant and polite but did not seem proactive in any way and (to me) this was evidenced by the fact that they did not bother to serve the snacks or make any announcement as to their availability. The interconnection at CDG was pretty seamless and posed no problem at all. Given the narrow and uncomfortable seats and the poor catering and associated service on the aircraft I would not recommend that you use this airline for this journey unless BA / EVA / Thai are all significantly more expensive for your chosen dates.

LAX-CDG-LAX. A positive experience. On par with the best European carriers. A380 upper deck seats are not state-of-the-art but basically lie-flat and do the job. Big entertainment screen with great options. Service was excellent; lots of smiles and effort to make comfortable. Food was better out of Paris than LA. On return flight plane's engine broke before take-off and airline put all passengers up at hotel for the night; business class got The Holiday Inn. The airline tried their best during a chaotic situation. Would fly again for sure.

Flew from Manchester to Kuala Lumpur changing at Paris CDG the outbound connecting flight was operated by flybe. We did not have seat details for this leg until check in and they seemed very perplexed at the check-in counter about what to do about onward flights in business class. The girl on the desk did not even know where KL was! After boarding the flight there was a problem with the plane and after a wait we were moved onto a different smaller plane and all allocated seat numbers then became obsolete and we ended up somewhere near the back. On the flight from Paris the choice of main course had run out before they got to us on row 7! The food was ok had better and had far worse maybe my expectations were rather high with it being a French airline. The cabin staff were very good. The seats were flat but slightly angled and as a result not quite as comfortable as could have been. I also found the fabric of the seat a bit on the scratchy side and ended up having to put a blanket between me and the seat to make it more comfortable for sleeping. Was surprised on the return leg to find the plane stopped away from the terminal and we had to be bussed in fortunately the plane was on time or this could have made catching our connection very tight. It was a very reasonable price and I would fly with them again if I could not get a good price from the likes of Emirates or Singapore airlines.

Flew MAN-CDG-HAV return. The only problem was CDG see airport review. I will use this airline again but only for direct flights not via CDG.

Paris CDG to Shanghai in an A380 F-HPJH. Brand new A380 less than a year old. Very nice seat and entertainment program. Nice service very good and caring Chinese interpreter. food was great. The only problem was that the seat wasn't very good for sleeping.