Jan 12

Jan 12 Absolutely Fine Air France

On a trip to Europe, I decided to try some new products. Air France recently completed a revamp of it’s new business class seats on its Boeing 777-300ERs, and I was eager to give it a try. Furthermore, there was an overcapacity of flights to Paris for the Olympics, causing both hotel and airline prices to drop. Overall, this was quite a smooth flight, with all the classic French touches.

Flight: AF 375

Departing: Vancouver (YVR)

Arriving: Paris (CDG)

Operated by: 777-300ER

Cabin: Business Class

Check in and Ground Experience

Flying out of Vancouver is always a treat, as I consider it to be the best airport in North America, though there are airports with better lounges. But being a “spoke” in Air France’s hub and spoke model, the ground experience was pretty “mid”, as the kids call it. There was a check-in counter that separated into Skyteam Elites and Business Class, and regular economy. There thankfully was a lounge, though in Vancouver’s it is the “Skyteam Lounge” that services other Skyteam members, as well as Priority Pass should there be excess capacity.

The lounge itself is very airy and spacious, and being elevated allows you to look at the other passengers down below.

There was a solid drink selection, along with a wide variety of food, including dim sum, wraps, salads, mashed potatoes, to cater to the gamut of passengers that fly to Skyteam’s diverse locations. The quality was pretty low (e.g. not as fresh, not enough meat), but that for me was okay because I was waiting for the food onboard Air France.

I took a few pictures in the CDG Air France Terminal 2F lounge, and it was miles better than any non-American Express lounge in North America. There was complementary spa, although there was a 3 hour waiting time.

There were also showers that were cleaned after each use - and bear in mind this just a regular lounge!

Anyways, back to Vancouver. Boarding was done pretty efficiently, and I was one of the last ones on the flight despite getting there 30 minutes before departure!

The Seat

There are 48 lie flat pod style seats, split into 2 cabins (28 and 20), along with 24 premium economy recliner seats and 315 standard seats. The pods were split into the 1-2-1 configuration, which was my favorite as a single person who likes to take photos. The pods reminded me of Air Canada’s Executive Pods. This is personal preference on which one looks nicer, as I like Air Canada’s a tad more.

The overall cabin layout was quite good, with elegant little lights / buttons on the sides of the doors.

I appreciate how baller the Air France logo is, and how elegant it looks painted on their pods.

The seat itself is fairly standard for new business class seats, and came with a blanket, pillow and slippers. Unfortunately there were no pajamas, unlike my Eva Air flight, which is why I just brought Eva Air pajamas for this flight. Other amenities included the standard bottled water, which funnily enough is Evian like most airlines, headphones, remote control. There was a unique feature of wireless charging, though I found it charged a bit slower than expected. The actual seat controls were sleekly added on the side, along with a literature pocket / safety instructions.

The seat measure 1.98M, and has a comfortable foothold that again reminded me of Air Canada. The screen was crisp despite the picture (my Iphone camera is not), and had a fair selection of English and non-English titles.

Here is the seat in lie flat mode - there were no mattress pads given out, though the sleep quality I had was acceptable.

Overall, a solid choice of hard product, placing it on the upper tier of business class seats. There was also a sliding door, which added to the level of privacy that one felt, which IMHO is key to a modern business class seat.

Amenities

The amenity kit is where I felt Air France fell a bit short. Not on the actual outside kit itself, that looks gorgeous.

In fact, I actually have kept it as a passport / document holder for while I am travelling. The issue I had was the quantity of amenities being given.

The highlight was 2 Clarin’s moisturizing gel and Beauty Flash Balm, along with a toothbrush, toothpaste, pen, eyemask, socks and earplugs. The actual earplugs were pretty bad, but the other products were high quality. I would have preferred a bigger size of the liquids, such as a 50ML bottle, especially given how empty the kit looks.

Air France also provided unbranded slippers, and I found them perfectly sufficient for the flight.

The bathroom was also stocked with Clarin’s amenities, although in lesser quantities. The bathroom itself was nothing special, just a slightly different economy bathroom setup.

Food and Drink

A few other reviewers had hyped up the food and drink on Air France, and so I was eager to try. It started out with a paper menu, which while not the most environmentally friendly, is something I appreciate.

The pursers started with a tray of juice, water and Pommey champagne (retailing for $50) for the pre-flight drink. Unlike Air Canada, the champagne was actually good! After an hour into the flight, the meal service started, and it included a hot towel.

The meal started with a confusing, to me, amuse bouche consisting of egg and tomato.

I opted just for the starter, with the pan seared scallops acting as the highlight, and the quinoa tasting rather flavorless. However, that was made up by the bread, butter and salad, which were surprisingly fresh given we were on a plane.

Next up was the beef confit, which was fantastically seasoned and easily pulled apart.

Next up was the cheese plate, which again was very good given this is France’s national carrier.

The meal ended with an Opera cake, which I felt was alright given I couldn’t taste much flavor.

That being said, it was probably due to the amounts of liquids I had, as the choices on the Air France menu were excellent. The flight attendants also handed out some Crepes Fourrees, and my goodness they were such great cheesy delights.

Breakfast was done a couple hours before landing, and was more of the continental variety found in Europe as opposed to the massive North American ones.

Nothing spectacular here, although the bread and cold cuts were delectable, with the croissant flaking upon opening. The accompanying cereal was much better than traditional Kellogg’s, and I felt it was much healthier.

Service

French service can be hit or miss, with many an American / Redditor proclaiming how bad French service. This was certainly French service at it’s best. The purser came around, introducing himself and addressing us by name, and made sure we had a fantastic flight. Every request, no matter how little, was quickly addressed by the crew: they mastered the “baton” passing strategy where no matter who I asked, the item was promptly delivered to me. Another FA was super friendly, and gave me great advice on the Olympics and things to do in Paris. Hats off to a great crew!

The Point

Air France certainly ranks among the better business class cabins. The seat itself, while industry standard, was beautifully designed, and the food was definitely up there for most products. And like I mentioned earlier, the service was a step above the rest. The contents of the amenity kit was my biggest complaint, one which I feel could be easily rectified, along with the potential inclusion of pajamas, especially on a near 10 hour flight. Another annoyance for this leisure traveler was the time of departure at 1:30PM, although this likely helped business passengers reach their early morning Paris meetings. Otherwise, I would certainty recommend Air France for a trip to Europe, beating out it’s Germany competitor Lufthansa or Swiss Airlines for sure.

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Opinions expressed are solely the writers and do not express the views or opinions of their employers