First Time International Flyer: Booking Air France Premium Economy

Old Jul 12, 2016, 8:40 pm
  #1  
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Question First Time International Flyer: Booking Air France Premium Economy

Hi all! This is my 1st post to this great forum. We are planning a trip to Paris in the spring. We looked at pricing on Airfrance.us and thought premium economy looked like a nice upgrade over economy.

Our flight plan will take us from KC to Detroit (via partner Delta) and then to Paris via (Air France).

If anyone can help answer questions, I would GREATLY appreciate it!

1. Is there an equivalent to Premium Economy on the Delta portion of flights (KC to Detroit) if we buy the flight intinerary as premium economy on Airfrance.us?

2. If you have done a similar US connection and then intercontinental Air France premium economy flight, do you get priority checkin/security/boarding on your Delta portion of the flight (such as KC to Detroit)?

3. Are you subject to Air France's baggage rules or Delta's? (Air France website claims to allow 2 checked bags free and 2 carry-on + personal item)

Thanks in advance for your responses!
Jeff

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Old Jul 13, 2016, 12:12 am
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Hi

1. AF premium economy is a separate cabin with much better seats, slightly better food, and noise cancellation headphones on some flights, while on DL the best you can hope for is "Comfort Plus", which is a seat in one of the front rows of the main cabin with slightly increased leg room and free snacks from business class (in case they don't eat them all).

2. No idea -- I always get priority boarding because of my status. But I think that DL should comply to AF rules. To make sure just try to give them a phone call

3. Again, it's better to call

P.S.: If there is such an option, try to book via JFK and connect to AF007 operated on Airbus-380. Their PE cabin is nicer than one on A340. And the noise level in A380 is substantially lower than on "conventional" A340/B777
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Old Jul 13, 2016, 12:14 am
  #3  
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chil, thanks for the reply! I will definitely make the call to see about getting it ironed out. Thanks for the suggestion on the plane type!
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Old Jul 13, 2016, 4:33 am
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As a 1st time International passenger you might want to consider a slightly longer layover, especially at ATL. "Spring" can definitely come with fine weather, both in Paris and the US, but if you have bad luck "spring" weather can also include fog, winds or even snow. Delays do happen and your 1h 31m could in theory be reduced if you encounter delays. It is do-able (I would do it!) but if you lack experience navigating through large airports (ATL being huge of course) then you might appreciate a stress-free layover.
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Old Jul 13, 2016, 7:33 am
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Originally Posted by chil
Hi

1. AF premium economy is a separate cabin with much better seats, slightly better food, and noise cancellation headphones on some flights, while on DL the best you can hope for is "Comfort Plus", which is a seat in one of the front rows of the main cabin with slightly increased leg room and free snacks from business class (in case they don't eat them all).
I personally have been op-upped to AF Premium Economy twice in the last year, and have disliked it both times (although once I didn't sleep the night before so I slept through the whole flight and woke up with a neck ache).

The seats don't recline in the traditional fashion - this is to keep the "shell" and prevent someone in front of you from taking up your space - but instead it just "slides" downwards. This is comfortable for shorter people, but for people over 6 feet, is quite uncomfortable.

I have never had better food in AF PE. It is the same food they serve in Economy. AF PE does have noise canceling headphones, though.

Regarding DL Comfort +, they don't give any of the business class service items to the Main Cabin/Comfort + officially. Not sure where anyone got this from. At times, the cabin crew may offer individuals with status a ramen noodle or pack of Milano cookies lying around the cabin, but this is far from official procedure and should not be expected at all.
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Old Jul 13, 2016, 9:06 am
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To answer your question:

1. I have no experience with booked AF PE but partly operated by DL, DL may give you their economy comfort for you, which there's not much difference/

2. Air France's PE has sky priority, which means you can use the SP line for CI, SP line for security in ATL/CDG, SP line for passport control in CDG, that's a huge advantage if you are in a high season. (although I believe there's no low season in CDG)

3. If yoe're ticketed 057 (AF) or 074(KL) in PE, you are entitled 2*23kg bag, no matter where you depart or where is your final destination.

BTW: I will also avoid A340, unless you would like try on these old birds cause they will be no more in the near future.
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Old Jul 13, 2016, 10:17 am
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Thank you!

All that have replied thus far... THANK YOU so much for your tips and recommendations. These will greatly help plan!:-:
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Old Jul 13, 2016, 12:38 pm
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Originally Posted by btonkid12345
I personally have been op-upped to AF Premium Economy twice in the last year, and have disliked it both times (although once I didn't sleep the night before so I slept through the whole flight and woke up with a neck ache).

The seats don't recline in the traditional fashion - this is to keep the "shell" and prevent someone in front of you from taking up your space - but instead it just "slides" downwards. This is comfortable for shorter people, but for people over 6 feet, is quite uncomfortable.
I fly PE on AF across the Atlantic several times a year. The leg room in PE is substantially larger -- it is really really bad in AF Y. Regarding the recline -- it's a matter of taste. I find it OK on BOS-CDG and JFK-CDG flights which are 5.5-6.5h long, so I mostly work or watch movies. On longer flights (LAX-CDG) it's a bit more problematic. Also, they provide power outlets in PE but not in Y.

I have never had better food in AF PE. It is the same food they serve in Economy. AF PE does have noise canceling headphones, though.
The main course choice is the same as in Y, but desserts/salads are much better.

Regarding DL Comfort +, they don't give any of the business class service items to the Main Cabin/Comfort + officially. Not sure where anyone got this from. At times, the cabin crew may offer individuals with status a ramen noodle or pack of Milano cookies lying around the cabin, but this is far from official procedure and should not be expected at all.
Reading this: http://www.delta.com/content/www/en_...fort-plus.html I can see: "Take advantage of your time in the air with access to Sky Priority boarding, dedicated overhead bin space, extra legroom, superior snacks on longer flights, free drinks, and complimentary premium entertainment." I had those snacks on BOS-DTW, even though I wouldn't consider it a "longer flight". They offer a snack basket to business class passengers and the same basket then goes to C+ with whatever is left.
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Old Jul 13, 2016, 3:12 pm
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C+ does tend to get the snack basket. But IMO there's really nothing especially great in that basket so whether that's a notable plus really depends on how much you value candy bars and the like.

PE is always a matter of perspective. Someone who's used to long-haul business class will have a different view on it than someone who's never flown anything but economy. PE is not to be confused with business class, but if you have significant issues with the seat comfort, width and pitch in economy, it's worth spending the extra money on it.
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Old Jul 13, 2016, 5:14 pm
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Originally Posted by chil
I fly PE on AF across the Atlantic several times a year. The leg room in PE is substantially larger -- it is really really bad in AF Y. Regarding the recline -- it's a matter of taste. I find it OK on BOS-CDG and JFK-CDG flights which are 5.5-6.5h long, so I mostly work or watch movies. On longer flights (LAX-CDG) it's a bit more problematic. Also, they provide power outlets in PE but not in Y.

Reading this: http://www.delta.com/content/www/en_...fort-plus.html I can see: "Take advantage of your time in the air with access to Sky Priority boarding, dedicated overhead bin space, extra legroom, superior snacks on longer flights, free drinks, and complimentary premium entertainment." I had those snacks on BOS-DTW, even though I wouldn't consider it a "longer flight". They offer a snack basket to business class passengers and the same basket then goes to C+ with whatever is left.
On your first point, perhaps the length of my flight made the non-reclinable (at an angle) seat worse. It was CDG-NRT, a nearly 12 hour flight. And my height like exacerbated it. The legroom is greater than regular economy (unless you are in one of those sweet seats without anyone in front of you).

Regarding C+ snacks on DL...this is mainly for domestic flights longer than 900 miles. This snack basket usually has oatmeal bars, fresh fruit of some sort (usually bananas) for breakfast, Sun Chips, Twix, Savannah-made cookies (whether key lime variety as they've had recently, or the original almond flavor), Wise chips, etc. When I sit in first domestically, I usually have to ask for Twix or Sun Chips if I want them as they do NOT pass these in first (and if you migrate to the DL board, you will see folks complain as those snacks are usually preferred to what they have in the First snack basket on medium-length flights).

That page seems like it needs updating...all premium entertainment is complimentary for the entire plane now regardless of flight length, and all beer/wine/spirits are free on international flights for the whole plane too. The snack basket you refer to is for domestic service only; it is not part of the norm for international service, and like I said sometimes may include some leftover half sandwiches, Milanos, and ramen noodles that they sometimes have available as snacks for J.
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Old Jul 15, 2016, 9:05 pm
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Originally Posted by jefferysmasters
Is there an equivalent to Premium Economy on the Delta portion of flights (KC to Detroit) if we buy the flight intinerary as premium economy on Airfrance.us?
In order to get "Comfort+" (basically extra legroom) your DL portions must book into W class (which either helpfully or confusingly is the same class as AF Premium Economy). If you book via delta.com, you can easily get an itinerary this way, simply pick the "Premium Economy" fare (and verify that all segments are listed as W class). Note that DL will only sell AF W if the cheapest AF W fares are available (AF A class = DL W class for the TATL segment).

airfrance.us appears to sell the DL segments as "Premium Economy", but I can't tell if they actually book into DL W, or if it's just a quirk of airfrance.us and they actually book into regular economy (sorry, "main cabin"). AF asserts it can't assign seats on these segments, but you should be able to (via delta.com) after booking (not at 30 hours before check-in), and that would immediately tell you which cabin you're in. (Oh, sorry, there's only one cabin. Which "experience" you've booked.)
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Old Jul 16, 2016, 4:22 am
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just flew AF business and frankly it was a big disappointment..service..food..old 340aircraft..in flight entertainment from the 70's..don't waste money take delta
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Old Jul 16, 2016, 6:46 am
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Originally Posted by Turaj
just flew AF business and frankly it was a big disappointment..service..food..old 340aircraft..in flight entertainment from the 70's..don't waste money take delta
That would be relevant if the person in question was deciding between Delta and AF (he isn't) or was flying business (he isn't).
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Old Jul 16, 2016, 8:34 am
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Originally Posted by Ber2dca
That would be relevant if the person in question was deciding between Delta and AF (he isn't) or was flying business (he isn't).
Never mind that AF has a variety of different business options as well. Old A340 business vs. the 777 reverse herringbone 1-2-1 business are night and day different.

Keith
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Old Jul 16, 2016, 7:39 pm
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Originally Posted by jefferysmasters
Hi all! This is my 1st post to this great forum. We are planning a trip to Paris in the spring. We looked at pricing on Airfrance.us and thought premium economy looked like a nice upgrade over economy.

Our flight plan will take us from KC to Detroit (via partner Delta) and then to Paris via (Air France).

If anyone can help answer questions, I would GREATLY appreciate it!

1. Is there an equivalent to Premium Economy on the Delta portion of flights (KC to Detroit) if we buy the flight intinerary as premium economy on Airfrance.us?

2. If you have done a similar US connection and then intercontinental Air France premium economy flight, do you get priority checkin/security/boarding on your Delta portion of the flight (such as KC to Detroit)?

3. Are you subject to Air France's baggage rules or Delta's? (Air France website claims to allow 2 checked bags free and 2 carry-on + personal item)

Thanks in advance for your responses!
Jeff

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It depends what the class fare is. For domestic routes, Delta's Comfort+ is W fare. Because the flight from MCI-DTW is under 900miles, you only get regular snacks and alcohol drinks (no "enhanced" snacks). Comfort+ will give you Sky Priority boarding (before Zone 1, after Premium) and extra legroom.

Btw, the AirFrance reps in the US are just Delta reps, so it may be easier to just call them to get a more definite answer. You can also purchase your ticket from Delta.com instead of AirFrance.us if you like managing your flights through Delta.
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