Air France Frequence Plus - A380-800 Seating Question

I recently booked travel which includes JFK-CDG-JFK in Y on Air France's A380-800 and haven't seen much discussion on seat selection. I've never been on this aircraft but heard a lot of good things.

Delta.com shows me all the lower deck in economy with rows 10-26 being shown as preferred while airfrance.us shows these seats being blocked (I have no status on FB). Both sites show the upper deck available seating being rows 88-94. According to seatguru (and seatexpert), the upper deck seating is 81-94, behind Affaires.

I have a few questions that can hopefully be answered here:

Are rows 81-87 only available to passengers with status on FB? If so then is the only reason airfrance.us showing me the front of the plane because I have an assigned seat there from delta.com? I initially selected 11A for both flights.

I have read that the upper deck feels less cramped (8 across rather than 10)and is quieter - is that true even towards the back of the plane (say row 88 or 93)? Are there other reasons to be upstairs?

After JFK-CDG I'll have a connection with a 1:40 layover. Do I need to be as close to the front as possible or will I have enough time to deplane from the upper deck?

Thanks!

In the new configuration Premium Economy is behind Affaires

Are you sure you're looking at the right A380 config on SeatGuru? There are two. Economy starts at row 88 on the upper deck in the new config.

http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Air_France/Air_France_Airbus_A380_V2.php

Thanks for the replies. I entered my flight info and the site gave me the version with no premium economy. According to airfrance.us, my connection is in the same terminal (2E) but am still a little hesitant sitting in the back.

Worth noting that this is yet anther example of SeatGuru being horribly behind the times. All AF's A380s now have PV.

In my experience on the AF A380 coming into IAD the upper jet bridge was the first to connect, giving premium passengers a chance to beat the lower-deck economy through customs. Seems this benefit would extend to upper deck economy passengers. I was upgraded to premium economy so I wasn't too many rows in front of the upper-deck economy (which I had originally purchased/selected), and was in a fine position.

Just to add more confusion, delta.com allows 10A and 10L to be selected but you can't save it. SeatGuru/SeatExpert both correctly show that there is no 10A and 10L.

In my experience on the AF A380 coming into IAD the upper jet bridge was the first to connect, giving premium passengers a chance to beat the lower-deck economy through customs. Seems this benefit would extend to upper deck economy passengers. I was upgraded to premium economy so I wasn't too many rows in front of the upper-deck economy (which I had originally purchased/selected), and was in a fine position.

Isn't La Premiere on the lower deck and wouldn't they deplane first?

Also, how did you get upgraded to premium economy? Was it through FB status, miles, cash, ... other? :)

Thanks for the info.

... Also, how did you get upgraded to premium economy? Was it through FB status, miles, cash, ... other? :) ...

We were opup'd to Premium Economy from CDG-IAD on the 380 last month. The flight was oversold in economy. From some of the discussion with pax near us, it seems to happen fairly often.

Please continue to follow this thread in the AF Forum.
Thanks..
Obscure2k
Delta Moderator

A few notes:

Ignore any AF seatmap you see on Dl.com, as well as any seat assignments in your DL reservation. The only thing that you can assume is accurate are the seat assignments on AF.com.

Dl.com sometimes allows you to choose seats in cabins in which you don't have a ticket, e.g. I've had a C ticket and it let me choose a F seat. I assure you that even if those somehow carry over to AF.com, at one point they will remove that seat assignment and assign you another available seat in the class you booked.

I haven't flown in Voyageur in awhile, but last time I did I greatly prefer the upper deck. Quieter, and they have those storage bins on the side at the window seats.

1:40 min should be enough time to connect, especially if you are connecting all within 2E and your flight arrives on time. If you have access, use the Acess N 1 lines...they can save you a lot of time.

We were opup'd to Premium Economy from CDG-IAD on the 380 last month. The flight was oversold in economy. From some of the discussion with pax near us, it seems to happen fairly often.

While it will be a nice surprise, I'll have to assume my chances of getting such an upgrade are remote at best. :)

A few notes:

Ignore any AF seatmap you see on Dl.com, as well as any seat assignments in your DL reservation. The only thing that you can assume is accurate are the seat assignments on AF.com.

Dl.com sometimes allows you to choose seats in cabins in which you don't have a ticket, e.g. I've had a C ticket and it let me choose a F seat. I assure you that even if those somehow carry over to AF.com, at one point they will remove that seat assignment and assign you another available seat in the class you booked.

I haven't flown in Voyageur in awhile, but last time I did I greatly prefer the upper deck. Quieter, and they have those storage bins on the side at the window seats.

1:40 min should be enough time to connect, especially if you are connecting all within 2E and your flight arrives on time. If you have access, use the Acess N 1 lines...they can save you a lot of time.

Thanks for the advice. I've flown to CDG before but this will be my first time connecting.

Unfortunately no window seats are available upstairs but I took an aisle in the exit row. I'd have been upset if I got stuck in a middle seat because AF didn't acknowledge the Y seats I booked on delta.com. That'd be quite the fiasco since delta opens up about 200 seats that would otherwise be blocked by Air France.

Connecting through CDG can be a nightmare, and I've experienced nightmares there before (2hours wasn't even enough connection time bc of customs, immigration, baggage claim, transferring planes, etc).

As for your Y seating question, you can use your DL confirmation# on Airfrance.us to look up your seat assignments. I recently booked a DL-coded flight (DL8550) on the A380, and my seat assignment that I selected on Delta.com wasn't there when I checked on airfrance.us. Don't assume anything

My original seat assignment (11A) showed up on air France but those seats are blocked otherwise. I'd think they would honor it but better safe than sorry I guess. I'd have liked a window seat flying into Paris but there will be a next time.

To be honest, I wouldn't be heartbroken if I had to spend a day in Paris because of a misconnect on the outbound :). The return is a different story, but there is a later flight back to JFK that day. Either way, I hope I don't have to test air France's handling of misconnects.

Connecting through CDG can be a nightmare, and I've experienced nightmares there before (2hours wasn't even enough connection time bc of customs, immigration, baggage claim, transferring planes, etc).

As for your Y seating question, you can use your DL confirmation# on Airfrance.us to look up your seat assignments. I recently booked a DL-coded flight (DL8550) on the A380, and my seat assignment that I selected on Delta.com wasn't there when I checked on airfrance.us. Don't assume anything

The OP isn't specific about the nature of the connection but it is most unlikely he would need to claim baggage and customs. this would only happen if you fly an airline which does not have an interline agreement with AF such as a low cost airline (e.g. easyjet etc). Otherwise, connections will only involve security (much faster if you have a skyteam elite plus card or are flying business or first which would enable you to use 'acces no1' priority lanes) and immigration only if you are connecting to a flight to a Schengen area destination (most of the EU except the UK, Ireland, and for the moment Bulgaria and Romania. The area also includes Switzerland, Norway and Iceland, and Monaco, Liechtenstein, San Marino, Andorra, and the Vatican - but those five are only relevant if you are flying in a private jet or a helicopter depending on the case ;) ). Again, if this is the case, you get access to acces no 1 prioirty lanes if you are skyteam elite plus or travelling 'upfront'. If you are flying to a non-Schengen destination, you do not need to clear immigration.

@usrleetch3, may I ask when you experienced the very long connections you are talking about? Things have very significantly improved at CDG over the past few years and I can't think of any instance (regardless of departure/arrival terminals) when it would take more than an hour (going slowly and without priority access) to go from arrivals to departures. Of course I would personally recommend planning much more time if you are on two separate tickets in case the first flight is late, which can always happen. Also, if your flights are after the Autumn, things should be even easier as AF will have refocused its activities in only 3 terminals: 2E (all non-Schengen), 2F (all Schengen except regional aircraft flights), 2G (all Schengen regional aircraft flights), which should significantly speed up transfers.

I fully agree with your second point. OP should look up his/her booking on the airfrance website. It happens A LOT for people to allocate a seat on Delta which does not transfer on the AF system and vice-versa (there are exceptions but you can only know by checking on the operating airline's website). The fact that you were able to pre-allocate an exit row would make me particularly cautious. So my advice would be check asap. If it worked, great, if it did not, you can allocate a valid seat on the air france website and avoid the risk of finding yourself on the day of the flight with a middle seat on the back of the upper deck!!

To OP, re-your question about P passengers - they will deboard completely separately as they are personally picked up from the aircraft by the La Premiere transit crew. Only after this is complete will the rest of the lower deck start deboarding.

I have never flown the main deck, but yes, the "elite" cabin up top makes the plane feel small, but you have masses of room at bulkhead or exit row, but there is a real problem with bin space due to the taper of the tail. If you end up in this cabin, board early or spend a lot of time moving stuff around as the bins are really really deep but most people are too short to take advantage of this fact and it will look all full. The whole plane is quiet and you wil notice the difference with the 6.000ft cabin too.

I have made JFK-CDG 2E arrival (from 91A no less) to 2D in under 40min more than once. The extra 5 min I spent on the plane because I was in the back were more than made up by moving fast (not running, I am a little too heavy for an OJ though CDG) once I got off the plane. 1hr40 for 2E to 2E connection. No problem. All you have to worry about is one of those massive JFK delays :D I don't think I have ever flown that route without at least 1hr delay on departure. You didn't mention your onward flight so can't provide more specific help.

There are 6 Skyteam flights from CDG to JFK a day with 2 leaving after AF6 so misconnecting on the return isn't too bad. Again, without an origin on the return, can't provide more sepcific help.

Connecting through CDG can be a nightmare, and I've experienced nightmares there before (2hours wasn't even enough connection time bc of customs, immigration, baggage claim, transferring planes, etc).

As for your Y seating question, you can use your DL confirmation# on Airfrance.us to look up your seat assignments. I recently booked a DL-coded flight (DL8550) on the A380, and my seat assignment that I selected on Delta.com wasn't there when I checked on airfrance.us. Don't assume anything

Baggage claim during a CDG transit? :confused: Why? Yes, CDG is a pain, especially if you don't know where you are going, but still. I have never had (well, ok, once I had 4hrs) as much as 2hrs arriving TATL in CDG and haven't misconnected yet.

Many posts about how you need to choose your seat on the operating carrier for Skyteam TATL. However the OP's original delta chosen seat has carried over to af.com so should actually be ok.

Thanks for all the great info. I am flying JFK-CDG-DUB and back on the same route - flights are early so unless all other CDG-DUB flights are sold out I should be ok with a long JFK delay. I generally like the window but sit in the aisle during a long flight but no windows available on upper deck in Y anyway. Air France shows both legs in 2E in CDG. I'm used to my airports playing musical gates (and terminals), though. I will also check 1 bag and keep a small carry on that will fit under a seat. I believe that as a STE+ I will get a free bag so I'm not worried about bin space. The bag wont be too large and I can use it as a carry on if I have to.

With 1:40 you should make that connection. You do have to go through Immigration as well, but since you are Elite Plus you can use the Acces No 1 lines, which will greatly expedite it. In my experience this is plenty of time. Assuming that you leave JFK relatively on time...the schedules are padded, but bad weather and all bets are off.

If wanted to be 100% sure that 11A will remain yours, you could call AF to confirm. However, they may notice at that point and boot you out of the seat (or maybe collect a fee...I don't know if that's a fee-eligible seat in Voyaguer). At least you'll know for sure. That said, you could hope that you remain in 11A and no one may notice, but you could end up in a middle seat.

I have experienced my share of connecting horror stories over the years, but assuming flights are relatively on time, I have not had any issues connecting AF to AF over the past 2 years or so. Including 2G.

Thanks for all the great info. I am flying JFK-CDG-DUB

With 1:40 you should make that connection. You do have to go through Immigration as well, but since you are Elite Plus you can use the Acces No 1 lines, which will greatly expedite it.

You don't have to clear immigration at CDG for this connection (Ireland is not part of the Schengen area). Immigration will be cleared at DUB. So this connection will be an intra-2E one, so an easy one (but you will have to change concourse, as A380 flights arrive at L or M gates, while DUB flights depart normally from K gates with a bus boarding).

You don't have to clear immigration at CDG for this connection (Ireland is not part of the Schengen area). Immigration will be cleared at DUB. So this connection will be an intra-2E one, so an easy one (but you will have to change concourse, as A380 flights arrive at L or M gates, while DUB flights depart normally from K gates with a bus boarding).

*smacks own forehead* Forgot British Isles were outside of Schengen

Thanks again for the information. I assumed I'd have to clear immigration but since I don't and presuming my arrivals at CDG are on time, would I have time to visit the AF lounge or would that be pushing it?

Probably not a lot of time, but not outside realm of possibility. I would say that going landside and using the arrivals loungs in 2C would not be possible. (Come to think of it, there's really no reason you would want to, as there are showers in the 2E lounges.) But you should be able to have time for the airside lounges. You'll have access to the lounge that's in the terminal/satellite from where you'll depart.

would I have time to visit the AF lounge or would that be pushing it?
If your inbound flight is on-time, I'm sure you have time for the lounge. But you can decide at the last minute, depending on what time you arrive at the departing concourse.

Thanks again for all the advice, can't wait!