I recently flew American Airlines from CDG to ORD. This was my first time flying internationally with a US carrier in many years, so it was interesting to see how different things are. Here are the differences I noticed between AA and international carriers.

• On European carriers, flight attendant uniforms are more stylish and formal looking. Female FAs were wearing hats and male FAs were wearing suits with a tie. US flight attendants seemed to value comfort over looks.
• I suspect this is just an American vs European cultural standard, but FAs on European carriers are more professional and less chatty. FAs on US airlines will regularly crack jokes with passengers and do things outside of normal protocol (extra snacks or drinks).
• Service on American carriers is a step below non-budget European carriers. Lufthansa handed out warm towels (in Economy) before the meal. The presentation of the food is also much nicer on European airlines.
• FAs on international flights on US carriers are older (35+). I believe that in the US, FAs start on domestic flights and must work their way up the ladder to international flights. This must not be the case in Europe because 20-30yr old FAs are somewhat the norm on international flights.
• Most flight attendants on my CDG-ORD flight did not speak any French. I believe only one or two spoke French and the level spoken was rather basic. Contrast to Lufthansa or Air France where all flight attendants speak German/French and English.
• There is SO MUCH food served on US carrier flights. About an hour after leaving CDG, they served drinks and pretzels. About 2-3hr after leaving CDG, they served lunch. 1hr after lunch they gave ice cream and drinks. 1hr after ice cream, they gave out some pizza wraps as a snack. After snacks, there were more drinks. Most European operated transatlantic flights have one or two rounds of drinks and one meal in Economy.
• FAs on my AA flight came by like 10min after serving to collect trash and don't come back by until the next time food/drink is served. Kind of annoying because I felt like I was forced to suck down my food/drinks.

Are there other things you've noticed?