Originally Posted by
billygoat27
I guess we see things differently. AF's Premium Economy has some awesome things: J check-in, great legroom and seat width, bigger tray table, food, outide shell that inhibits the person behind you from pushing, etc. All that said, I find it to be the least comfortable seats in the sky because it does not recline, and the seat padding is non-existent. For me, those two negatives are so prominent, they render all the other great things moot -- especially for an 8+ hour flight.
Good point. Forgot about that. And Mrs. Billygoat agrees with you. CO (now UA) and AA used to fly 757s across the pond frequently. CDG-EWR on UA and CDG-JFK on AA were consistently 40 minutes longer than AF widebodies. I unscientifically chalked it up ETOPS range -- but it also could have been fuel burn due to strong headwinds. I also remember TXL/OSL/CDG-EWR flights that had fuel stops in BGR and/or Gander.
Point 1: I've never actually flown AF W. Back in 2012 I got upgraded to it, but they moved me up to J before they closed the door. This was on an Airbus A330-200 FWIW. I thought the W seat was okay but didn't really explore it too much.
Point 2: yeah... I agree with the Mrs., I will actively go out of my way to fly a "real" airplane TATL. Would I take an A321 across the pond? Only if there was no other choice or the price of any other option prohibited it. The Boeing 757 is an exception as it has a bigger wing and handles turbulence much better than the A321.
-J.