Originally Posted by
hikouki
In general, how much better (or worse) is the business class of AF and KL vs DL?
Prior to Covid, I have flown D1 almost exclusively across the Pacific, and I like the A350 suites the best. I am SEA-based and the A330neo seats are acceptable. Service is alright, but not exceptional. Food, prior to covid was hit or miss.
Since the pandemic, I decided to become a free agent, but open to still flying some SkyTeam members. I just completed a roundtrip transpacific on KE. I may be in the minority here but I seem to prefer the DL seats because of privacy. KE seat is somewhat too firm for me. There is no place to securely set a CPAP device. Cabin is warm. Food is consistently better but options are quite repetitive and boring. Service is 'better' but somewhat robotic.
Pre-pandemic, I have flown on CI but only between Taiwan and Japan. Cleanliness, food option and quality, as well as service were all exceptional. Then again, this was on a competitive route with a very discerning market. I am not sure how they are longhaul post-pandemic.
(I am planning on trying ANA for my next transpacific flight.)
I am planning a trip to Europe and I wonder how the business class of VS, KL and AF compare to that of DL and KE?
I know I said that I am a free agent, but many SkyTeam flights to EU seem to offer competitive fares for the routes I am looking at for 2024.
It depends on aircraft. For seats, I prefer the
- KLM 787 the best (along with KLM 773that have been upgraded to 1-2-1 seats).
- AF you can end up on any of a mix of seats, even for same aircraft type. However AF A350/787 are next, along with AF 777s (I don't believe any have the old J anymore).
- then DL A339, DL A350, DL 767-400 A333/2,
- Finally last, KLM 777 (unmodded 2-2-2) and DL 767-300
Food
- DL/AF (depends on what meal is and amount of food (DL generally offers more food).
- KL meals aren't bad. However they are small and can be quite unexpected flavors. On US flights they've gotten better. However any other are lacking IMO. Note night flights will not have a mid-flight meal/snack regardless of length of flight. Thus say AMS-SIN you can be quite hungry when land.