rangerss75

Since this thread is getting more and more confusing, it might help to summarize a little, especially as a help to visitors to Europe. The orginal request was about Air France European business class and I have already tried (in two posts) to describe that. The poster after the OP said that European Business Class was basically the same on every company which, I think, is not strictly true.

I need to add a caveat to what follows. Some airlines have given up Business Class service even on key European routes (eg BD on LHR/CDG and LHR/AMS), and it is often not provided on services operated by regional jet aircraft. It is becoming the exception on domestic routes. This is both as a result of the challenge from LCCs and because fewer people (or their employers) are prepared to pay Business Class fares. I suspect the trend may be set. In this respect, visitors from the USA need to remember that, apart from miles redemptions and the odd operational upgrade, it is (almost) unheard of for a passenger to be upgraded to European Business Class. Almost everyone sitting in it will be a customer who has paid a business class fare, not someone on an Economy fare, even if it is a full Y class one. I may be wrong, but I have the impression that, apart from coast to coast and Hawaiiian/Alaska flights, virtually no-one has paid a First Class fare for travel in domestic US First class (other than those connecting to or from international paid First/Business Class where it is part of the fare). Most people sitting in F seem to have been upgraded because of their status in their FF programme or free upgrade vouchers or (occasionally) miles redemptions. Free upgrades are a major feature of US FF programmes, whereas they are a rarety in European programmes. Most do not offer them at all.

So let's try some generalizations. As far as food is concerned, there will almost always be something to eat in Business Class on international European flights (though often not on domestic flights), though the quality and presentation is not what it was even a couple of years ago. On many (especially flights of more than 90 minutes) it may be a full meal (entrée, main course, cheese and dessert). It will be served on a tray (rather like international Y) and not course by course from a trolley. The provision of a hot main course varies from company to company. I have had a hot main course on two-hour AZ flights, whereas on AF nowadays it has to be more than 2h55m for a hot meal to be served. It will almost always (I daren't say always!) be a superior offering (in varying degrees, depending on the airline) to that offered in Economy Class, which in some cases will be nothing at all. Apart from early morning flights there will be alcoholic drinks. Wine will mostly be fairly ordinary and in individual quarter bottles, but there are exceptions. AF, for example, serves long-haul quality wine from the bottle (and, incidentally, provides a small travel kit) on flights of over 2h55min.

That's the easy bit. Now the seat. And for the purposes of this comparison I am talking mostly about the smaller Boeing 737s or the Airbus 319 type aircraft with a single aisle, and which, in the Economy section, has a 3-3 configuration of seating.

On some companies there will be no difference at all from the seating configuration in the Economy cabin. This is the case with KLM (for the one or two exceptions see post #50 below), but a full Y fare will qualify you for the front 'cabin' and you will get the sort of business class meal - including hot main courses on longer flights - described above. Also, the seat pitch is an extra two inches in the front rows of the plane and, if the cabin divider is far enough forward, this feature will also apply to the front rows of the Economy cabin as well (see posts #51 and #53 below).

On some companies (eg LH?), the middle seat will simply be left empty.

On some companies (eg BD, LX, BA?, LH? AZ - except on the MD80 which, in international European travel, has a small cabin with US style 2-2 seating), seats on ABC side of the aircraft will be reduced to two by blocking the middle seat and moving the armrests to make the remaining two seats slightly wider, so that you could say there was a 2-3 configuration. But the middle seat cushion will still be visible, and you might feel a little as though it was just an empty seat. The seats on the other side of the aisle will be no different from those in the Economy cabin, and, on busy flights, all three seats may be occupied. The blocked seats on the ABC side are blocked (ie they will not be released if the plane is full, as is the case in some US E+ cabins, since they have been physically altered and no-one would be able to fit into them).

On some companies (certainly AF and OK), this 'blocking' is taken further. Firstly, it applies to all seats in the Business Class cabin, on both sides of the aisle, so that only A and C, D and F seats are available. Secondly, the armrests of the middle seat are adjusted to make the window and aisle seats slightly wider, and part of the back of the middle seat is lowered and transformed into a table on which drinks and small personal belongings, such as books, can be placed. You could say it was (I should even call it) a 2-2 configuration, and there is very little sense in which the space between you and your neighbour feels like an empty seat.

Nowadays, I think these are the only four possibilites (five if you count the AZ international M80s - a survivor from what was much more widespread). Other posters might want to add airlines to the above categories, correct me where I am wrong (as I bet I am, in some things) and say if there are other configurations of seating. I shall then amend the post.

In answer to a recently raised point, it is worth stating that most airlines allow pre-selection of seats in European Business Class, but that AZ doesn't. Again, others could add to this list and I shall amend the post accordingly.

I realize all this is slightly OT, as the OP was asking about Air France Business Class. Although I tried to answer that specific question in another post, the thread then received posts on other European business classes and the situation became very confused as to what AF actually provides.

Please point out any errors, and I shall amend the post. Many thanks for the replies so far.