CDG - BOG - Eco or PE (on AF's A340-300)?
 

Hello everybody,

While I am not new to flying I am new to this forum so a short intro: a German in his mid 20s usually based in MUC/NUE, I am on delegation this year and hence based in Paris / CDG. As of mid June I will become FB Gold for the first time while I had been FB Silver since 2015.

For my annual leave I am planning to visit Colombia in September and therefor wanting to fly to Bogotá. I had been checking the prices more or less regularily the last weeks but have to wait for a friend's confirmation to join me or not.

Being based in a hub I am generally willing to pay a premium to a certain extent to get a direct flight with AF as oppossed to e.g. LH routing through FRA at a cheaper price. Last week the difference was at roughly 150€ (750€ AF vs. 600€ LH) which I would be willing to pay but this week the direct flight went up to almost 1000€ unfortunately. The latter price for Economy is in a price range that would allow me to pay a premium to get Premium Economy when starting from Germany (combining it with a visit in my home town), at roughly 1150-1200€ for PE via CDG. Of course it would also give me more FB miles.

Hopefully a not too lengthy introduction to my question (and also in the right sub-forum):
Is the extra charge worth considering switching from Economy to PE on AF's A340-300?
One comparison would be a roughly 600€ surcharge compared to LH and the other one a roughly 250€ surcharge compared to AF (for both taking into account the additional flight to get to Germany).

Of course only with Skyteam flights I will be able to make use from any FB Gold benefits I have.

I still haven't finalized my considerations and will keep checking the prices for the direct AF Economy flights.

Thanks and kind regards,
HeartFist

In case someone is paying for your ticket, it's worth considering: you'll get a bit of extra space and slightly better food + up-to 4 times as many status miles (assuming you're talking about the cheapest 25% earning economy fare compared to a 100% earning "A" premium economy). Some people hate the AF W seats but I don't think it's worse than the normal economy.

An extra 150-200€ for PE over normal economy is a no brainer for such a long flight and you make up for some of that with the extra miles, though if you search the forum you might find that some doesn't like the hard shell seat for sleeping.

An extra 600€ on the other hand is a different story, and it boils down to how comfortable you are in an economy seat for such a long trip, I know I would be fine for a day flight but not for a night flight for example.

Fully agree; paying 200-300€ extra would be well worth the extra comfort of the wider seat, way better legroom, more intimate cabin, etc. Not to mention the extra miles you'll earn

Thanks for your good replies! Are the A343 AF uses outdated or relatively new?

Well, since it's for my annual leave and I am also not running a travel blog and getting sponsored I have to pay it myself :) your description of the AF W seats doesn't sound too promising and the flight back from BOG will be overnight. Do they recline more?

What do you mean by "hard shell seat"?

Generally I am doing okay in Economy and was usually able to select seats in the last rows on TATL flights where it was 2-4-2 and I was seated at the window. Also it's true that with 500-600€ you can do a lot of stuff in Colombia. Secretly I am hoping that the direct AF flights for around 750€ come back which would make it easier for me to decide for them...

Outdated. They are 20+ years old and in the process of being phased-out.
In Y they are quite confortable (to the extent Y can be comfortable), but bring a tablet as the IFE is really outdated (very small screen).

Same small screen size in PE?

I don't have a tablet, used to have an iPad 4 few years ago but since I never really used it decided to sell it again. Also buying a cheap one only for the flight is not really an option since I intend to backpack in Colombia and don't want to have another device I have to see after.

Hard shell seat means that the back part of the seat is hard plastic, which in turn means that instead of reclining, your sear cushion move forward.

Not really. They slide forward. I had nothing to compare them until recently when I started to fly British in PE. Their W seats are indeed much better than AF. I was able to dive into work right after the 14.5h-long flight to Santiago because I had a good sleep, which never happened to me on AF in W :)

No, good size screen in W.

Could you describe the deficiencies of the AF seat compared to BA? Unless I can UG (no award seats open yet) I'm flying my first AF PE - West Coast TATL overnight. Is it really that bad?

It is not bad at all, and definitely better than a normal economy seat, the big difference is that instead of reclining backwards, your seat cushion slide forward and some PAX find that less comfortable for sleeping.
You still get several inches more for your legs, and the seats are wider and well divided (i.e. you don't have to bump shoulders with neighbour), plus a smaller cabin which is nice.

My take is that it is definitely much more comfortable for a long day flight, while, as others point out, the seat is not ideal for sleeping. Still better than a regular Y seat though.
I'm generally a fan of paying the extra for the comfort, especially when the Y cabin starts to sell out and only the more expensive price buckets are left. Once the difference is down to 25/30%, it is definitely a no brainer.

Thanks for the details. Obviously, I'm hoping to upgrade for the overnight (who on FT isn't?) :) No seat beats a bed...
I actually intended to fly W, regardless of upgrade opportunity, on the return flight because it's a day flight.

IMHO, AF PE is definitely better than AF Y -- more leg room, power plug for a laptop, large screen. If you're tired you'll sleep there anyways.

But AF PE is clearly worse than BA PE. In BA the seats are roughly the same size as in AF but they have ~45 degrees recline which makes them more comfortable to sleep. They are slightly different in different aircraft -- I flew B747, B777, and B787. B777 seems to be the best. B787 is similar but the cushion is a bit harder. B747 is a bit worse -- but on that particular flight I had an option to go to the empty Y cabin and sleep across 4 seats in the middle :)