Fates

I might be wrong, but I recall talk of AF changing the meal service in Premium Economy to be more reflective of a real PE product (unlike the absolutely awful food that AF is serving in Y). Has this happened? Has it been shelved? I love Air France but I've been so turned off by their food in Y (it's definitely gotten worse, right?) and I can't imagine how they get away with serving it in Premium when partner airlines like DL and KL are actually serving something half decent in their Premium cabins.

boss315

DL’s PS meals are horrid…Oliver Twist had it better in Dickens England!

mlin32

Agreed. I even flew DL One from ATL once and the food was laden with salt and grease.

I find AF's catering (except ex-North America) to be decent. PE generally just has a nicer entr�e and plateware than Y, that's it.

hhdl

As discussed in the DL forum, the DL Premium Select meals are Y meals but with the Delta One chicken and vegetarian main (possibly a smaller serving, sometimes with a less flowery description on the menu).

How much this reveals about Delta One catering or the extent to which presentation trumps the actual food is up to you.

Fates

Look, I much prefer AF to DL as well. But the reality is that DL meals in PE are leagues better than what AF is offering (at least to and from North America). My last flight with DL was in Premium Select and the food was, indeed, the same meal served in D1 with a less flowery description. Was it the best meal I�ve ever had on a plane? No. Was it better than the rubbery economy chicken or soggy pasta that AF serves both in economy and premium? Absolutely!

I used to love that AF provided a decent meal in economy. But long gone are the days of flavourful meals with decent meat and real fruit. Now, they seem to invariably serve beige, chewy chicken or soggy pasta with a minuscule amount of mediocre marinara sauce.

To be clear, when flying in J I would take AF over DL any day of the week. But in PE and Y, AF is a disaster.

nomadabroad

It gets exponentially worse on ULH flights (SIN, NRT, etc) where you get served a cardboard takeaway box with sandwich as your 2nd meal after 12 hours in tbe air - the same one served in Y. It is a joke.

Fates

Yes! This! It�s an embarrassment that they are getting away with it. And I say this as someone who had been loyal to AF for a decade now. I genuinely think they�re capable of fantastic service, but it�s so sad to see how badly their PE and Y service have been degraded.

If they committed to a decent set of meals in PE then it would be a no-brainer but, these days, it�s a bad seat (compared to DL or KL) with terrible food. What a pity!

Fates

So, I just got off a flight from JFK - AMS with KL in their new Premium Economy. This was a different league than what AF are offering. The seating was great and the food was truly excellent. I had a beef short rib that was tender, succulent and not overcooked. It came with some good asparagus and Brussels Sprouts. The appetiser was an excellent tomato salad with burrata. I was so impressed. We also got a second hot meal upon arrival. These were smaller portions than J but the beef was honestly better than many meals I�ve been served in J.

How can AF get away with the quality being so different between them and their partner airline?

Concerto

That's a shame, I didn't know that AF had descended so low in Economy. I always used to see it and Virgin Atlantic as having the best economy class service and food. They've all gone the same way, BA, LH Group, you name it. So, if I go to the US in Economy then I will try to book the Emirates 5th Freedom route from Milan, or Singapore Airlines from Frankfurt!

nomadabroad

On longer sectors (SIN, HKG, etc) BA has reverted to a �normal� second hot meal service both in Y and PE. They no longer serve the embarrassing brown paper bags with half portioned stale sandwiches.

Meanwhile AF only serves you a goodie (junk) food takeout bag with processed fruits and a bread as your second �meal� even on those long flights to SIN, NRT.

someone wrote in a blog that on a recent flight to Buenos Aires passengers were queueing at the back of the Y galley asking for food, and the crew ended up recycling the uneaten desserts from the 1st meal service lol - how embarrassing and sad is that.

whoever signed off on these cost cutting measures - maybe they need to personally fly back to back on 4 flights to SIN and south america at the back of the cabin and maybe only then they will wake up from their deluded dream.

Concerto

Basically, despite needing qualifying miles and XPs, I think these airlines need to be boycotted, period. I had previously listed Air France among the airlines that I would gladly book for longhaul flights, but that is no longer the case now. So, among the dross that remains of European airlines, if I need to go West I will book KL and VS. Otherwise, I will try to get myself on those 5th freedom flights I mentioned. Going East, there's a good choice of proper airlines with proper service, from both the Middle East and Asia. Honestly, I know we are paying not a lot in Economy class. but there has to be a minimum service standard. Just boycott them. If people do that, it will change. If they don't, then nothing will change.

maalloc

Honestly I wouldn't say that the meager breakfast offer is worth boycotting per-se.
The "Bon App�tit" lunch bag is a joke that I wouldn't give to a middle schooler (no one should eat this junk, especially at this age)... But it's perfectly fine not to stuff one's face on a plane, too.
I have no problem flying LCC with zero onboard offering.

The problem IMHO is the pricing of AF Y on these routes.
Take SIN, for instance. A 7-day CDG SIN trip this summer is about 1400 € in Y. That's 50% more than TK or LH.
Granted, you have a direct route... But that's the only hard benefit you get from shelling out 50% more.

With the "French Touch" of on-board catering, AF is sitting on a gold mine. LP experience shows that pax value that a lot. Add a 15€ food platter at the end of the SIN-CDG leg and people won't tell their friends how their ticket was 500€ higher - they will talk about the amazing second meal they got before landing.

Remove every perk while jacking up price... and suddenly you are back to the dark days of Air France.

Milkman

Just got back from a roundtrip that included AMS-PTY in the new KL PE. And am overnight on MEX-CDG in AF PE on 777. So the oldest version of PE.

As much as I otherwise prefer AF over KL, I have to say that the Dutch win hands down on all aspects of long haul PE. Seat is much better (AF are addressing this on their A350). and food on KL was also significantly better. AF serves a breakfast bag even on PE...pah!

nomadabroad

the breakfast bag is sad comparing to what EK serves on PE, do you recall what was served with the bag was it one of those warm croissant thing?

Milkman

I rejected it as it was approx. one hour before I could eat proper food in the AF lounge in 2F. In the past, I think it has been some sweet processed muffin, a yoghurt, drinking yoghurt and a croissant or white bread.