SkyMiles DTW to JNB in December...Do you pick KLM or AF
 

Both are the same price....CDG = 12 hour layover but we would grab a hotel room and chill out. AMS = 4 hour layover.

Thoughts?

You didn't say which cabin you are flying in. If in J then it's an easy call to take KL as the 777 is much more comfortable than the AF388.

If in Y then it may not matter so much but I still like KL over AF.

The other factor is timing. KL is a day flight and AF is overnight. Unless you are staying in JNB the whole time then that means getting to a hotel in JNB around 11pm, Consider the intercontinental at JNB if you need a local hotel for one night.

Yes this is J....good to hear about the 777. I have been on a BA A380. We are booked into the IC @ JNB

The 12 hour layover would be morning to night, not night to morning as you suggest. So you're actually talking about back to back redeyes which, even in J, isn't easy...

Fly through LHR on VS. The VS experience is far superior at least so far as the soft product goes and their Upper Class lounge at LHR is fantastic. The 1-1-1 super angle hard product may not currently be competitive with D1 suites, but you're not getting a D1 suite, or even 1-2-1 seating on KL and possibly not on AF either if you're flying the A380.

KLM. I always use KLM for JNB. Unlike all other European carriers, it's a day flight. Thus you have a short but reasonable connection. Also means you dont have to wait for room at hotel, since others arrive way too early.

ALSO KLM does its dining on demand service on this route. Its upgraded service from what KLM does normally.

Lastly, you get a delft blue house. After all that's the most important thing!

I'm fairly certain this isn't an option. The OP's on an award ticket. Only FlyingBlue Platinum's are allowed award access to La Premiere. Otherwise the OP would need to pay for a seat up front.

Poster said buy an award ticket and UPGRADE. You can always pay cash DoD with AF to upgrade.

Yeah, that post was 0 for 2. :confused:

I did a 12 hour daytime layover on JFK-CDG-HKG last year in J, and thought it was pretty good. I definitely availed myself of the arrivals lounge to freshen up, got into town in time for an early-ish lunch, a leisurely wander around the city, an early-ish dinner, and then back to the airport by ~9:30pm for an 11pm flight. Certainly helped to make it easy to sleep well on the second red-eye!

FWIW, one of my toughest travel experiences was CPT-LHR-JFK on a morning departure from CPT and a late evening arrival into JFK. It was nearly 24 hours of daytime travel, and even in F (BA/AA) we were exhausted on arrival.

Wife and I are traveling together so 2-2-2 KL seating is not an issue. VS is not an option on delta.dumb for the date I am flying.

Fees from the USA to JNB via LHR can be over $800 per person. The whole idea for me is to minimize my out of pocket expenses.

KLM flight is a good one -- service, plane. And, being a day flight, you can make time-zone adjustment easier because you can do short nap(s) during the flight so that you're not over-tired and not wide-awake when you get to JNB.