CelticFlyer

... and decreased by about 9000% if you do so with a bad attitude and speak American.

JennyElf

I had the same service this past weekend on a very tight (50 mins) connection, and I was only traveling coach. I was quite impressed and very happy.

brendamc

We've had 4 wonderful trips X LAX with them - all connecting through CDG, except one. Nary a lost bag, always charming FA's, excellent food & drink, always friendly when I call their reservations. It's all in your attitude...

Cholula

Wish it was just about attitude. I’ve ALWAYS got a good attitude when I travel. If Attila the Hun and Genghis Khan were AF FA’s, I’d give them a high-five and a big .
I’ve only had a few trips with AF but my first flight was the flight from Hell for a number of reasons. And attitude had nothing to do with it. Sometimes stuff happens regardless.
But I’m not singling out AF here. I’ve had all kinds of weird, bizarre, gut-wrenching stuff happen over the years on any number of airlines.

platbrownguy

I didn't realize you'd already had the pleasure of sitting next to Dovster-in-action on an airplane...

pgalore

Thanks for the CDG tips. I will definitely have to try speaking French - though I'm not sure if agents would be more insulted by my horrible accent than impressed by my knowledge of their langage ... How do you say "upgrade" in French anyway?

It doesn't sound like there is a FC section for domestic flights anyway, but it would be kind of interesting to compare w/the US carriers. They're only 2h flights anyway. I wonder if I could upgrade from Lyon to Vienna or Vienna to CDG? I think I have a Y fare ticket.

ecaarch

My French is non-existent, but I have found that simply just addressing the GA with "bon jour" goes a long ways. It's a gesture of respect and it is usually taken as such.

JOUY31

I regularly upgrade (surclasser in French ) my full-fare Y intra-European tickets (actually an S fare, Tempo Challenge) to business class, usually to a D fare (when it is available), which allows me to change flights but only on AF, or to a C fare, which allows me, in addition, to switch carriers , by paying the fare difference at the airport.

In the case of Vienna, there is really no point in paying a C fare, as the only other carrier on the CDG-VIE route is OS and as AF and OS code-share on all these flights.

Casimir

I don't wish to depart too far from the subject matter, but the point made by several posters about attempting to use French is very well taken, almost regardless of how bad your French is. At one of the swankiest Paris restaurants on our honeymoon, my wife and I were completely overwhelmed by the waiter addressing us in French, but we gamely tried to use our bad French in return. His English was a bit better than our French, and he helped us order what we wished and steer away from what we didn't. At the end of ordering, my wife and I were both worried that we had looked like idiots and had insulted him with our bad French. Instead, he leaned over to me, smiled, and said in French -- "Have courage Sir, have courage." A small, but very welcome, friendly gesture that I am not likely to forget.

Also, I can only imagine the reception a French person would receive if they rolled into my small Mississippi delta town and insisted on speaking only French to the shopkeepers. As southerners, everyone would be polite -- as they were walking away from the visitor smartly. I think about that point when overseas, and it certainly (for me at least) puts in perspective the French view of language and whether it really differs all that much from our own. Just my random thoughts, FWIW. Casimir

travelnutz

The AF moderator said it belonged in Delta's forum:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?p=3882895

dctorres

How cheeky.

You're right. Several of the comments on this thread are very offensive and would not be tolerated on the AF forum; they've found a welcome home here, so let it stay here.

I'm signing off with this thread so as to no longer interfere with this thread and forum. I'm easily reached by PM.

knit-in

I will admit that I haven't flown AF much-- three segments, and even less on Intl DL-- once, but have had nothing but positive to say for AF. DL on the other hand was a nightmare (JFK-CDG on 777).

I know two words in French, bonjour and merci and they have served me well through trips on AF as well as a tourist in Paris.

jimrpa

Absolutely TRUE! I speak NO French, but find using what little French I can mumble, such as "bon jour", "merci", "oui", and "non" really elicits a positive response. Of course, you have to have a cheeful, positive attitude as well. You can't treat it like you're being forced to do someting distasteful when trying to utter French words!

mhbaker

Some of the remarks on this subject have been truly regretable. I have visited France many times over the last twenty years, flying both on AF and DL. While there have been the occasional snafus on AF, they involved nothing I haven't experienced on other airlines and none of the problems put me at risk of a massive coronary as did one experience with DL. The cultures are different, but I have always found the smallest effort on my part to be warmly received and reciprocated. My next trip is in September in l'espace premier and I'm very much looking forward to it.

Canarsie

Please allow me to intervene for a moment as a moderator of the Delta forum pertaining to this thread...

...yes, there have been comments in this thread that were — how shall I say it — less than favorable, to say the least, but although some of the comments in this thread approached borderline status to be considered for requiring intervention from the Delta forum moderators, there is no milepost in this thread that obviously violates the terms, conditions, rules and restrictions of FlyerTalk. All of the Delta forum moderators discussed this thread at great lengths to figure out what course of action was needed, and we decided that none was necessary.

Moderators walk a fine line to attempt to keep the community on FlyerTalk happy by helping to keep order, attempting to keep a discussion on topic, trying to avoid problems and, most of all, keep important and valuable information as easily accessible as possible. Speaking for myself, I like to try to also keep the Delta forum as much fun as it is informative! However, whether we do too little moderation or do too much moderation, we definitely hear about it — and, quite frankly, I would not have it any other way.

Unfortunately, there is no complete set of steadfast rules as to how we should moderate FlyerTalk. More often than not, we are required to make judgment calls. Often, there will be one group of FlyerTalk members who will agree with any decision we make in regards to how to moderate, and another group of FlyerTalk members who will disagree with that exact same decision.

Speaking for myself, I did not intervene in this thread because — quite frankly, I don’t know how to say this without risking sounding corny or condescending, but — I am quite proud of the Delta forum FlyerTalk members. This thread, complete with its “off-color” title, started off on a questionable nature and could have easily degenerated into a volatile thread. Instead, it recovered very nicely into a thoughtful, civil discussion concerning the experiences — positive and negative — of Delta forum FlyerTalk members using Air France.

In other words, you as FlyerTalk members moderated this thread and did not need our intervention after all. To me, that speaks volumes.

All I can say is “thank you”.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need our services, as we are here to assist each and every one of you in the best manner possible.

Regards,

Canarsie

===========================

As for me, although I may relate some minor issues in this thread at a later time, I have never experienced any obvious or major problems with French people or Air France. I have almost always had an excellent experience and was almost always treated with the utmost of respect.

I enjoyed every trip I have taken on Air France, whether it was the Concorde flight on which I was a passenger two years ago, or my flight in coach class from Paris to Atlanta on a relatively-empty 777 aircraft last November with in-flight entertainment, good food, pleasant service and comfortable seat complete with footrest. While it would have been nice to be upgraded, I really did not miss the premium class cabin on that flight.

It is true — speaking French does go a long way, although I do not feel that I speak it very well. I especially like when I apologize for what I consider butchering their language, only to receive the response from a French person that I speak French “très bien” and am encouraged to speak more of it, as that is a great compliment to me...