pferrandi

I had a family member flying PV between CDG and LAX, quite a ride, and in her own translated words:
"My ... really started to hurt after a while, the sit is too hard, there is no cushion! It is less comfortable that a coach seat bottom."

So, a little more padding in the seat would help a lot

pferrandi

We have noticed that Air France does not let their PV customers pre-select seats after the reservation was complete. We tried online, called and the answer was: Only at check-in at the airport!
Excuse me?
How stupid is the AF employee that came up with such a dumb rule?
How expensive should the ticket be to have such a priviledge?

So if you book PV ... be careful at booking time that a seat gets selected otherwise you will get whatever seat they give you at check-in ...

AF ... You suck as usual!
Congrats ... great 2011 start.

Goldorak

I've always been able to select seats at booking for a long-haul AF flight, even discounted Y The only exception is 3 days before departure, it's not possible anymore to select/change a seat either on-line or by an AF agent until check-in opens.
Was your booking a last minute one ? Or are you really talking about the long haul Y+ (premium voyageur) and not about premium eco which is the full fare Y fare for medium-haul flight. Because, in this last case, there is no pre-assignment of seats at booking (nothing new here and it's the case of most European airlines also).
happy new year

pferrandi

It was a long in advance booking in Premium Voyager for a NCE-CDG-LAX. The only difference with my first PV experience is the NCE-CDG segment. What seemed to have happened is an overbooking situation in PV ... I am surprised they would do that in such a class with so few seats ... but that is the only other explanation besides a potential issue with the NCE-CDG segment ...

It is just annoying to see how complicated it is with AF when they just have to check on most US airlines (and more specifically DL) to see that it can be a lot better ... or maybe I have unrealistic expectations ...

jakas

Nobody seems to add the pro as 2 bags 23 kgs each passenger in PV while in economy is just 23 kgs

pferrandi

Good catch!
I did not think about that one ... must be the habit to only travel with a carry-on.

jakas

IMHO I think its a big plus

DLBIZTRAVELER

Priced out a multicity, open jaw fare from JFK, including JFK-BCN, MAD- BKK, and returning BKKto JFK. Premium voyager priced $500 LOWER than economy coach. I jumped at it!

nomad1974

That's interesting. What dates are you checking?

athenae68

OpenSkies only fly from ORLY , very bad connexction for international flights.PV is definitly better thant Y but nothing to compare with business. absolutly impossible to sleep , the seats are unconfortables.no toilettes in PV you have to go in the Y area ...not good. the food is the same that in economy but at least you don't have to wait for the check in and THE BEST thing : you can carry 2 luggages of 23 kgs

hansyuwiwb

it has always been like this. AF JFK-CDG-Far East is always unusually cheap. I can get JFK-CDG-PEK in A for USD 2200 in summer, while DL JFK-NRT-PEK costs USD 2500. When this happens, I always buy AF to collect the 150% MQMs on Delta.

cityflyer369

Being of the same size as you, I use the leg rest for my sleeping default position. In this position the limited recline does not matter very much.
Admittedly, I do not manage to sleep more than 5-6 hours sideways. But then again, for me this position is way more comfortable than any position in an Economy seat.

markscarls

We just took two flights in AF Premium Voyageur and overall were very disappointed.

First, although this may be a problem with all AF flights, not just Premium
Voyager, we found the seat reservations policy confusing. I made seat requests at the time of purchase. However, because of the odd lettering sequence that was used, I admit I got confused and ended up with two center seats in a row with four seats. When I tried to change them, I got some strange story about how it could only be done on some special day at some special hour and I had missed it. I couldn't get an explanation that made sense. However, I was told there were two pairs of unassigned window and aisle seats that I might be able to get if I got to the airport early.

I asked when was the earliest I could get anything done and was given a time. I arrived at that time and discovered noone would be there for 90 more minutes. As a Premium Voyageur passenger, I did not have to check in with all of the Economy passengers, at least.

When I could check in, I was told that the seats weren't assigned yet but might not be available -- depending if they were sold before take-off, which at that point was only a few hours away. I was told I could try at the gate.

When I got to the gate, the personnel looked at me like I had lost my mind. Those seats were already assigned.

I have no idea if anyone at AF has any idea what they are talking about regarding seat assignments.

Boarding at LAX was easy and fast.

When we got to our seats, I was pleased with the extra leg room. However, after sitting in the seats for an hour, I realized the bottom was hard as a rock. By the end of the flight, my girlfriend was in agony.

For the return flight, I bought a patio seat cushion for her, and we grabbed extra pillows from business class as we boarded. They helped some.

The seats slide down for reclining. However, we found the mechanism hard to control. Once your were down, getting back up was a pain -- literally.

I think AF has to provided instructions on how to use the seats properly.

Several people around us also found the seats uncomfortable. Maybe you have to be just the right size.

The telescoping head lamps worked, but they sometimes got in the way.

On the return trip, my girlfriend's tv screen didn't work. For not having it for a 10.5 hour flight, she was offered 50 dollars credit for duty-free shopping ONLY ON THE PLANE, 50 dollars off a plane ticket WITH A 12-MONTH EXPIRATION, or 5,000 frequent flyer miles, which was barely better than nothing.

The meals, which were the same as economy, were disappointing at best. Going, the main meal was a pasta dish and rice salad. Some combo. On the return, the hot food was luke-warm.

The same flight attendants cover both PV and economy, so you barely see them.

I had gotten the impression that we could use the AF lounge in Charles DeGaulle for free for our layover on our return from Italy. However, I was very rudely informed that it would cost 35 Euros per person.

What also added to the overall confusion was that I booked the tickets directly with AF but provided my Delta FF number. The confirmation e-mail and number came from Delta. However, when I would call Delta with follow-up questions, the person would admit to having difficulties because AF had some different policies than Delta. So then I would call AF, and the person would have trouble finding my record because I had a Delta confirmation number.

In summary, I would recommend against trying Premium Voyager.

pferrandi

Lets put it that way ... the seat assignment policy at AF was drafted and is managed by retarded people!

I have been crossing the Atlantic between France and the US regularly since 1998 and every time I had to deal with AF, frustration was high! And it is not a status issue, I was Platinum for a long time and I am now Diamond with DL but it does not matter!

It is so bad that even DL employees got involved once in Paris to clear things up ... and they were VERY frustrated

So far I gave up on AF ... I refuse to spend 8-11 hours in a plane if I cannot select my seat ... specifically in coach or PV. And YES, the PV seat kills my a$$ as well

raistlin

I quote EVERY single word. This is one of the major reasons for me travelling DL or KL on longhaul economy.