is airfrance worth paying $70 more for a direct flight from paris to sfo? for us airways, i have to transfer flights in philadephia. i read about the $5 fee for headphones and the possible fee for meals on us airways...how awful! any bad/good experiences for air france anyone would like to share?

Yes, IMO, it is worth the extra $70.00 to fly Air France non stop from Paris to SFO. I have flown AF twice and cannot complain about their service or on-time record. In March US Airways had baggage handling problems in PHL and it was reported in USA Today at that time US Airways had the worst record of losing luggage of any airline. My sons' bags were lost in Philadelphia travelling to Florida in March in both directions. I would prefer the convenience rather than saving $70.00.

You do not have to pay for meals on international flights on USAirways. But the direct flight would sure sound good to me!

I fly the SFO/Paris RT journey. I can fly economy only and while I'm not a fan of Air France's seats (typically narrow and not much leg room) and the food is forgettable, they never lost my luggage and are always on time. In general, AF does a nice job in getting me to Paris and back safely. I have read recent bad reports about US Airways lately. Therefore, I'd opt to pay an extra $70 if I were in your position.

Hi C,

If you can avoid having to go through PHL on your return, it is well worth $70.

Two of the best trips we ever had to Paris were in AF coach. Now we go on British Airways, not that they give that many miles anymore but we have their Visa card and get miles that way. Changing planes at Heathrow is a real pain. LAX-LHR and LHR-CDG are now in different terminals, making it even worse.

Don't even cosider USAIR. Over the last 14 months we have flowen Air France twice and USAIR once. The first trip was USAIR to Paris and our lugage arived 48 hours late.Air France was a breath of fresh air even in couch. We will fly them anytime over Delta, USAIR,or American.

The non-stop aspect of the AF flight alone would make the extra $70 worth it to me. I've flown USAirways from SFO to Rome twice and to Amsterdam once. All three flights were OK--no lost luggage, delays, etc. But if I had a chance to do a similar route without the hassle of a connection, I'd jump on it.

I think $70 sounds like a bargain. We just flew back from Italy with the US Airways connect through Phili and it was painful. The flights were full, the food bad and the seats small. Why ruin a great vacation???

No contest. Grab the AF seat and pay the $70. It direct, it is a much better airline, and just as important, you avoid taking a US Air flight.

Yes!

My USAirways flights have always been fine, but I would gladly pay an additional $70 to avoid the Philly experience again! (Done that too many times in the past 5 years). Our experience with AF was about 10 years ago but it too was a good one, and the food was even decent.

"Yes, IMO, it is worth the extra $70.00 to fly Air France non stop from Paris to SFO."

He didn't say he was flying non stop. He said that he was flying "direct." That's not the same thing. Direct means that you make a stop but don't change planes.

Of course, I suspect that the original poster meant nonstop but used the wrong term. It's more airline doublespeak to confuse you, so it is important to keep the difference straight when booking flights.

Direct--non-stop--whatever. NOT changing planes in Philadelphia (or anythwere else) no matter where you are coming from is worth the $35/leg

I flew US Airways from Atlanta to London 2 years back, with the inevitable change in Philadelphia. The flight going there was alright, but coming back was a nightmare. The Philadelphia-Atlanta flight we were booked for was backed up an hour, then 2 hours, then cancelled, and then they moved us to another flight - the problem was, they had no plane. So US Airways had to contact Pittsburgh to have someone fly a plane over for us to go home. We eventually made it home albeit 5 hours later than planned. Didn't check anything in so can't comment about that (although the Philadelphia security scanned me numerous times because they thought my jar of Sainsbury's Vindaloo was a grenade, but that's not US Airways' fault)...

Then this past Christmas I flew Atlanta-Paris nonstop on Air France. Food was complimentary (and decent, though YMMV) and alcohol is still free if you partake. The flight was very smooth and ontime and I'd definitely fly with them again (they're partners with Delta too, if that helps - our trip was redeeming Delta frequent flyer miles).

So to go along with everyone else, I'd say Air France is worth the upcharge...

Read the "Beware if you are coming back to the US and have to connect through Philapelphia" post. It refers to a USAir flight.

Avoid returning through Philadelphia. My USAir flights through there to and from Europe have been fine, but it is worth real money to avoid the logjam you face between planes in that airport.

Thank you everyone for the very useful advice! I will fly AF home to avoid all the hassle in Philadephia.