Air France vs. Delta any suggestions ? ( Flying to Athens, Greece)

Great title to your post, but we need more info...

1. Where are you flying from?

2. Coach or business?

3. Do you participate in either airline's FF program?

4. Are you booking directly with the airline?

Generally speaking, the product and quality is very similar.

Haven't flown Delta in years (not since they dropped DFW as a hub) but went to Europe on Air France last year (Houston to Paris and then to Madrid). The Paris airport was a mess but we managed to make flights without any trouble. The plane (back in the steerage section) was as cramped as any other carrier; the food just as lousy but the plane had a good entertainment package at each seat and, if you drink wine, the wine and champagne were and I assume still are free. My transatlantic experience has been on American, Iberia, Lufthansa and, as noted, Air France. I didn't see enough difference to pick one over the other. I preferred American and Lufthansa (Lufthansa used to give great service in steerage class but don't know if still true; more recently I was on American to London and the food was far below what they used to serve on international flights but the disappearing service on airplanes is such an old song these days it almost isn't worth mentioning). I look at price, schedule and frequent flier miles (for whatever they are worth) in choosing an airline with price the variable with the most weight.

Actually I was thinking about the same thing - but it doesn't seem to matter much except for price - they have this thing they call code share, if I book with Delta to Paris I will actually being flying Air France from Miami , If I book Air France I will be flying the same plane at the same exact time, but for about $60 more.

P.S.

I should have mentioned that I found that out by searching for tickets on Kayak.com
, but that was to Paris and not to Greece.

Compare the prices of the flights if booked with Delta with those booked with Air France and take the lowest.

I agree with the above. Check the prices and see which price will be cheaper. I've booked through Delta many times and ended up on Air France's planes. They're Alliance partners. Happy Travels!

Before choosing AF be sure they give you plenty of time to make the connection to your CDG>ATH flight. Sometimes it's only 45 minutes and almost impossible to make. CDG is a horrible airport

Also, both times I've flown AF from the States to ATH my luggage didn't make that short connection and I was without my things for 48 hours both times.

Although I haven't done the trip yet, I recently booked a flight from Atlanta to Athens on Delta using Northwest FF miles. We were originally on flights from Newark on Continental, another "Sky Team Alliance" member, but they kept canceling our original, direct, flight and rebooking us through Amsterdam with ungodly layovers - 9 hours in Newark!!! The flight through Atlanta is at civilized hours with a reasonable connection time to our direct flight home to Portland, ME. (Yea, not a huge airport and hard to get anywhere without multiple stops. There also isn't any direct service to Athens from Boston that we might have used.) Another brilliant Fodorite gave me this website, www.skyteam.com which provides info on flights from all their partners.

I avoid connecting through CDG at all costs. Of 6 flights to Italy connecting on AF thru CDG, one left on time, two lost my luggage and all left a bad taste in my month for CDG airport and the unhelpful ground crew of AF.

We booked through Delta last year for our trip to France and it turned out to actually be Air France planes and personnel that we flew on. Because of this - there was some difficulty choosing our seats prior to the trip. I made many phone calls to Delta and Air France before I got this resolved. I received different info each time I spoke to a different phone agent. It was frustrating but in the end it all worked out, however by the time I was able to get them to let me choose my seats we had only one option if we wanted to sit together.

Thank You all.. I am flying Delta.. I am convinced, Viva Americano. Flying Delta Business...

Hi R,

I prefer AF.

TV in the seat backs. Better food.

Air France ONLY if they allow THREE HOURS for the connection in Paris -- otherwise a nightmare.

Delta less of a hassle. Especially business class tho I've never been able to manage that.

We traveled Air France and didn't have tv's on seat backs. Was this added in the past year?

not all AF flights have TV; when I flew AF last months, the food and service were very good.

Based on some positive feeddback I received on here last week when asking about connecting AF at CDG to Venice, I booked and now you guys have me nervious!

We arrive CDG 2B on BA at 1:45 and depart AF at 2F at 3:25 (boarding at 2:55).

If we actually arrive at CDG on time, that gives us about an hour to disembark and get from 2B to 2F. We're flying business and carrying on, so I'm counting on the quick exit from the plane.

But I must admit I'm now concerned all over again!

You know...it's just a crap shoot either way! I can say that my sister and I are flying AF to Italy TWO WEEKS from today (into Venice) and because of all the worries about making connex, I did change my 2nd fligt from CDG to Venice so I had a 2 hour layover. I have only had good experiences with AF, and I just feel like with the crunch in the US these days...things are getting harder for US carriers. But that is just one woman's opinion. I might suggest (to the last poster) that you see if there is a later flright for you connex, if that would ease your mind.
Susan

Suz, I wish I could take a later flight from CDG to VCE, but the next flight is late at night and I don't want to hassle with getting into Venice and finding my hotel after dark.

Sigh...