cmm6797

We're traveling from NYC (or Newark) to Paris in July.
Delta, AirFrance and United are very close in price and all offer non-stop flights. We are flying economy class. Everything else being equal, are seats on one airline more comfortable than the others?

We considered upgrading to Premium Economy on AF or Economy Comfort on Delta but online reviews of those seats seemed to say they weren't worth the money.

Thank you!

Judy

We fly Delta because their Economy Comfort seats are cheaper than Air France Premium Economy and we feel that the extra space is well worth it on the flight over. Those extra few inches make all the difference for me being able to sleep a little on the flight. It is not as important for me on the way home as I'm not trying to scrunch in the seat to sleep. If the space is not an issue, Air France has better food. I don't have experience with United.

Christina

It might depend on the type of aircraft, I don't like Boeing and prefer Airbus. But otherwise, I prefer Air France as I like their food, entertainment and reading material better, but I know French, that's why -- it helps get me in the mood.

I'm surprised both Delta and AF are flying nonstop to Paris from the same airport, are you sure about that? Because they are partners and codeshare, and usually the flights are only operated by one of them, depending on the airport. I suspect the only flights are Delta out of EWR, and the AF flight is really a Delta flight. Are their times by any chance identical?

WWK

Delta and Air France are also code share partners to and from JFK-CDG. We have found that when Air France is in charge, the food is better, but the seats are about the same in economy.

Judy

Christina, we are flying Delta out of JFK to Naples in May through CDG. Our travel companions are flying Air France out of JFK as well and we meet in Paris to take the same flight to Naples. Both flights originate in JFK and are 15 minutes apart.

greg

I don't know which ones you are looking at but looking at delta.com on arbitrary dates in July, DL1014,1015,1016,1017,1018 are all Air France flights with Delta equivalnet, while DL400 is the real Delta flight. Depending on flights, you are flying on A330(2-4-2 seating), A380 (3-4-3 seating), or B777 (3-4-3 seating). You can find all these out easily at each respective web site.
United seems to have 2 flights a day from EWR. Both are B767 (2-3-2) seating.

For comfort at straight economy, what matters is WHICH SEAT and not which airline as you are thinking. Average seats are not different. What matters is WHICH ONE can you get hold of? This is a question on AVAILABLE seats. Use www.seatguru.com or seatexpert.com to probe what others think about those PARTICULAR available seats. Also noted are departure and arrival times and see how well they integrate into your schedule at both ends.

Regarding PREMIUM ECONOMY (AF) vs ECONOMY COMFORT (Delta) vs ECONOMY PLUS (United), the ECONOMY COMFORT by Delta is basically same as the ECONOMY PLUS offered by United. That few inches adds so much more comfort during flight.

The PREMIUM ECONOMY by Air France is not comparable to Delta or United offering. It is between Delta/United's PREMIUM seating and the BUSINESS class. Go to Air France site or look at www.youtube.com and search "Air France Premium Economy" and you will see it is much closer to a Business class seat.

Fodorite018

We have flown both Delta and Air France. For us, price and schedule is the determining factor. On my last trip I flew Delta and did the economy comfort and yes, it was well worth the price!!! So this next trip in a few month, we are on Delta again and also opted for the economy comfort.

Not sure if this matters to you, but there is a bit of a difference in carryon with these two. Air France is pretty light,and Delta was much more lenient. We do carryon only, so for us when we fly AF, we have to really mind the weight.

flpab

economy comfort is great and worth the price for the extra legroom. Don't pick the bulkhead or exit row though as you are very far from the movie screen and have that itty bitty tray. I like Delta or Air France.

wunderbar2

We love Air France Premium Economy, plenty of room and hard shell seats, better food and a much better all around experience for a long flight. That said, we can only compare it to United Economy Plus and there's no comparison, however it does come at a higher cost.

kja

IME, service and food on AirFrance have far exceeded that on United.

travelgourmet

In coach, they are all pretty similar. Air France on the 777 is probably the worst. Food will range from awful to barely edible on all of them (I'm going to say it: the food on Air France is, objectively, lousy - I don't care if folks put on their "French food is awesome" blinders when they step on the plane, it is lousy). Service will be perfunctory.

Delta and United offer Economy Comfort (Delta) and Economy Plus (United), which are pay-for extra legroom seats and which might be decent options if you want to spring for the money. I believe that Delta offers better booze options, but how much some free booze vs $7 is worth to you is up to you.

I'd choose the shortest flight (or cheapest) and be done with it. Flying coach across the Atlantic stinks and there is no carrier that dramatically improves the experience or markedly detracts from it. Don't overthink it.

Sarastro

From NY to Paris, just choose the low cost option with the most convenient departure times. All the rest will be forgotten as soon as you arrive in Paris.

opaldog

I have to choose the cheapest flight, but also try to look for duration of flight, airplane - I favor the Airbus for the seat configuration of 2-4-2, carry-on restrictions,best connections if necessary,food and beverage (or none) and entertainment. I have flown lots of different airlines, from Icelandair to Eurofly to SATA to Air France to Swiss to Virgin to Aer Lingus to American to US Air. My next European flight will be on Turkish Airlines. They have all gotten me there safely and of course that's what counts most.

Christina

It doesn't surprise me that much that they both might have flights out of JFK, but I didn't think they would have identical flights at the same times out of EWR. I think JFK may be the only airport they both operate out of on the dame dates.

I'd go by what is cheapest unless they really were within $25 of each other. The flight duration would have to be the same if they were both nonstop from the same airport, I would think.

AF has a lot more French films on it than Delta.

I don't do carryon only, but their baggage allowance is virtually identical for carryon in terms of size limits, but AF has a weight limit and Delta does not. The weight limit is pretty high though, about 26 pounds. Carryon size suitcase is the usual size limits on AF of 55 cm height, 35 length, 25 width, which is about 22 inches by 14 inches. On Delta it is 56 by 35 by 23.

cmm6797

Thank you for all of the insight. I will take a look at the seats available and the actual plane. Delta's Economy Comfort upgrade was $49 per seat on the flights that we are considering which isn't dirt cheap for 4 passengers but certainly isn't over the top expensive. From the replies above it seems well worth the cost.

Cali

The economy comfort upgrade is well worth the cost in my opinion.

Andrew

I'm fairly tall, and I flew Delta Economy Comfort on a 10 hr flight to Amsterdam a few years ago. I thought it was a waste of money for merely the extra leg room; I barely noticed it. The only reason I did it was that I had a tight connection in Amsterdam and the Economy Comfort seats were at the front of the Economy section, close to the exit.