Is Air France that bad?
 

I happened across a good deal on Air France from the US to Paris. However, I've been reading reviews about AF's service, etc., and a lot of them contain comments like: "I will never fly Air France again."

The funny thing is that I haven't see a lot of negative comments here regarding AF.
So, if you've flown AF, what was your experience? Good, bad, in between.

We flew Air France May 2006 which was fine. I think people confuse the airline with the handling at CDG Airport where things don't always work so well, security, immigration etc.

From my experience, I would rate Air France just below average of European carriers and on the same level as most US airlines. Food, however, was always terrible (strange for a French airline, isn't it?).

But if you get a good deal and a good connection - no reason not to fly Air France.

Flew Air France from SFO to CDG last November. I mean what can you say? It was economy and the food was less than memorable. The price was right, the flight attendents were nice, we got there without incident, so there ya go. I would fly them again.

I have flown them from SXM to CDG a few times and was satisfied. I found the food, service and ammenities better than what I get on AA to the States.

Air France is a four star airline and all U.S. International airlines are three star. You won't have flight attendants saying, "That will be Five Dollars," when you ask for a glass of wine with your meal.

You may not have the individual seatback televisions like some airlines have. Check with www.seatguru.com for more information about this.

I flew them in September and thought they were way better then their American counterparts that I have personally used to fly overseas. Those were American Us air and Continental. I liked them better then Swiss also. The coach seats have foot rests. They pass out little comfort kits, eye shades and footies, and our flight attendant was great. I even had an okay experience at CDG. Go figure!

Except for a few of the great Asian carriers, I have yet to hear of an airline that does not get panned by some travelers. In my own, albeit limited experience, AF is a lot better than the American carriers. I have never had a problem with them. And right now I am smiling at them because I just reached silver status. (Although I am not sure what that means other than the fact that I was able to book a bulkhead seat for my upcoming European trip).

I fly them all the time and like them just fine. If you always keep in mind that every single airline's economy section food is disgusting, then you won't be disappointed!

Some of those same "reviewers" don't want you to recline your seat even though you paid for it.

Has AF crashed lately?

Go for it, especially if it saves you some money.

Then post a review about whether or not it was worth it.

I flew AF with my mum and we found the seat pocket in front broken and unusuable but that is the only 'bad' thing I remember.
If possible I like to fly my own country's carrier, South African Airways Business Class, or Singapore Airlines if going to Asia.

We flew Air France to Italy last time and aside from the crowded economy class, typical for all airlines these days, we thought AF was great. I thought the food was quite good, the wine was free, movies on the seatback, flights were on time and no luggage lost. What more could you want for a bargain ticket to Europe?

OK, thanks for your responses.
I was a little suspicious of some of the bad reviews on the websites, if only because I think people are more likely to submit a review when they've had a bad experience. When things go well, we usually say nothing.
Thanks again.

Several flights back and forth, I agree with Hazel... nice flight.

I love Air France! Champagne, wine, decent food and seat back screens (guess I've been lucky with the screens).

Just flew Air France from New York to Paris two weeks ago.

Honestly, wasn't really impressed with the flight but it was not horrible by any means. Food was generally good.

There were no tvs on the backs of the chairs. A movie was not shown on the red-eye flight over. One movie, The Holiday" was shown on my flight back.

The most annoying part of the flight was the shuttling from the gate to the actual plane. On both ends it was pretty ridiculous---especially at Charles de Gualle...the ride was 10 minutes long on a packed, hot bus. When we arrived at the plane groups of 4-5 were let off at at time--it took forever to board the plane.

That said, I would fly them again if the price was right. I paid $600 for a last minute ticket through Delta which was a bargain compared to prices from the other airlines.

Personally, I won't fly Air France again. The service ON the planes was great, that's true, but the fact that everything goes through CDG makes it a little less great. We lost out luggage for 3 days at CDG, and while it was there, all our underwear was stolen from our bags. No kidding.

I have flown AF a lot and rate them superior to any other airline I have flown to Europe. I only can afford coach, so at that level, every airline I've flown has had small seats/pitch. I find them far superior to any US airline I've flown for food, drinks, etc. Rest of the plane pretty normal.

YOu don't even say where you have read all these "reviews", but on any internet board, people with problems and complaints are the ones posting, of course. People who are perfectly happy don't feel compelled to go onto boards to say -- had another typical, adequate flight experience.

Some people make comments about one particular flight that is dependent on times, weather or the particular plane and time they flew. So it isn't an Air France issue, but that particular flight issue. Like the above post about no seatback entertainment. I have had seatback entertainment on every trans-Atlantic AF flight I've taken for some years now, so that is not typical of AF at all. It may be the case on one particular route and type of plane, I don't know.

I've also never had any case where my plane did not land right at the gate at CDG, although some people have make comments about some bus thing (not upon departure but upon arrival). I've never had that happen.

If you are looking for "good deals" on airfare, I don't think one can be that picky amongst the major carriers, as long as it has the price and route you like.

I have flown Air France twice and was very pleased with them. I also was stuck in Paris last year because of a delayed flight and couldn't make a connection. The AF staff was very professional in handling some rude people who blamed the ground staff for the delay of the airplane.

They were very nice and provided me with overnight accomodations and meals.

So, my personal experience is AF is good.

We've flown AF quite a few times and haven't had a bad experience. Flying them again on Friday so hopefully I can come back and continue to say the same!