andiejo

I keep hearing a lot about AF losing luggage and giving terrible customer service as a response. Has this been true for any of you?<BR>Also, Hubby and I have 1hour and 15 minutes to make a connection at Charles De Gaulle Airport. Is this possible to do, since according to what I've read, AF flights are usually late? Finally, does anyone know AF's carry-on baggage limits and how strictly enforced they are?

StCirq

I haven't flown AF for a couple of years, but I used to fly them all the time and never had a problem with late flights, lost luggage, or bad service. They do have a tendency to put you through heart-stopping connections in Paris, though, and while I've never missed a connecting flight, I almost always thought I was going to.

Ann1

Air France is horrible. My sister made reservations to Rome. The clerk gave her a price of $575. per person round trip. She repeated it several times....$575 round trip. When she received the tickets they were twice the price and AF wouldn't do anything about it. The food was horrible and they missed their connections in both directions. For the one going to Rome, they couldn't get another flight for 5 hours. Which put us in Tuscany at 10 pm looking for a tiny dirt driveway. One poster here said they mistakenly gave her son an extra dinner. Being a boy with a big appetite she thought they were being nice to him. When they realized their mistake, they threatened to charge her some large amount for the extra dinner and they were very rude about it. It's not an airline I would ever fly.

Weadles

I would be very wary of such a short connection time, given how often flights are late. I also have to admit that Air France is not my favorite airline overall. We flew them last year roundtrip from New York to Paris, and service and foodwise, they were really dreadful. Also the plane was quite dirty. Is there any way you can switch to another airline or have you already booked?<BR><BR>Good luck!

travling

We flew AIR FRANCE from San Francisco<BR>non-stop to PARIS on 4/9/03 and on the return flight on 4/15/03. We experienced great service, kind flight attendants and delicious in-flight meals<BR>served with small bottles of wine. It was delightful. We were on-time both ways. As for carry-on luggage I saw some people with 3-4 items such as a carry-on bag, purse, coat and shopping bag and no one said a word about it. Our flight was 100% full and everyone had enough space to store their stuff.<BR>I would fly AIR FRANCE again. We flew on a 777.

bumper

We have flown Air France to Paris from Miami several times and have always enjoyed it. We have found the service to be excellent and the food quite good. The only warning: every time we have flown into CDG we have waited forever (once 45 minutes-an hour) for our luggage. We were staying in Paris so it wasn't really a problem, but it would have been if we had had a tight connection. We have never had a problem with the number of carryons but we were sternly scolded for having an overweight duffel to be checked. Have a great flight!

francophile03

We had a different experience than travling. Flew from San Francisco also. The plane was old and creaky-a little worrisome, the food was horrible, and the seats gave us all backache. The flight attendants were okay, not friendly, just okay. If it's true everything is pretty good I'd consider flying AF again. However, I like Lufthansa. I was prepared for more awful service than AF as there have been many bad comments here, but I find Lufthansa better than Air France.

maitaitom

Let's face it. No matter what airline we talk about, some people have had good service, while others have horror stories. That's the way it goes with airlines today. I actually have had good luck through the years with American Airlines, yet I bet there are more than a few of you who hate them. So it goes. As for food, unless you fly first class or business, food these days pretty well sucks on all airlines. My theory is if an airline gets you to your destination alive, it is a successful flight. If your luggage arrives, too, then count your blessings and move on.

StCirq

It's true that AF simply doesn't seem to be able to get its luggage on the ground in Paris until about 45 minutes after a flight has landed. That was one reason I changed to flying United a couple of years ago (not that that was such a great decision in light of United's current woes).<BR>I do think bashing Air France on the basis of second-hand experience is ridiculous, though(i.e., my sister had a horrible experience so never fly Air France). And I do agree that they're probably no better or worse than any other carrier if you're flying coach. But in the many years I flew AF, I had perfectly good service, prompt flights, and no lost luggage - and that was probably over a 15-year period. Maybe the planes are old (that would be a bit creepy - that's why I originally changed from TWA to Air France)- the food is definitely NOT bad for airline food,and their frequent flyer program is like a test of one's patience (you are flying on a Thursday, Madame, with a minor? Sorry - no miles for that), but all in all it's no better or worse than any other airline and does not deserve the bashing it gets from the occasional disgruntled passenger, or worse, the occasional person who has a relative who had a bad experience.

ellenem

I flew Air France round trip, making a connection at CDG for Florence. The connection going was 1 hour and 10 minutes, taking place at about 6:00AM. I took all carryon luggage as I felt time might be tight for my luggage if checked. I had no trouble taking the shuttles from one terminal to the other at that hour. On my return, my connection was only 50 minutes, taking place at about 3:00PM. I was concerned that it might be difficult at this busier time. At the gate after the first flight, I noticed an airport worker holding a sign with my connecting flight number. I approached her and was escorted out a nearby exit to a waiting vehicle. She drove me, alone, to the closest service entrance to my departing gate in another terminal, where I went through security and stepped onto the plane with 10 minutes to spare. This was a totally unexpected service. I have no idea if this was the fine work of Air France or CDG in general.

Christina

Somebody will ask a question similar to this maybe once a year or so. YOu always find the same thing, as you will on any airline probably -- some have good experiences, some bad. I've flown Air France quite a few times and they are my preferred airline to France and Eastern Europe (where they have good connections and cheap flights). My luggage was misplaced once in Paris for a couple hours, but they were not rude about finding it, they were quite helpful and efficient. Another time my bags were delayed upon arrival in Nice to a late connection in Charges DeGaulle (which wasn't really their fault, weather problems on takeoff from the US), and the staff were extremely nice and helpful to me, personally delivering my bag when it arrived by car to Aix which was 35 miles away. I do agree bags can take a while to get out at CDG but it is worse at IAD where I live in US, and BWI, actually (where I waited about 90 minutes for bags once.<BR><BR>I am really surprised at the comments about horrible food. It is airline food, of course, but is a cut above any other airline I have ever taken.<BR><BR>In all the flights I've taken over about 15 years with them, none have been late except once due to weather in the US. By contrast, every flight I've ever taken on USAir has been late when there is not a cloud in the sky, due to their incompetence and lack of equipment and staff, and every flight I've ever taken on United shuttle (which is Atlantic Coast) has been late up to 1-2 hours for a 45 min flight due to their own incompetence and equipment problems. Every single flight.

francophile03

When I said the food in my experience with AF was horrible, I was not generalizing. Yes, I understand what is expected of airline food. However, for breakfast AF served what was supposed to be a crepe and it was not only soggy but it was also cold. I am not expecting gourmet meals in coach class, but that was really unacceptable.

SloJan

I flew AF in Feb and was pleased. I had heard all of the complaints and felt that they did a good job. If I have a reasonable alternative in the future, however, I will not fly them. I connected at CDG and was unimpressed with that airport. I had a connection time of 1 hour 15 min. and it was tight. There was no relaxation, I hustled. So, unless flying into Paris as a destination, I would do everything I could do to avoid a connection through CDG.