While I’ve flown Air France several times before, I specifically flew them from Toronto to Paris because I wanted to fly the A350. Toronto is currently the only North American city to which they fly the plane, and it’s a new addition to their fleet.
Continue reading: Review: Air France A350 Business Class
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Is should be " that has since been discontinued." instead of "that has since been continued." and
"which they plan to take deliveries through 2025." instead of "which they plan to take delivery of through 2025."
Very funny that the breakfast menu refers to the yogurt as "dairy product". I wonder why they use such a generic term.
Why does the seat look so damn depressed in the cover photo!? It looks like it’s about to have a breakdown.
It is probably not a yogurt. It does not look like that on the picture.
I believe it is a "fromage blanc" and this may be why it has been translated as dairy product.
It is kind of a quark or cottage cheese.
How disgusting that they serve fore gras ( no longer produced in the USA for animal cruelty reasons, including force feeding of ducks to enlarge their livers). It’s one of those dishes only served for snob appeal. Decent people don’t eat it. A ban in Europe will be forthcoming soon.
Will it be the case that AF won’t even have consistency in J seats across its A350 fleet? You mention the first A350s don’t have reverse herringbone as these planes were meant for Joon. When the ones that AF was always meant to take arrive, will they have reverse herringbone?
@Paolo Hudson Valley Foie Gras in NY is the largest US producer of foie gras. And foie gras is delicious, for decent people and alike. Not for peasants like you.
Is it normal not to get a hot dish breakfast option in business? At a scheduled flight time of 7.5hrs, that seems odd. Or does Air France just not do weird airplane eggs? 😛
@ GT Traveller - Lucky has been blogging this trip basically live so I am sure with the exhaustion and speed to publish that some things (minor mistakes) will naturally be overlooked. IMO it's not a big deal and rarely happens, it is also a nice reminder that there isn't a huge machine of editors and publishers toiling away in the background.
Great post Lucky, look forward to the rest on your trans-atlantic hops.
Or perhaps say simply that "the Joop concept has since been abandoned" and then perhaps offer the reasons why?
I find these seats far inferior to regular reverse herringbones, esp. when on the 787...too damn narrow
I would think the coffee cups are a "French", mugs are an "American" thing and thus bad taste. Lol
@Alonzo
The very place that is the subject of numerous animal cruelty reports; the ‘industry’ continues to be the subject of ongoing investigations by New York legislators. Its days are numbered.
The product is banned in California, including sale.
Aren’t there other things to eat that are not created by completely unnecessary cruelty to animals? It is a disgusting product and decent people, if they knew what is involved, would not eat it.
Thanks for the review! I am taking the same route, same plane (same award booking...lol!) in March so I was looking forward to this one. 🙂
Sounds like it'll b a better bet for me to skip the lounge food this time.
It's pretty simple. When people stop eating it in France it will go away. But they won't. Every country has its violations (food, whatever) that are built on years of culture. To quote Keith Olberman, "You can't stop it...you can only hope to contain it."
I don't eat it for the reasons you say. But I also don't judge the French for it. As an American I have much more to be embarrassed about.
How is it not cruel to kill an animal to eat any other part of its body? Anyone who eats meat should kindly shut the front door regarding animal cruelty and anthropogenic climate change.
Lucky, I've been reading your blog for a few years now and now my favorite thing to do is guess what meal you will choose off of the menu before I scroll down to the photo of the food. As of late I'm almost always right!
Very detailed report on Air France J here. It looks okay - nothing is blowing me away by the looks of it, but a decent transatlantic offering.
@Cargocult
On a personal level I agree; however, I accept that there are many people who want to eat meat that does not involve outrageous and unnecessary cruelty. Foie Gras is unspeakably cruel and if meat eaters knew about what’s involved, the vast majority ( decent people) would decline it, without a doubt.
In respect of @Stuart’s point: yes, and consumption in France is declining. Young people shun this kind of monstrosity.
Do you also accept that many adults want to have sex with minors? It need not involve outrageous and unnecessary cruelty. Farming an animal only to kill it and consume it, force feeding it or not, is cruel and unnecessary. It is also harmful to the environment, far, far more than air travel or plastic bags, straws and single-use toiletry containers. If anything should be banned, it should be sanctimonious, meat-eating environmental activists.
Wait. You crossed the Atlantic just to fly back without an overnight for the sake of rewieing a flight ? That is what I call love for flight review
I wondered about the "dairy product" term for yogurt, also. Apparently French yogurt is made in a different way from other yogurts, and French passengers might be offended by being served something as unpleasant as Greek yogurt, without being warned. Either that, or some people who are lactose intolerant still don't know that yogurt comes from cows force-fed champagne.
Chicago city council banned foie gras in 2006. They were held to such ridicule by the major, residents and restaurants that the ban was repealed in 2008. Bourdain even weighed in by calling Chicago a cow town because of the ban.
This current ban everything idea is becoming quite tiresome.
That Flying Blue promo was awesome. I tried to resist but jumped on it too. Spent the same number of miles as you used, but Seattle to Istanbul via Paris. Heckuva deal.
Honestly, the AF J product on this A350 looks pretty mediocre to me. I'm glad that my flight (which is longer) has a significantly better hard product.
Now, pass me some of that foie gras...hey, are you not gonna eat that?
I did this route as well. With a group of friends from PETA
People who Eat Tasty Animals
The Foie was wonderful.
Wow, only one beer choice. I know most airlines don't have the best beer choices but was surprised to see only one, and it was kind of hidden on the menu too.
Yes...cappuccinos on any plane tends to be rubbish. I can't figure out why, because it is really just a strong espresso shot and frothy hot milk.
The seats look very similar to United’s business class. Are they? I found the UA foot wells really small so I wonder how similar they are.
Foie gras is delish!
Serving two meals on a 6 hour flight is absurd. 2 1/2 hours of the hours is for meals. Crazy. Eliminate one of the meals and instead serve something decent in the lounge. I would rather buy a row of three seats in economy and save money than pay $2,500-$5,000 for business on flights of 6 or less hours.
I agree with the sauce being served in that silver takeaway container but perhaps they are catering for the Nth America market , don't they love everyone "on the side" , good review Im not sure Id rush to fly it though it all looks a bit "hard"
LMAO - Of course United has selected a high-density Business Class seat that was intended for low-cost airlines and tries to sell it as a 'Premium' seat.
And Air France is doing the same mistake as with their A380s: Getting a mediocre business class on a brand new plane that will lag behind the competition in 2 years.
@Max Well, Lucky says he's pretty indifferent between this seat and the reverse herringbone seat (generally regarded as one of the best J seats out there), so if that's true it doesn't seem nearly as egregious as what they did with the A380. The food, on the other hand, is a big issue on AF. Living in Paris, I fly AF pretty routinely and the food is very mediocre (and sometimes borderline inedible), regardless of whether the flight originates in Paris. Given that France is regarded as one of the culinary centers of the world, that's pretty disappointing.
"I appreciated that breakfast was fairly light, given that dinner was served just a few hours prior."
I do prefer it when airlines offer a bit more (even Lufthansa serves a deli plate), especially if someone wants to skip dinner and sleep. Of course, a person doesn't have to order or eat a larger breakfast, but it is nice to have the option.
@Max Have you flown it? For all the deserved crap that United takes, the Polaris seats have been widely praised. Plenty of space and the window seats are exceedingly private. Yet to find a negative review on them, save for snobs that think anything United or a US carrier does is destined to be trash.
The hangers are great. Delta also has similar hangers in domestic first class.
@JWags
The opinions I have heard from my colleagues are definitely not as rosy as yours. The seat is simply not long enough for standard-tall Europeans. Maybe it is exactly sufficient for small people, but a regular 1.85m European will definitely not fit in well.
I'd say QSuite and the new ANA seat are the benchmark nowadays. The upcoming Lufthansa seat will also be good as it offers 2.20m bed length and a big enough housing for the feet.
@Max Thats ridiculous. I'm 1.85 and had plenty of space. The length is 1.95ish if not a bit more. Q Suites are great, but implying that not having an extremely large business class seat like that is low budget is silly. It has as much space as any reverse herringbone variety. An American carrier is going to have US sized passengers in mind, just as large as any "standard" European, not the smaller statures of different regions
Your reviews are always so much fun; especially comparing this Air France A350 review to La Compagnie A321neo (back to USA) and the previous Air France First experience (en route to South Africa); the contrast between Air France Business and First is significant while both seem pleasant, everything is so French:) I love the way Air France showcases French cuisine in their service - for example, Chartreuse Verte and exclusive French wines are pleasant offerings in Air France Business.
La Compagnie looks like fun too - and, as you have noticed, a notable change (in a good way) from your previous La Compagnie review
the logo on the engine is not rr, pw or ge, so what is it? also why would af order the best plane for their budget subsidiary