Review: Air France 777-300 Business Class CDG-LAX

~ cswada

A comfortable business class flight across the Atlantic with good entertainment options and great service. Using points remains an affordable option even as other airlines continue to raise prices.

This flight occurred in April 2023.

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Booking

We knew we were heading home from Paris, but finding a nonstop business class seat using points to Los Angeles is a tough find. I fully expected we would have to connect somewhere on the east coast. Thankfully, Air France had plenty of availability for us on the nonstop flight from CDG to LAX. The extra benefit was the reasonable rates they charged (67,500 miles per adult, with a 25% discount for children under 12). Taxes and fees were on the pricey side (~$360 per person) but we were more than willing to pay to keep the itinerary easy.

Award availability fluctuates and it can be challenging these days to find award space. While we flew in April 2023, we booked these tickets back in May 2022 (roughly 11 months in advance).

Earning Air France Miles

Air France makes earning their points easy, as they partner with all major credit card programs, including American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou, Capital One, and Bilt.

They also have points sales for their miles at generally reasonable rates. For example, the last time they ran a promotion, they sold miles with up to a 100% bonus, making their points as cheap as 1.5 cents each. That would mean purchasing the 67,500 points needed for this flight could be had for $1,012.50. Adding on the taxes and fees, that’s a one-way business class flight for under $1,400, which isn’t an unreasonable price to pay, but you can find cheaper cash options if you are flexible and are willing to do a roundtrip from Europe.

Arrival and First Impressions

We arrived at our gate (K52) to find it was a bus terminal, which was a bit unfortunate. We boarded the bus and it took a good 10-15 minutes to make it to the plane. It felt like the plane was on the other side of the airport. I wouldn’t have minded much for the tour of the premises, but Air France also packed the bus such that there was barely any room to breathe. I suppose one of the benefits of being in business class was the ability to grab a seat before others boarded, but it wasn’t a pleasant experience overall.

Once we boarded the plane, we were invited to take our seats in rows 3 and 4, immediately behind La Premiere first class. With a party of six, we opted to take the entire row 3 and the two middle seats in row 4. Flight attendants seemed happy to see us arrive, and seemed especially eager to see both kids and Jenn’s parents.

The seat

The seat itself felt comfortable, with easy-to-use controls and good recline. This is a daytime flight, both departing and arriving without any darkness along the path. That means recline and entertainment matter a bit more on this flight compared to a redeye. And I would say there was no material complaints about the seat here. At 5’10”, I had no issues with the legroom, but I could see how someone half a foot taller than me could feel a bit cramped.

If you’re flying solo (or have marital issues), it’s best to avoid the middle seats as they offer no privacy from your seat mate. In my case, the seat design made it slightly easier to help three-year-old Char throughout the flight—at least as easy it can be in a reverse herringbone design.

There is power at every seat, with a hidden bottle of water and somewhat decent headphones (I found they hurt my ears if I used them too long). Next to the armrest are the seat controls, but thankfully they weren’t positioned in a place where I would accidentally hit them (unlike some other planes).

At each seat was an amenity kit with a couple of items from Clarins. While it is nice to see a toothbrush and toothpaste included, I will always recommend bringing your own child-approved toothpaste in your carry on bags if you have children who are not used to the taste of adult toothpaste.

Also included at our seats was PPE, something that these days seems hard to come by. There is no mask requirement onboard but it is nice to have some hand sanitizer for the kids.

It might not look like it, but we were happy to fly.

Meal Service

After takeoff, we placed our meal orders and were handed a hot towel. The towels arrive extremely hot, but once it cooled a little, I realized I should have given the kids some instruction on what to do with it. Alex chose to use it as a napkin.

The menu on this flight was fairly simple, with four options available as an entree. The wine selection was decent for a business class flight, and I mostly stuck to the champagne most of the time.

The carrot purée appetizer was served first, and I thought it was a decent start to the meal. The kids had a different opinion, but thankfully they were given an alternative (cheese crackers).

The adults were then served the smoked salmon starter, a salad, and some bread. It’s fine for plane food, but I wasn’t wowed by the quality. The variety was welcomed, however.

I ordered the beef fillet, which was good but a bit on the rare side. The cooking style is best described as seared, so be advised if you were hoping for something closer to medium-well (I wasn’t offered a choice nor did I ask). The accompaniments were a bit too much in the yellow/orange color spectrum for my tastes.

The kids meal on offer was pretty decent, but make sure to order it in advance of the flight. There wasn’t a good description of the meal from what I could find on the Air France website, but the meal ended up being chicken with some gnocchi, vegetables, a purée pouch, and an apple juice box. Alex enjoyed the meal, but Char wasn’t feeling like pasta, so it’s a good thing there were enough snacks onboard the flight for her to survive the journey.

For dessert, we had a choice of the cheese selection, some baked treats, and gelato. The flight attendant was surprised the kids and Jenn’s parents all declined dessert, so she just proactively gave everything to me and hoped I could get someone else to eat it. The kids ultimately were fans, but maybe they just didn’t want to talk to the friendly flight attendants.

I was also offered some tea, which I gladly took.

Throughout the flight, there is a snack station set up where you can choose from a number of options. Just be advised they didn’t seem to refresh the offerings, so if you think you’ll want something later in the flight, it’s best to go grab it after the first meal service ends.

While there was a small on-demand menu, we ended up too full to eat anything else. So I can’t comment on those dishes.

Entertainment and Wi-Fi

Air France seemed to have a variety of movies and TV shows, including a good selection of kids entertainment. If we didn’t bring our own devices, the kids would have been plenty entertained by the options on board.

Wi-Fi is available, with free messaging and decent pricing for internet for the whole flight. While you could use miles to make the purchase, this would seem to be a poor use of miles and I wouldn’t recommend it.

Service

I thought the service on this flight was stellar. Flight attendants expressed a lot of interest in both the kids and Jenn’s parents. They did their best to ensure they had a wonderful flight. Every interaction included a smile and they showed a lot of patience as the kids debated their options for drink choices.

Timing of the Flight

As I mentioned, the flight itself is a daytime flight with no overnight segment. While adults may be able to power through the journey with no sleep, kids will struggle to stay awake the full length of the flight. So shortly after the meal service ended, we turned the seats into beds and tried to get a couple of hours of sleep. The cabin lights were dimmed and we made it work. With the flight landing at 4pm, we only had to make it to about 6pm before we could call it a night and avoid excessive jetlag.

Odds and Ends

Note this plane doesn’t have any personal fans, so it can be a bit tough to maintain your preferred temperature. That being said, I didn’t have a problem on this particular flight (Asian carriers tend to have more of a problem with keeping cabins warmer than other airlines).

We sat in the row immediately behind La Premiere first class. On this flight, first class (consisting of four seats) was completely empty. Air France tends to protect this cabin quite a bit, with heavy restrictions on who can book it with miles and generally high cash prices. They also largely removed the option to buy up to the cabin at check-in. One day, maybe we can make it in there, but I would prefer not to lose an arm and a leg getting in.

Recommendation: Yes

Bottom line, Air France offers an affordable business class with an onboard experience that slightly exceeded expectations thanks to the great crew. The kids also enjoyed the flight, with good entertainment options. Since we were also lucky enough to grab a nonstop flight, what more can you ask for in a business class flight?

Have you flown Air France business class? What were your thoughts?

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