Nick Ellis joined The Points Guy in 2016 as an intern and is now Reviews Editor, primarily responsible for arranging, writing (some of), editing and publishing reviews of hotels and airport lounges along with helping manage, write and edit travel content.
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During the COVID-19 crisis, our team has temporarily ceased taking review trips. However, we are still publishing new flight, hotel and lounge reviews, from trips taken just before the lockdown, like this one. Please note that if you fly during the coronavirus pandemic, you will encounter a very different experience, both on the ground and on board, from what was experienced during this review flight.
Review: Air France Business Class B777 300 From Paris To Mexico City
[tpg_rating ticket-class=business tpg-rating-score=83 ground-experience=13 cabin-seat=28 amens-ife=11 food-bev=18 service=13 pros=Great hard product, delicious food and a amicable crew. cons=So-so lounge in New York, poor Wi-Fi. /]
Over the last couple of years, I've gotten to fly Air France numerous times across the Atlantic, thanks to its expansive U.S. network, usually reasonable fares and plentiful connections to Europe and the rest of the world from its hub in Paris.
I have experienced Air France's business class aboard the Boeing 787, Airbus A350 and the now-retired A380, but until earlier this year I was missing the 777, which many regard as the airline's best business-class offering. It's a very similar product to the 787, but since the fuselage is wider, flyers have more room compared to the Dreamliner.
Seatguru Seat Map Air France
On a trip to Portugal before the pandemic hit Europe and the United States, I got to experience business class on the 777 for the first time on a short transatlantic flight from New York JFK to Paris CDG.
This flight was the return leg of a ticket I booked to originate in Europe in order to snag a relatively inexpensive business-class fare.
These ex-Europe business-class tickets are often significantly cheaper than tickets that begin in the U.S. Sure enough, we found this Air France itinerary from Lisbon, Portugal, to Toronto via Paris CDG (I reviewed biz class on board the A350 during this leg of the journey) and then from New York JFK back to Lisbon via Paris for just a hair over $2, 300 for all segments. This review will cover the JFK-CDG leg that got me back to Europe.
Review: Air France 777 300er Business Class Paris To Dubai
Plus, I was able to earn SkyMiles and elite-qualifying miles and spending with Delta, helping me tremendously in my quest to requalify for Diamond Medallion status. (That has since become moot, because Delta has extended by one year the current elite status of all its Medallion members. However, qualifying miles from flights taken in 2020 will be rolled over to 2021.)
If you want to use miles to book similar flights, Air France and KLM’s frequent-flyer program, FlyingBlue, is probably the best engine for searching SkyTeam availability and a great place to start your search. However, FlyingBlue doesn’t maintain an award chart, meaning you can’t count on redeeming miles at a fixed rate for flights. I did a search on the site for some nonstop flights between Paris CDG and various North American destinations including Toronto, JFK and Boston and found tickets for as little as 57, 500 miles each way, with taxes and fees of around $350.
The benefit of booking through FlyingBlue is how easy it is to amass miles in the program. It’s a transfer partner with all three major transferable points currencies — American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards and Citi ThankYou — so even if you don’t have enough points in one account, you can combine points from the various accounts to acquire the Flying Blue miles necessary to book the flight you want.
Air France Is Now Replacing The A380s In Its Schedules
If you’re short on miles in your FlyingBlue account, consider applying for a card like The Platinum Card® from American Express, which offers 100, 000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6, 000 on purchases in your first 6 months of card membership. Air France operates from Terminal 1 at John F. Kennedy International Airport. I was scheduled to depart at 6:40 p.m. on flight AF007, and I arrived at the terminal just before 4 p.m.
The check-in area wasn't busy at all. I had checked in online the night before my flight, but I wanted to check my bag to free up a hand for taking photos of the cabin once I got on board. As a business-class passenger, I could use the Sky Priority desks, and I dropped my bag and was on my way to the security line in under five minutes.
The security-screening process at JFK T1 is never fun. TSA PreCheck is supported, but everyone is filtered through the same massive line, and seemingly no matter the time of day it takes an excessive amount of time to get through the line and into the terminal.
Trip Report: Air France B777 300/er New Business Class And Premium Economy
After what seemed like an eternity, I made it through security and headed for the Air France lounge, which I hadn't visited since I reviewed the carrier's business-class product on the 787. It's still open during the pandemic, although you will find reduced amenities inside.
I was underwhelmed during that visit, though my after-midnight departure may have contributed to that. Since my last visit, the space had been given a light refresh, though nothing struck me as particularly different.
The lounge is spread across two levels. The lower can be accessed by those who have a Priority Pass membership, while the upper level is reserved for AF's premium passengers and select elite members.
Air France Set To Launch A New Boeing 777 Business Class Cabin In Fall
While things didn't look much different since my prior visit in 2018, I definitely enjoyed my time spent there more. Maybe it was the fact that there was plenty of natural light streaming in from the tall glass windows, or that the buffet was much better stocked this time. The lounge is average still, but the experience was definitely a step above where it was before. It doesn't hold a candle to some of the airline's new lounges at its home airport, though.
There was a salad bar and an area next to it with a few hot options, two soup options and a dedicated dessert station.
There was also a trolley set up with several liquor options, a nice touch that lent an air of premium-ness to the space that I didn't feel the last time I visited.
Meine Eindrücke Der Air France Boeing 777 Business Class
I always appreciate the wide variety of beverages on offer, especially the bucket of Champagne that I helped myself to almost immediately. Now, due to the pandemic, these types of things will likely not be present for quite some time.
I found a seat and got back up to survey the food situation. I was peckish, but I knew I had a full meal waiting for me on board, so I made a Caesar salad and enjoyed that along with a glass of Champagne until it was time to board.
I arrived at Gate 8 just as the sun was going down, and the scene was similar to just about every flight I've taken from T1: chaotic. An Austrian Airlines flight to Vienna was boarding directly adjacent to ours, and there were many people milling about trying to find the correct areas in which to wait.
Air France Business Class Review: Paris To Dubai
When I got to the gate area, boarding had already begun with those needing extra time being allowed on to the plane. Shortly thereafter, premium passengers were next, and I was on my way to Paris, aboard a 777-300ER that bore a mark of distinction. The French registration F-GSQA identified as the first stretched Triple Seven operated by Air France — a 2004-vintage bird, still relatively young for a big long-haul airliner.
[flight_stats ticket-class=first review-stat-section=Cabin and Seat tpg-rating=28 tpg-rating-max=30 configuration=1 configuration-2=2 configuration-3=1 width=21.5 bed=79 tray=12 tray-2=18 lavs=3 live-tv=0 tailcam=0 headphones=0 comp-alcohol=0 extra-pillows=0 turndown-service=0 /]
This Boeing 777 was fitted with the Cirrus Zodiac reverse-herringbone seats that are found on the airline's long-haul Boeing airplanes, the 777 and the 787.
Review: Air France Business Class On The 777 300er, Jfk Cdg
This is one of three distinct business-class products that Air France has on its long-haul fleet. Its Airbus A330s have a newer product, but it's a sub-optimal 2-2-2 offering, and its new A350s have 1-2-1 reverse herringbone seat, but it's similar to what you'd find up front in United's or TAP Air Portugal's newest or retrofitted aircraft. The Airbus A380 had a fourth distinct business-class seat, but the superjumbo has been retired from Air France's fleet as a direct result of the pandemic.
Air France's 777-300ERs feature three seating configurations. This was the one with first class and 58 business-class seats spread across two cabins, with the smaller minicabin in front and the larger cabin behind it.
Business class sits directly behind the exclusive, four-seat La Premiere first-class cabin. This product wowed TPG global news editor Emily McNutt when she flew it in late 2019, and went on to win the TPG Award for best international first-class product.
Flight Review: Air France B777 200er Business Class
I chose seat 5L, a window in the forward minicabin. Unlike the A350 seats, every seat in
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