Our early morning flight from Paris to Los Angeles was pleasant onboard an aging but comfortable Air France 777 in economy class. The Air France economy class experience is solid.
Air France 777 Economy Class Review (CDG-LAX)
After a short night at the Hyatt Place near CDG Airport and a refreshing 20 minutes in the Air France sauna, we boarded our 11-hour flight to Los Angeles. The gate area was a bit chaotic, but we were invited to board first because of my four-year-old daughter.
Air France 020
Paris (BSL) – Los Angeles (LAX)
Saturday, August 17
Depart: 8:45 AM
Arrive: 11:25 AM
Duration: 11hr, 40min
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER
Distance: 5,670 miles
Seats: 43J,H,L,K (Economy Class)
Onboard, we found our seats in row 43.
Air France 777 Seats
Air France squeezes 206 Safran Z300 seats (10 seats across) in economy class on its 777-300ER in a 3-4-3 configuration. The seats are cloth-covered and fairly well-padded and feature an articulating seat pan that slides out when you recline. That gives the illusion of greater recline even though actual recline is more limited:
- Seat width: 17.2″
- Recline: 18°
- Row pitch: 31″
Each seat includes a power port, which is quite helpful and a noticeable juxtaposition to Lufthansa, which only offers USB ports. The IFE screen also has a USB-A charger on it.
I chose the aisle-middle-window seat and then the aisle seat directly across from it…unlike when we flew from LAX-CDG on Air France, this flight was almost full. My wife Heidi sat across the aisle from us and the middle seat next to my wife stayed open, so the kids did take turns sitting wtih her during the flight.
While my daughter spent most of the flight sleeping, I was wide awake…and I didn’t even drink a lot of coffee that morning! Each seat included a red blanket and blue pillow (the blanket was wrapped, the pillow was not).
Tip: In the rear of the cabin (rows 49-52), the shape of the aircraft necessitates a 2-4-2 configuration. You can reserve these seats, ideal for couples traveling together, in advance for a fee (waived for Flying Blue or Delta SkyMiles members with SkyTeam Elite Plus status).
Air France 777 Food + Drink
With the 8:45 am departures, I was expecting breakfast to be served after takeoff. Instead, lunch was served. I suppose standardizing economy class meal offerings out of Paris makes sense from a budgetary perspective, but I was not really in the mood for lunch at 9:30 am.
A children’s meal had been pre-boarded for my daughter, which I prefer to avoid on US carriers because it inevitably means macaroni noodles with tomato sauce or fried chicken tenders, but from Paris she was served chunks of chicken breast in mashed potatoes…a very nice dish that was delicious and easy for a child to consume.
It was served with juice, bread, a carrot salad, a cookie, and a toy (wood blocks in the airmail box).
My choices for lunch were chicken and green beans in a tarragon cream sauce or pasta with tomato sauce. The chicken sauce was pleasant and I liked the chopped cucumber-tomato salad in vinegar.
Dessert was a cherry tart…coffee was unfortunately powdered (or at least tasted like it).
My son enjoyed his pasta.
Unlike on my last Air France flight, there was not a separate Champagne service, but Champagne (Monopole by Heidsieck) was offered on the beverage cart (all alcoholic drinks were complementary).
Mid-flight, a snack and beverage station was set up in the back of the aircraft with self-serve soft drinks and French snacks including biscuits, cookies, and choclate.
A cheese sandwich was later offered:
90 minutes prior to landing, a snack was offered in a little paper bag that included two warmed savory pastries, drinkable yogurt, juice in a child-safe container, a tomato spread, and lemon cake.
The food ex-CDG is much better than catering in the other direction. Breakfast would have been nice after takeoff instead of a very early lunch, but I thought the food was quite acceptable onboard. Air France uses wooden cutlery, which I do find very annoying…it reminds me of having my tonsils checked as a child…
Air France 777 Economy Class Lavatory
The Air France 777-300 has one lavatory positioned between the two economy class cabins and three more in the rear of economy class. These lavatories were clean but did not offer any extra amenities.
Air France 777 Economy Class IFE + Wi-Fi
Air France offers a large library of movies, TV shows, audio, games, and a moving flight map with complimentary over-ear headphones (far better than the disposable in-ear alternative).
I watched One Life starring Anthony Hopkins, which tells a fantastic true story…I highly recommend it.
Wi-Fi passes were available for purchase including free messaging or surfing on an hourly (€10) or flight (€22) basis.
It was also a beautiful morning to look outside, especially as we flew over Greenland and northern Canada.
Air France 777 Economy Class Service
There was nothing remarkable about the service on this flight. It was courteous during the service and flight attendants largely disappeared between the post-takeoff lunch and pre-arrival snack. That said, flight attendants made it easy for self-service by setting up snacks and beverages in the galley.
There was, however, a little bit of drama in the cabin that I will share about tomorrow.
CONCLUSION
We landed on-time in Los Angeles 11 hours later and it was still morning. We were back on the West Coast. There’s something so comforting about flying on the starboard side of the airplane and soaring over downtown Los Angeles, my beautiful concrete jungle, on approach.
We arrived at the 200-gates in the Tom Bradley International Terminal, which meant a long walk to passport control. Soon, though, we were on our way home.
Look, economy is economy and there’s only so much that differentiates one product from another. I do appreciate the Frenchness of Air France in terms of the food and drink and you can often score very attractive deals, especially with children, when booking with FlyingBlue.
I don’t think I will ever be enthusiastic about economy class, but this was very doable, despite being nearly full, for a daytime flight.
In case you are interested, I’ve flown this aircraft in first class well going the other direction…
> Read More: Air France 777-300ER First Class Los Angeles – Paris
That Israeli salad looks decent.
Nice trip. Did you get a peek into Premium Economy? I’m wondering if the 777-300s are still using those awful shell seats. I elected to fly Delta on this route last month just because some of the AF planes still have those.
Unfortunately, I do not recall. Thanks for reading!
Nice very thorough review. I did get a chuckle from your being incited to board first. I realize it’s just a typo but the visual images that evokes are pretty funny in a harmless way.
I’m hopeless!
And how was the flight for the majority of passengers who DIDNT wangle an extra empty seat for their party?
You should fly the same flight in coach on a popular day and take a poll asking people that burning question.
All alcoholic drinks being complementary to the food does indeed sound nice – especially when they’re complimentary
Thanks for a great review.
In my law school, your writing will only get u 65% (which is a B grade).
Fortunately, I am a B+ student (70%) which is just average.