Flying Air France with kids

Just wondering if anyone has flown them recently and if you had any general impressions. It%26#39;s not an airline I have used before.

I was wondering if there were any general differences in the food or service, and what the entertainment packages are like, as we are traveling with our 4 %26amp;7 year olds.

Look forward to your contributions

|||

We have flown Air France 3 times to Paris, once with our older kids. The food selection is good, they offer free beer and wine to passengers, and they offer snacks too. You can get on the AF website to look up what movies will be offered on your plane. We will probably always use AF. We like them alot!

|||

I%26#39;ve flown with AF and will be flying again soon, my general impressions are good. I like the service, food%26#39;s ok, much better than on some other airlines.

|||

I heart AirFrance. I book them on purpose any time I have a code share opportunity.

Their seats are a bit more comfortable (for example, on a 777, Delta%26#39;s configuration is 3-4-3. On AF, it%26#39;s 3-3-3 -- and oh, what a difference it makes!)

The food is generally better, and the service is generally very gracious. Obviously, you can always get an attendant having a bad day, but it%26#39;s been less on AF for us than most of the rest.

Check www.seatguru.com -- it will tell you what the entertainment is - it varies by aircraft type, so it%26#39;s hard to tell.

I%26#39;m torn on rather or not to recommend booking their kids%26#39; package -- they have special little toy packs (usually just some cheap little toys, but my son always enjoyed them) - but then you get the kids%26#39; meal -- which, like most airlines%26#39; kids%26#39; meals, is soggy chicken nuggets and wet fries...pretty nasty stuff, and my son usually ate my dinner anyway!

|||

Gift packs with toys are handed out, usually in the beginning of the flight, to all children under 12 (my dd got them longer cause she%26#39;d ask for them). I never ordered kid%26#39;s meals, have seen them though and find the adult ones better.

|||

that was going to be the other comment - an attendant told us that TECHNICALLY they only put enough toy packs on board for the number of children%26#39;s meals booked...but they usually have a few extras.

I didn%26#39;t put that in there because there have been a couple of flights where they really didn%26#39;t have an extra toy pack. (No biggie, we had plenty on board for him to do...it%26#39;s a nice %26quot;new thing%26quot; to play with, but we didn%26#39;t really need it.)

If your kid is one (or you%26#39;re a parent who) will have an issue with expecting one and not getting it...then you%26#39;ll be better off to book the kids%26#39; meal.

|||

Thanks for that information and links. I was able to follow links to discover the meal packages, inflight entertainment and cabin layouts, which is great information, thankyou.

I know this is getting a bit detailed now, but I am slightly concerned by the 3 - 3 - 3 config. as there are four of us. I would like to find out which aircraft are assigned to which routes, so if anyone can tell me how to find that it would be great.

If I have to get my head around the fact that we will be sitting separately then better now than on the aircraft. I love being spontaneous, but not on a 13hr flight with 2 children!

I may also be able to make sure we are seated close by at least and get on to that now.

Oh how my travel agent hates me - lol....

|||

Hi --

I think your best bet is to book a window for the child, and the aisle for one parent, and do the same in the following row. Take your chances on the fact that the airlines always fill the middle seats last, and on the fact that nobody wants a middle seat next to somebody else%26#39;s child. If that seat gets filled, you shouldn%26#39;t have any trouble trading them for your aisle seat, but wait until after take off, in case there%26#39;s another seat available that your middle person could move into, and leave you with the three seats to yourself.

If the middle isn%26#39;t sold, you%26#39;ll have an extra seat for a child to stretch out in to sleep, and life will be much easier when you arrive at your destination. If both middles remain vacant, you can set the two children up in the forward row, heads in opposite directions, and then you and your partner can stretch out a little, too, in the following row, and still keep an eye on the children while they sleep.

Bonne chance et bon voyage.

|||

Great idea - great advice - Merci!

|||

The AF booking site should list the equipment right along with the other flight information.

You can then go to www.seatguru.com to see what the configuration that plane has (just knowing which model of plane won%26#39;t always help -- there are often several configurations for each body type).

There%26#39;s still no guarantee, by the way -- if there%26#39;s some sort of issue that day (a delay, a mechanical issue) -- they can and will substitute equipment.

|||

MyTeddy, that%26#39;s brilliant.