Air France travel to and from CDG

We don't book AF because when we did we found the service particularly aversive. Of United and American we have found the American premium economy superior -- better food and service, but United has also been good and gives boarding and check in priority.

The old premium economy seats on Air France (AF) are pretty bad: good to give you more space in daytime flights, but many people including myself find them bad for sleeping because they don't really recline (!!). They are being replaced but I don't know how much progress they made. In the meantime I would avoid AF premium economy.
Food is the same as economy, but with better plates.

In my opinion, the only benefit to AF Premium Economy is the added space. I’ve flown PE on two long-haul AF flights, CDG to Seattle, and found the molded seats very uncomfortable, both upright and (somewhat) reclined. I’m a 5’3” ‘older’ woman. I think one has to look at what aircraft is being used to determine the seats. The photos I’ve seen online don’t seem to look like what’s in the cabins I’ve been in. Check out your flight on Seat Guru. On my flights, the whole seat just tilted back with the front edge of the seat hitting the back of my legs at an awkward spot. I booked through Delta and the flights were code-share. The food is the same as economy but I did get high quality headphones and a larger video screen.

you might get additional responses if you post under "transportation" - I agree about the AF prem econ seats - I've been in both the "old" and the "new" and the "new" are decidedly better

Since premium economy is about twice the cost of economy it is disappointing that the food is coach drek. American when we flew it had better food in PE and in fact this really jumped out on the lunch before landing. We had a really lovely fruit rice salad thing with lots of sides while economy had the usual inedible turkey wraps. On United it was the same awful economy class food.

For AF premium economy food, actually I am not so sure now, it might depend on the meal.
In any case, it is not memorable - and although I haven't flown long haul since COVID, I always found AF food to be decent even in Economy.
My general attitude is that, unless you are a larger person and absolutely need the space, if it is cheaper (and possible) for you to take a day of unpaid leave and spend another night in a hotel to recover from travel than to book a premium class ticket, then the extra day is the better option. US-Europe flights are long, but they're not the longest around!

Thank you everyone for your responses. I definitely don't like the idea of paying so much more for a premium economy that is not so premium. I am booking tickets for various family members from SFO, and for myself and hubby from LAX. Time to check out American and others. Being close to large hubs, I will do a broader search. Nonstop would be best for the single mom traveling with kids, but we others could possibly take a flight with changes.
BTW, I have booked what looks like a terrific gite in the Dordogne region, so I expect to return here with more questions.

We’ve done this from SFO, we really appreciated the space and middle ground between E and Biz that it provided and we will use it again.

We nearly always fly with Delta since we have the SkyMiles credit card. Air France is associated with Delta and we have flown them several times.

We have never flown premium economy on AF, but we have always found AF to be excellent. Their service and food are way better than most airlines, in particular American Airlines.

Mary 57, I am happy to hear that you felt the increased space was worth it. That is more important to me than the meals (although I miss the fine meals of the past). Having checked seatguru.com, and seeing which plane is used, I am feeling better about Air France for our needs.
This family trip was postponed from 2021, and I am thrilled to finally be able to go forward with it. Yay!

I flew AF premium economy Chicago to Paris August 2021. There were only 7 travelers between the bulkheads. Many empty seats. Economy in back had very few empty seats. We had excellent food and received the same travel packets/toiletries as business class. After serving champagne in business the flight attendants continued serving the 7 of us in premium economy. Maybe AF was treating us as possible promoters/advertisers of its premium economy class. Maybe the crew was feeing generous. As mentioned earlier, the width and pitch of the seat can vary depending on the aircraft. Not all premium economy services are the same. I flew Iberia premium economy in June this year and was allowed 2 checked bags so on the return flight, I checked my roll aboard. I appreciate the extra room and not having to contort my body to exit my seat if the person in front of me has their seat back in my face. I'm traveling Thursday, again AF premium economy, to Paris. I'm not expecting business class treatment as in 2019, but I am counting on the dedicated overhead bin space, the extra room to recline and the foot rest that tilts out.

hey hey judy
frenchbee.com
"low cost airline", we were at a french festival in san francisco few years ago and this airline was in a booth advertising the "new" airline. they have flights from SFO and LAX to ORLY, a few others but does not go to CDG.
you can do the numbers, seating and if ORLY okay. just another option for you. have fun
aloha

I prefer AF Premium Economy and try my best to get those seats when heading to Paris. I like the leg room and that the seats are in a hard shell so the person in front of you does not lean into your space, nor you into the person behind you.

Thank you everyone for your answers. I have done more research and have decided that AF premium economy will work for my daughter and grandkids, as well as for us from. Not cheap, but worth the extra cost to me for this trip.
Merci beaucoup!

We flew AF, SFO to CDG a few weeks ago (9/8) in Economy and r/t in Oct 2021. All flights were miserable in Coach, food was inedible, and “service” was a joke. Premium Economy looked much better to me compared to Coach. But it also depends on what aircraft you get, our 3 AF flights were old 777s. Miserable.

We flew home 3 days ago from Heathrow on Virgin. We were upgraded to Premium Delight and they were 1000 times better than Virgin or AF Coach.

I am not a fan of AF based on my 3 experiences.