Seat Selection / Delta - Air France

Be aware of costs associated with advance seat assignments on Air France as you think about these tickets.

As for seat recommendations on Delta Comfort +, that's up to you. (Economy Plus is United's product)

Do you prefer the aisle or window? I always select the aisle for more leg comfort and the freedom to move around the plane without worrying if the person next to me on the aisle is asleep. Some prefer the window seat because that person controls the window -- if you want natural light to read or want to look out the window but the person in the window seat wants it closed, you're out of luck.

So what's more important? Control of the window or access to aisle/more leg comfort?

For transatlantic flights, choosing a seat is a must for us. For short haul flights, it's not.

For us, the extra money for the comfort seats is worth it. We're looking to buy tickets for our July 31 flights, but am waiting for the prices to go down about 3-4 months out... fingers crossed. I've read that 99 days out is a good rule of thumb, but our dates are in the middle of the summer so I think that may change the equation. Last year when I was flight shopping, a good price came and went quickly, so we're ready to buy as soon as our target price shows up.

Your will appreciate the extra room on this long flight. Spring for the Delta Comfort.

Let me just warn you about connecting flights out of European airports. They will often book you on 6:00 a.m. flight which means you might have to wake up at 3:00 a.m. to make the flight.
Chances are, you will get to a big city gateway airport where you will sit 3-4 hours until midday when the flights to the U.S. board and take off.
We try to book flights out after 9:00 a.m. The transatlantic flights are hard enough without getting little or no sleep the night before.

A few months ago I purchased Delta Premium Select seats on Delta site for travel from San Diego to Palermo Italy. This choice meant first class on the delta leg of flight, San Diego to New York, then Premium Economy on Alitalia from New York to Rome, this is a small separate section between business class and economy with more room etc, and then economy for the short hop from Rome to Palermo (whole plane appeared to be economy). I was very surprised and not too happy when I was unable to choose seat assignment on the Alitalia parts of the flight. When I called Delta they said I had to call Alitalia for those flights. When I called Alitalia they said since they are codeshare flights I could not preselect seat til check-in. After a couple days I called Delta back and said since these seats were a premium seat at a higher cost I found it unacceptable that I could not select a seat for the longest part of the flight. The agent agreed and said she would look into it and call back. Well somehow she managed to wrangle me a seat assignment on the New York to Rome flight. Not sure how she did it but greatful.

Thanks to all for great advice / guidance. It is appreciated.

The IND CDG segment is Delta and you will get free seat selection on Delta. It depends how the ticket is marketed and which website you use to buy it as to how easy it will be to reserve seats. Are you buying directly from a Sky Team airline website? I believe all share reservation numbers so if you buy on airfrance.com the reservation code will bring up your seats on Delta.com.

AF will probably assign you a seat at check in for the short leg of your itinerary from Florence to Paris, unless you buy a higher level ticket.

Out of curiosity, how much are our Hoosier Delta tickets running now? This new route is a big deal for all of us.

Right now, the particular flights I am looking at, which includes a return from Florence to Indianapolis via Paris, are running about $2,800 for the two of us (based on one step up from Economy seating). I am focused on getting that cost down by $300 to $500 but we shall see. These particular flights work very well for us (we are 90 minutes from the Indianapolis airport) and the direct flight (outbound) and direct flight (return) with a short flight from Florence to Paris and adequate layover to catch our return, is something that we really like. We are all about eliminating connections if possible.

I just flew Delta/AirFrance roundtrip to Paris. I booked economy at a terrific price and then upgraded my seats on AF and paid with my credit card. They sent me an email with the receipt of my purchases.

LUCKILY - I filed that email away in my travel folder because when I showed up to check into my flight they could see I had upgraded seats but said I needed to show them the receipt as a proof I had paid for them. WHAT??!!?? Yep - I had to dig through my travel folder for that receipt or AF was going to charge me again for the seats I had already purchases.

Just be aware - SAVE your confirmation and receipt emails. Airlines know no boundaries in what they will attempt to do to take as much money from your pocket as possible!

We flew Delta Comfort Plus on an international trip last year. I have no complaints about the size of the seat, the leg room or the service.

The one issue I did have was the fact that I had booked the window seat for my other half and that meant I was in the middle. Okay, this one wasn't that long of a flight, so I was prepared to be a good sport.

Unfortunately, the gentleman sitting on the aisle seat REFUSED to move when I needed to climb out and use the restroom. He was not mobility impaired. He spoke fluent English. He just refused. So I basically climbed over his legs.

Going forward, if I can't secure a two-seat configuration for my other half and me, I'm considering booking my own seat on the aisle to prevent this happening again.

I'd never experienced this before this trip, and it has never happened on a flight since then. It was bizarre.
But I just thought I'd mention it if you two aren't fixed on having a window seat.

My husband and I decided that we don't have to be joined at the hip for the 10+ hours of the flight -- we each get an aisle seat, either across from each other or one behind the other. Except when there's a 2-across row, when I take the window and he gets the aisle and walks across the Atlantic. (But in regular Economy.)

If the plane has three or four seats in the middle (between the two aisles) I like to grab two of those, an aisle seat and the one next to it. Usually the third (and fourth) person exit using the other aisle and we have only ourselves to disturb.

No one mentioned Seatguru.com so far? I've used it in the past. You load your airline, flight date and time to get the specific plane you will fly. Seat guru will show the plane layout and highlight any particularly good or bad seats along with information such as an obstruction where your feet would go, proximity to toilets, seats that don't recline, etc.

Again, thanks for all of the great idea to those who have responded. I have heard of Seatguru but did not think to research it until the suggestion noted above.

I've read that 99 days out is a good rule of thumb

From a medium-sized airport like DTW I think this is a terrible idea. It will fail at least 95% of the time.

Not specifically applicable here, but the seat alert app will scan for window or aisle seats and alert you if one opens up. Always works for me for last minute travel when only middle seats are selectable at purchase.

We are flying Vancouver, BC direct to CDG and I opted to buy advance seats using SeatGuru as a guide. We leave in a month and chose "twin" seats in coach. Near the rear of the plane, but should give us room and privacy for the 10 hours!