Air France planes from US to Paris

Air France is replacing their older Boing 777s with Airbus A350s, but the plan has at least been to keep some 777s.

Even if you could get an answer, I don't think there is any guarantee that the plane used would not change on any given date next year (i.e. even if their intention is to use one of the newer planes on the route you are taking, there isn't any guarantee that it will be that plane).

Seat guru is really useless nowadays. It is no longer updated at all. Sometimes you can go on Flyertalk.com and find the right airline to do a search on their forum and people will talk about the seats. Another option I use a lot is YouTube videos.

What Kim said...no way to tell what's going to be flying next year.

Having said that, AF has just started replacing the PE seats in their 777-300's, from the much-despised shell seats to their "regular" ones from the PE section of their 787's. Who knows how long that will take. Also, from what I've read, I don't think they'll be doing this to the 777-200's, which will of course make it even trickier when looking at seating.

Now, having said that, :-), I just flew AF 777, PE on the way over and regular economy on the way back. And, yes, the shell seats are not great, but it's still much better than regular economy, which is really tight 10-across seating. I'm not huge--6 foot, 36" waist--and my hips were touching both armrests. And, the aisles are quite narrow, so if sitting in an aisle seat you will be endlessly bumped.

They are slowly phasing out their 777-200s, but keeping the newer, bigger -300s, of which they have 40+.

Looking at flights for your date would show you which aircraft is scheduled to fly it, but won't show which configuration is scheduled, and will be subject to change—both the aircraft type and its configuration.

I know some people don't like AF 'shell' PE seat—I actually prefer it over having someone recline into my face.

Thank you all so much for your input. I guess I will wait a bit and check out other sites for seat info (e.g. You Tube) and hope for the best.

If you do a “dummy booking” for your date, it should reveal what type of plane is currently scheduled for that flight. But of course it could change.

We flew AF on 9/8 from SFO to CDG on a 777. We were in Coach (miserable) so i’m no help w PE seat info.

I was curious so I checked, using the “flight details” button for each flight on the booking page. Here’s what I found is currently scheduled for mid-June flights next year:

From SFO: AF0083 is a 777-300
AF85 and AF87 use the 777-200

From LAX: AF73 and AF77 use the 777-200
AF65 and AF69 use the 777-300

All show the seat type in PE as “reclining seat with fixed shell”.

Of course that could change . . .

We just flew IAH to Paris - on Prem Econ. Misery. The seats for what they cost, were misery. Try and book the bulkhead or exit row seats in economy. They will provide you a better seat. I literally left my PE seat for one of those empty seats on my flight. AF is of NO help through customer service. Nada. Zip. We were provided the opportunity to upgrade to business, grabbed some seats, then the website glitched and wouldn't let me back in. Called Customer Service - they told me to try and upgrade at the airport as they could not help me. Airport tells me they are sold out. Get on plane and there are empty Business seats. Try and upgrade on board, and they told me I could only use points, which I didn't have enough of, but had planned to pay cash for the upgrade. It took them almost three hours into the flight to tell me I missed the meal and they would look more into it. Forget about it. Nothing ever transpired. The gentlemen in the row next to mine had serious body oder issues that drove everyone crazy. Nothing done. So we got to pay extra $$$$ for a miserable upgrade in a shell seat that offered nothing more than the economy seat did. Never again. Good luck. Hopefully the new planes are in your future, but the weren't in mine.

Also don't forget that your "AF" flight could be operated by Delta as a codeshare. Or even KLM I suppose.

My CDG-JFK flight on AF/Delta had a last minute aircraft substitution, it was the same type of plane but a different configuration so no one had the correct seats and it was pretty confusing for a while. None of the crew seemed to care especially.

From your other posts, it appears you are heading to the Dordogne area. If you do not like what you have read about the Air France 777’s with the hard shell seats in PE, you might look at other airports and airlines. It looks like Geneva and Barcelona are both nearly as close to the Dordogne as Paris is. Those airports might give you other airline options with better PE seat than AF.

Gosh, so many chances of problems. I wish I could afford business class. This trip is a treat for my kids and grandkids and I am hoping for a trouble free flight. AF seems to be the only nonstop but without a long layover I would consider KLM (change in Amsterdam) or another airline or any other flight that wouldn't stretch into 15+ hours. I still have time to decide. My son and his partner, plus my husband and I can handle the extra stop, but I'd like to make it as trouble-free as possible for my daughter with the kids. For various reasons, she is in need of a restful break. However, things may change regarding flight options.

In regard to itinerary, yes, the Dordogne region is my goal for this family vacation. All the things to see and do should be on the nose for a 9 and a 12 year old to enjoy. (And us adults also!) As the trip gets closer, I plan to ask some of our posters for some specific suggestions about that region. Hubby and I have been there and are excited to revisit the area, repeat some activities, and engage in new ones. I have reserved a gite that fits our needs near La Roque Gageac. We will rent two cars and have 9 full days to explore. After a delay of two years my mouth is watering for the food and ambience of the Perigord.

Thank you everyone for your advice and support!

Lola, I have done a dummy booking and reviewed the planes and their configurations. I think I will try other airlines besides Air France. Your efforts are much appreciated. Thank you.

Badger, Thank you for letting me know it is the Airbus350 that AF is bringing in. I will check out their configurations. Maybe things will be better with them, provided they are in use by next June!