Does anyone have any opinions to share about Air France service from BOS to CDG and then to Florence. This is the first time we will use this airline and I am wondering what we are in for as far as food, drinks, service. The last copule of years we have used Alitalia...we had some problems but not real bad. Thanks

Just flew them for the first time Rome to Paris and Paris to Boston. There was a security problem at CDG the day I was due to fly FCO-CDG, the flight was over 2 hours late. Not too forthcoming with info, I had to persist to get updates regarding departure and to even find out what caused the delay. CDG-BOS the check-in was very, very slow, the security was very, very slow. I arrived 2 hours before the flight and only had time to visit the WC and one little shopping errand and nothing else, before boarding. The flight was oversold and they were asking for volunteers to route CDG-ATL-BOS for a voucher of E300 in compensation. Because of the packed flight, we took off late and did not make it up in the air. Service was fine, food was ok, alcohol is freely available, even in coach. The Airbus 340 is a widebody with individual video/TV/games- the best entertainment I have seen in coach! Hope this helps.

I had a similar experience with Air France. All was fine in the air - better than average, imo - but I got held back in Berlin because of bad weather in Paris or so we were told. Actually, the weather in Berlin was 10 times worse. It snowed around CDG that morning alright, all of 3 minutes that is! So I missed my connecting flight and had to wait in line for hours to get a new reservation and voucher for hotel for that night. They put me up in a motel that only serves frozen dinner. I was really irritated by the whole ordeal but I suspect that the problems lie with the recently expanded airport. So, be prepared for the worst and hope for the best, I'd say.

Thanks so much for all the info...I love this site!

I think a lot of any flight experience is luck -- weather, strikes, etc., can ruin any trip. We generally prefer to fly Air France out of Boston because as others have said, the in-flight experience is pretty good, as those things go.

We mostly go to France or Italy, and I could often fly nonstop to Italy if I went on Alitalia, but after a really bad strike experience, I vowed I would try to stay away from Alitalia, even though all the flights to Italy require connections in Paris.

I know Air France has strikes too, but they seem to strike less often and have reasons for their strikes, as opposed to Italy, where strikes are just part of the culture.

Also, I like the schedule better on Air France than most other airlines. They seem to have more flights that don't depart from Europe at the crack of dawn. You do have to be careful though because they will often try to schedule you for connections you have very little chance of making if there is the slightest delay, and it can be confusing and time-consuming getting around CDG Airport.

We have travelled with Air France (out of Toronto) three times in the past five years. A1 class service on each occasion - once my mother and sister got bumped (? elevated?? ) to first class. Food and service - good, for an airline.