Premium Voyageur on Air France Our Review
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Back in January we entered a contest where we had to let people out there on the Internet know that Air France has launched a new class, the Premium Voyageur Class on many of their long haul flights. We thought it would be fun to do the research and write a blog post. Besides, we had a very good chance since Air France Canada only invited 20 Canadian travel blogs to take part.
As it turned out our article Air France Launches New Premium Voyageur Class won.
We were treated to a flight to Paris from Montreal on their new class. As luck would have it our flight to France had a last minute change and we were upgraded to Business Class. Lucky us!
During our flight home from France we were in our proper place in the new Premium Voyageur Class and we wanted to share what it was like with all of you.
The Arrival
We arrived at the Charles de Gaulle airport early hoping that we may be able to sit in the Air France Businuss lounge since we were in a premium class.
Deb at the Premium Boarding!
When we checked in we asked at the ticket counter if we were allowed in the Air France Lounge and they told us that they were not sure, we would have to go through security and ask once we arrived at the departure area.
That was odd, you would think that the Air France staff would know these things.
Unfortunately once we went to the lounge we were told that we could only enter if we paid 35€ Each. We decided against paying 70 € to sit in a lounge and decided to buy our dinner instead.
One Problem.
We have never been to an airport with such a lack of facilities as our terminal at Charles de Gaulle. There were no restaurants or even nice little coffee lounges. If only we knew before going through security that we couldn’t go into the Affaires lounge, we would have waited to check in and would have eaten in the main area of the airport that actually had some restaurants.
Gotta love Pasta in a box for 8 Euro!
The 70 Euro for the private Air France Premium lounge with unlimited beverages and food was looking better by the second.
When we went to board the plane, we went to premium check in that stated Premium Voyageur, Affaires Business and Premium First Class check in, but we were shooed away. Luckily the supervisor saw what was happening and called us back. “Sorry for the misunderstanding, you can check in here.”
I am sure that by the time you read this, Air France will know what to do with the people traveling Premium Voyageur.
We started to feel special!
Once we got on board the plane though, we started to feel special.
Our Premium Voyageur Class had a total of 5 people including Dave and myself sitting in the section. One woman was on our previous flight a month ago to France and we had a great chat. She just finished walking Spain over the Camino de Santiago! Another woman lived in the same town as my sister in Germany an she knew her! Can you believe it?
The world was very small that day my friends.
The seats looked good!
The Premium Voyageur Class looks very good. It has the same slightly smaller version of shelled seats as Business Class where they recline within themselves. The one problem we found with the seats is that they didn’t recline enough. The woman behind us actually thought something was wrong with her seat, but that was as far back as the seat went. We felt that they could have reclined a tad more but at least they had a foot rest to allow you to stretch your legs out and there is far more leg room in front of your seat than in the Voyageur Class. It also had clever head rests that folds on either side to hold your neck straight.
They are quite comfortable and far wider than the seats in the voyageur class.
- Business class consists of a seating plan of 2 /3 /2
- Economly Voyageur has a plan of 3/ 4 /3
- Premium Voyageur has a plan of 2/ 4 /2 giving us ample amount of space and comfort.
The entertainment system is second to none with choice of movies, T.V. series and games to keep you busy for the entire flight.
We also received a little care package of toothpaste and toothbrush, hand cream, socks, eye masks and earplugs in a handy little case.
Time for dinner!
Dinner
The meal was great as usual on an Air France flight, but we aren’t special enough to receive metal knives and forks like the folks in business class. Do you remember the days when we all had metal cutlery on a plane? It is supposedly for security purposes that we now eat with plastic but what, are only poor people a security threat?
And don’t get me started on the environment! Bring back the silverware! Round the edges, make the knife dull, give us a spork (spoon/fork combination)! A person with money has just as good of a chance at being a security threat as the rest of us.
But I digress….
A good upgrade from coach!
Final Impression
Air France Premium Voyageur Class was comfortable and it looked good. It is definitely worth the extra money to upgrade from coach. Business Class can be a little too much money for the regular person to upgrade but Air France’s Premium Voyageur offers the average person the chance to travel with more comfort and style for a fraction of the price.
More Legroom!
Makes a lot of difference!
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For the cost, we think It is great value for your money. On average a flight from Paris to Montreal is about $1300. If you are looking for an upgrade with more room and comfort and extra perks like priority baggage, and priority check in. You will be satisfied. You don’t have to stand in long lines and your luggage will come off the plane first making your travel experience much more pleasant.
Would we fly Premium Voyageur on Air France again? Definitely.
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I was just thinking about your review on the Premium Voyageur seats with Air France.
Thanx for the honest review. I do agree with your little rant on silverware on planes! It doesn’t make any sense!
I also hate it when an airline creates something new and forgets to tell the ground crew about it – that is frustrating!
Seats look beautiful! I have taken this type of “class” on Eva Airways and on JetStar (Australian charter airline) and think it is completely worth the extra money for the extras! I bet it was extra nice that there weren’t many people in the cabin
I will look at Air France the next time I book to Europe!
.-= Melanie´s last blog ..Amsterdam, Relax or Not… =-.
Thanks Melanie, Glad to hear other people feel the same way about the plastic forks. It isn’t only Air France, it is all airlines. I have ranted about it on every airline review that we do. I find it fascinating that they don’t allow everyone to use silverware when it is readily available in business and first class.
It is true the upgrade is definitely worth it. The extras make all the difference in the world.
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Wonderful review! I think it’s great that Air France offers this ‘in-between’ class for those who can spend a little bit more to get some very nice perks.
It’s a shame that they haven’t communicated better with their staff – hopefully they’ll rectify that very soon.
.-= Trisha Miller´s last blog ..NEW Feature at TWE: Under The Microscope =-.
True about the communication but we took it in stride, how often do big companies forget to inform the little guys. I am sure that it is all ironed out now. It was very new at the time we flew.
Bravo! Excellent review and interior views of Premium Voyageur on Air France. I will book it on my next flight. Where are the “I Love Paris” red T Shirts? Maybe, I was drinking too much wine that night but I thought you two were going to fly on AF wearing the T shirts!
Sorry Mary Louise, I think we forgot. We had the whole day in Paris before flying and didn’t want to walk around looking like a tourist during the day and then by the time we flew out, it slipped our minds. I do love the T-shirts though and have worn them already back in Canada! Thank you my lady!
These seats are absolutely horrible. They slide forward, they do not recline. One has the impression that one is always sliding towards the floor. The only thing keeping you in place is your seat belt. The trays are unusable as they butt up against your stomach, I had to eat with my food tray on my lap. I will never fly this class of service again. L’Avoin from Open Skies is by far a much better deal, at a fraction of the price. To my dismay, I discovered that Air France was unwilling to refund half my ticket once I had reached my destination, and any changes come with a hefty change fee, despite the fact that these tickets are twice the price of a full fare economy. There are also no bathrooms in the premium economy section, one has no idea whether to use the business class or economy class bathrooms. Oh and did I mention you can’t use the business class lounge unless your willing to pony up an extra $100 dollars.
Complete and total ripoff!
After reading your entire blog, I am excited about booking Air France’s Premium Voyager Class. I used to be cabin crew for Delta Airlines, and I currently live in Los Angeles. The prospect of a 10+ hour flight in the voyager cabin to Paris was not on the top of my list. Luckily, Air France was having a sale. I am excited for booking the cabin for our upcoming trip in March.
Your review was comprehensive, and as a person who is six feet two inches tall, I need that extra space of legroom. As for the meals- I’m just pleased it is a hot meal and not a boxed lunch that didn’t have to pay for. I totally agree for the flatware- bring it back.
The lounges, in my opinion are definitely worth it, if the airports are extremely busy, and you are hungry, and frankly need a drink- or several.
Thanks Alex. I am glad that we inspired you to take the Premium Voyageur Class. We enjoyed it greatly. We like to be honest and share the good and the bad so that people know exactly what they are getting. I would take this class over coach any day. It was comfortable relaxed and we would fly it again and again.
In Virgin Atlantic premium economy they provide metal cutlery knife with rounded edges, perfectly serviceable and much nicer to use than plastic, they also use glass, not plastic for their wine service. Why can’t all airlines do this??
Gerladine, that is amazing. I haven’t been able to understand why airlines stopped using metal. it can’t be a security risk because the duty free bottles of booze would do far more damage than a fork! It has to be some deal with the plastic (which is oil) companies.
Can you tell me if the the bulk head seats in Premiere Voyageur have individual View Screens or is it one common on on the wall?
It is individual screen and the entertainment system is second to none.
Hi there,
Thanks for your great review. We have our flight on hold from LAX to CDG in Premium Voyageur (2-4-2 config) but I’m trying to decide if we should sit in the front row (Row 18). The MOST IMPORTANT thing to me is leg room and I’m afraid that there will be a wall in front of that row that limits the amount of leg room that the other rows in PV might have (where you can stretch your legs under the seat in front of you). Do you happen to recall if there was a wall and if there was a wall how close was it?
I just got back from France CDG to LAX, and sat at the bulk head, 19H, of course the seat does not recline all the way back and being 6′ tall, I was concerned about leg room, but found plenty, I put my back pack on the floor and that elevated my feet more than enough, it is just a long flight, but can say it is much more comfortable than the seats in the back and more than worth the price.
Enjoy you trip.
Thanks so much for the info. My only follow up question is regarding your comment about the seat not going all the way back. I thought these were fixed shell seats and so they don’t actually recline but rather slide downward. Does the bulkhead affect that?
love your air france review. haven’t used them yet, but how is it in coach?
Hi Amer, we didn’t fly coach. This was one of those rare occasions that we had the chance for an upgrade. But what I have heard about Air France is that their coach food is excellent and the entertainment system is the same as the Premium Voyageur so I can imagine it is very good.
This is an outstanding post, thank you so much for the information about on Air France’s Premium Voyageur Class. The food and the amenities is absolutely superb specially with the seat coverage it is absolutely fantastic.
Glad you enjoyed your experience Lawrence.
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Cutlery is the least of your problems with Air France Premium Voyageur.
We just flew from Hong Kong to Paris. The seats were OK but that was it. The service was extremely poor.
After an 11 hour flight from Auckland to Hong Kong on a very comfortable Premium Economy flight with Air New Zealand we were looking forward to the 13 hour Air France sector. What a let down. We were ignored by the crew, when they did speak they were rude. We had lunch after take off which was an economy meal and just edible. One hour out of Paris we were were served a light economy meal with no choice. During the flight there was no service or offer of any. The crew call button was ignored and a request at the aft Galley for refreshments drew contempt from the staff. They were happier chatting with each other with the Galley curtains drawn and were annoyed at being disturbed.
For the additional cost Premium Voyageur is definitely not worth it. Having been travelling for over 40 years this was a first with Air France….. and it is a choice we will not repeat.
having travelled for many years this new product is a real rip off, flying from South America to Europe it means an additional of well over one thousand us dollars, food the simple economy and not even a second serving of drinks or coffe, not even the hot towels or wake up drink, depending of the mood of the crew one is subject to the usual arrogant underserviced Air France attitude. far difference from the standard friendly efficient attitude of KLM counterparts. Air France should learn a bit more from their expertise.
FB platinum.
I liked reading your review.
We flew AF Premium Voyageur on our last trip to Scotland (DC-Paris-Aberdeen) and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We’d previously flown premium economy with British Airways and were not impressed. But, premium voyageur was much nicer. I am a plus size woman and my husband is quite tall, so the extra room was really appreciated. I also like the much more private-feeling of the premium cabin.
We just booked flights for our Christmas trip this year (yes, I plan WAY ahead) and have chosen AF premium voyageur again. This time we’ll be flying with our daughter who will be 19 months when we travel. I’m hoping we have another good experience.
Thanks a lot for your review! I am considering on taking this class on my next AirFrance travel…
ah and in my past flight I took Aeromexico and I was surprised that the forks were not plastic!!
Enjoy and thanks.
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wow!
ahahaha this is a good way to travelling! I love this plane
AIR FRANCE IS A MAJOR NIGHTMARE! ARROGANCE AND INCOMPETENCE ARE THEIR BUSINESS GUIDELINE.
NEVER AGAIN WTH THAT AIRLINE.