Copa737DFW From United States, joined Jul 2005, 79 posts, RR: 0 Posted (2 months 2 weeks 1 day 17 hours ago) and read 909 times:
Hi, I live in the DFW area and I'm planning to go to GVA in a few months. I was thinking on flying from IAH-CDG-GVA on Air France (the drive to IAH isn't that long and doesn't really bother me) but I could also go from DFW-AMS-GVA on KLM. Ignoring the fact that I would have to drive to IAH if I choose Air France, which is better? Which airline has more comfortable coach seats (A330 on KLM or 777-300 on Air France), best airport connections, best food, best service, amenity kids, etc..
Thanks,
COPA737DFW
Organization is for people who are to lazy too look for things!
FlySSC From Lebanon, joined Aug 2003, 5547 posts, RR: 53 Reply 2, posted (2 months 2 weeks 1 day 6 hours ago) and read 864 times:
If you are traveling in Y, the comfort is pretty much the same, with a higher pitch on AF and maybe a better inflight meal/drink service, but flying KL out of DFW would avoid you to drive all the way to IAH so I personally would choose KL ...
You can also fly KL one way and AF the other way, so you can compare ! fares are usually comparable ...and in any case, the money you will pay will go into the same pocket !
Mindscape From Vietnam, joined Apr 2004, 197 posts, RR: 0 Reply 3, posted (2 months 2 weeks 1 day 5 hours ago) and read 855 times:
KLM:
pros:
- A332 with 2-4-2 seating configuration in Y
- PTV with great inflight movie/program selection
- AMS which is a breeze for connection
cons:
- no amenity kit in Y
AF:
pros:
- B77W
- PTV with new inflight program (only few aircrafts have been retroffited withthe new entertainment system)
- tasty meal (i was impressed on my last AF Y trip last weekend with the introduction of the tropicana OJ on my diner tray)
- little amenity kit in Y
cons:
- B77W for the 3-4-3 seating configuration in Y
- PTV with the old entertainment system
- CDG which is less convenient than AMS for connecting flight
Service wise, both are great with hit and miss...
As FlySSC has suggested you can take one carrier inbound and the other outbound.
Ask someone to drive you at IAH, take AF on your way to GVA, and KL on your way back to DFW.
The westbound trip is longer, and I would tend to prefer KL for the longer part of the trip just because 2-4-2 is in my opinion better than 3-4-3.
TurkishWings From Turkey, joined May 2006, 927 posts, RR: 5 Reply 4, posted (2 months 2 weeks 1 day 2 hours ago) and read 843 times:
I flew both airlines on long haul routes. AF between CDG-SXM on A 340-300 and KLM between DTW-AMS on B 777-200ER. Both were almost the same but as others said, if you are traveling alone, go for the A 330. Again as others mentioned, AMS is a much better airport to connect through.
There are more flight options to GVA on AF than on KL.
Quoting Copa737DFW (Thread starter): Ignoring the fact that I would have to drive to IAH if I choose Air France
Actually I would make this the major point. Do you really want to drive all the way to IAH if you can fly out of your local DFW ?
Quoting FlySSC (Reply 2): You can also fly KL one way and AF the other way,
Look into KL's website then. At least here in Europe (for flights out of Germany) they offer flights on both carriers, whereas AF's website inly has its very own flights.
____________
Overall the difference between the two flight options aint too big.
As always I would go for the better timed option, if fares are comparable.
The return from AMS to DFW leaves rather early, meaning that you wil have to take the earliest flight out of GVA ... : Do you really want to do this ?
Looking at timings, I would recommend to fly DFW-AMS-GVA on KL outbound and return to IAH on the later flight. However, this in turn would give you a problem to drive home the same night ...
-HT
Carpe diem ! Life is too short to waste your time ...
Viscount724 From Switzerland, joined Oct 2006, 6966 posts, RR: 1 Reply 6, posted (2 months 2 weeks 23 hours ago) and read 821 times:
If the choice is between an AF 777-300ER and a KL A330, I would definitely choose KL due to the more spacious 2-4-2 seating. AF has recently gone from 3-3-3 on their 773s to 3-4-3 which is cramped and uncomfortable compared to 2-4-2 on an Airbus. And only a 25% chance of a middle seat on KL compared to 50% on AF.
AMS is also a more pleasant and convenient connecting airport than CDG.
Copa737DFW From United States, joined Jul 2005, 79 posts, RR: 0 Reply 7, posted (2 months 2 weeks 20 hours ago) and read 809 times:
Quoting HT (Reply 5): Actually I would make this the major point. Do you really want to drive all the way to IAH if you can fly out of your local DFW ?
True, it's just that Air France is a little cheaper...
Quoting FlySSC (Reply 2): You can also fly KL one way and AF the other way, so you can compare ! fares are usually comparable ...and in any case, the money you will pay will go into the same pocket !
Quoting Mindscape (Reply 3): As FlySSC has suggested you can take one carrier inbound and the other outbound.
Ask someone to drive you at IAH, take AF on your way to GVA, and KL on your way back to DFW.
That sounds like a good idea, I might try that! Thanks!
Organization is for people who are to lazy too look for things!
Kappel From Suriname, joined Jul 2005, 2064 posts, RR: 3 Reply 8, posted (2 months 1 week 4 days 3 hours ago) and read 736 times:
Quoting FlySSC (Reply 2): If you are traveling in Y, the comfort is pretty much the same, with a higher pitch on AF and maybe a better inflight meal/drink service,
IIRC seat pitch is the same and as mentioned, the AF 77W is 3-4-3 now, much less comfortable than KL's 2-4-2.
Personally, I prefer KL's onboard service in Y. I fly them both regularly. KL's crew makes regular drink runs, and with AF you only have the bar service. If you're in a window or middle seat, that can make a difference.
Not that I dislike AF mind you! They are more or less the same quality in Y IMHO, both have plusses and minuses compared to the other.
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