Friends,

As referenced in previous posts, I had the "bon plaisir" of flying Air France back to the USA on Saturday.

The experience was wonderful — so I wanted to share a few elements of it all that stood out to me in anticipation of a full review to come. Three things to highlight:

1. I found their long haul product materially better than their short haul product (thought breakfast two hours later than I anticipated on the short haul flight no doubt suppressed my evaluation).

2. I ended up on an A350 with their newest business class seat (hooray!), which was a pleasant surprise. Coupled with their soft product, Air France operates one of the best business class cabins in the world right now.

3. Speaking personally, it was a great fun to speak a little French. My accent received a “room for improvement” score, but far more substantially every member of the crew was incredibly kind with my fumbling Français.

Sleep (or the ability to sleep) is the core product of any business class cabin worth its salt in 2025. Everything else, while important, is secondary. Air France’s new seat delivers on the ability to sleep in spades — but I’d argue that is table stakes.

What actually stood out to me is the food. Air France serves meals I will go so far as to say would taste great on the ground. Fine dining in practice — not just in principle. Ironically perhaps to this point: they are operating a pop-up restaurant in Paris this summer featuring their business class cuisine.

Compared to my Turkish Airlines flight earlier in the week, which while seriously great was still squarely a business class version of ‘airplane food’ — Air France’s meal services on my flight from Paris to Houston could have passed for quality dining on the ground.

Leave it to a French airline, but that is impressive in my book. Chef Gusteau in Ratatouille would be proud.

What is equally fantastic is their rewards program, FlyingBlue. While pricing is dynamic and naturally fluctuates, I was able to fly back to the USA in business class for 88k points plus taxes & fees. By all measures, that is a great deal.

I believe you’d think so too: standby for the full trip report. I hope it inspires your travels a bit.

Fly well.

Links

Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, and Bahrain all issued temporarily airspace closures amidst Iranian strikes against US assets in the Gulf.

The new Chase Sapphire Reserve card is live with an increased annual fee and compelling sign up offer.

Further commentary on the current conflict in the Middle East by Gary Leff.