Air France Business Class To Paris, 2+ Seats
Whether you're on the east or west coast or in the central US, Air France is a great option if you want to fly to Europe in business class in late 2023 and even early 2024. On some routes, you'll also find space early this year.
I've seen connecting award space to Munich, Vienna, and Rome. Flying Blue will even even let you include a free stopover now so you could see Paris on your way to another European city.
Now, let's get into the details.
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Straight To The Points:
Routes: IAD/JFK/LAX/MIA/ORD/SEA/SFO-CDDG
Operating airline: Air France
Class of service: Business class
Dates: January - March, November 2023 - January 2024 (yes, 2024)
Seats available: 2+ (often 4 and up to 8 on some dates)
Cabin layout: 1-2-1 (777-300, 787-9, A350)
Book with (per person, one-way):
- Air France-KLM Flying Blue:
- JFK: 55,000 miles
- IAD/MIA/ORD: 70,000 miles
- LAX/SEA/SFO: 80,000 miles
Taxes/fees (per person, one-way):
- From US: ~$200
- From CDG: ~$370
- Round-trip: ~$530
Bank transfer partners:
- Flying Blue: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Marriott
Don't forget to let me know if you book and how you did it!
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Flight Experience
The business class cabin on Air France's Boeing 787-9 and Boeing 777-300 are arranged in a 1-2-1 reverse herringbone layout. Each seat is lie-flat and has direct aisle access.
On their Airbus A350, you'll find a 1-2-1 cabin layout that is similar to United Polaris. Even numbered seats will be further from the aisle.
If there's one thing I like about Air France's lounge at my home airport of Washington Dulles, it's the fact that it has nice champagne. Inflight, service is a bit of a mixed bag but can be quite nice.
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Available Dates
NYC-CDG
January: 10, 11, 22, 23, 25-31
February: 2-14, 19-23, 25-28
March: 1, 3, 6, 13, 20, 27, 29
July: 17, 18, 25, 29, 31
August: 1,2, 5-8, 13, 14
October: 1, 2, 21, 23, 17, 30,31
November: 6, 7, 11-15, 19, 20, 22-29
December: 1, 2, 4, 8-12, 18-20, 22-31
January 2024: 1-3
CDG-NYC
January: 11-13, 15, 17-21, 23-28, 30
February: 1-4, 7-19, 21-24, 28
March: 1-5, 7-16, 20-25, 28, 29
August: 8-11, 15-18, 21-25
November: 1, 2, 7, 9, 14-24, 28, 30
December: 1-3, 5-28
January 2024: 1-4
ORD-CDG
January: 11, 13-16, 18, 21-24, 26, 29, 31
February: 5, 6, 19-22, 27, 28
March: 1, 5, 6, 13, 27
November: 5-7, 12, 13, 19, 20, 23, 24, 26, 27
December: 3,4, 10, 17-19, 22-31
January 2024: 1-3
CDG-ORD
January: 13-16, 18, 21-25, 28-30
February: 1, 3-6, 8, 11, 19 -22, 25, 27
March: 1, 5, 6, 12, 13, 15, 20, 27, 29
April: 2, 3, 10
August: 6, 7, 15
October: 3, 17, 24, 31
November: 5-7, 12, 13, 19, 20, 23, 24, 26, 27
December: 3-4, 10-11, 17-19, 22-31
January 2024: 1-3
LAX-CDG
November:1, 7-15, 20, 22, 23, 26-30
December: 1, 3-6, 8, 10, 21, 23-31
January 2024: 1-3
CDG-LAX
November: 1, 4, 7, 8, 16-24, 26-30
December: 1-29
SFO-CDG
November: 6-8, 14, 21-30
December: 1, 5, 6, 10-12, 18-28
January 2024: 1-3
CDG-SFO
November: 19-21, 22, 28-30
December: 1, 2, 5-15, 17-23, 25
MIA-CDG
November: 1-2, 5-9, 11-16, 19-26, 28
December: 4-23, 25, 28, 31
January 2024: 2
MIA-CDG
November: 1-3, 6-16, 18-24, 28-30
December: 1, 3-14, 17, 18, 23-30
January 2024: 2-4
IAD-CDG
October: 2,3, 9-11 23-26, 28
November: 6,13, 24,25, 30
December: 2,3, 9-11, 16, 18,19, 23-31
January 2024: 1-3
CDG-IAD
November: 1,3, 7, 14-17, 19-27, 29, 3-0
December: 1, 4-8, 10-25, 27
January 2024: 2-4
SEA-CDG
November: 23, 25, 28, 30
December: 2, 5, 7, 16, 23, 26, 28, 30
January 2024: 2
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Best Ways To Book
Flying Blue: Your Only Option, But Solid Rates, Free Stopover
Flying Blue's award rates are competitive but you'll be on the hook for surcharges. They're not terrible, just not great. If you don't feel like paying ~$530 in taxes/fees on a round-trip award ticket, I would consider booking the outbound with Flying Blue then booking a different award on the return.
Please keep in mind that award rates to other cities Europe could be different. In fact, many itineraries with connections will require fewer miles. You can check the saver level award rate here.
For example, LAX to Paris is 80,000 miles one-way while a connection to Rome will drop that to 68,000 miles.
You can included a free stopover on a one-way award ticket if your itinerary is operated entirely by Air France and/or KLM. Flying Blue plans to add the ability to include partners, but it's not possible yet.
If you need to connect on Delta, expect to see the award rate jump. It often makes more sense to book a separate positioning flight in this case.
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How To Book
You can pick either Air France or KLM's site and run your search. I use Air France and the process works like this:
- Select "Book with miles"
- Select "Log in"
- Sign into your account
- Enter your origin/destination
- Enter your travel date(s)
- Enter the number of passengers
- Enter the class of service
- Run the search
- Select your flights
- Click through to book
Transfers to Flying Blue are generally instant so you don't usually need to worry about award space vanishing. However, you can call and have them hold award space for you. The US number is 800 375-8723.
Additionally, if you want to book a free stopover, you'll need to call to book.
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Final Thoughts
I don't know about you but Paris for Christmas sounds like a lot of fun. Plus, there are plenty of Christmas markets to visit in Europe.
Happy booking!
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