For our recent summer trip to Europe we flew with Air France KLM. On our way to Europe we flew KLM, with a 4 day stopover in Amsterdam, then onto London. On the way back to Hong Kong we flew with Air France, with a layover in Paris. All flights were in economy with our kids.I am going to share my high level thoughts on flying the two airlines.Outbound - KLM to AmsterdamWe were flying a 777-200 to Amsterdam with a 3-4-3 configuration. As there were four of us we took the middle seats.Check in and boarding was all smooth and the flight left on time.The plane was clean, but was showing its age. The seats were decent pitch, but the IFE was dated. The movie and TV show selection was limited. We were provided standard in-ear earphones with a 3.5mm jack. This does mean you can bring your own earphones with you, should you have ones that use 3.5mm plugs (which is becoming rarer with mobile phones abandoning 3.5mm over the years).We got a blanket and pillow on the seat. Gone are the days of being provided a small amenity bag in economy. The kids however did get a little amenity back with an eye mask and some games. In terms of meal service, we received a main meal shortly after take off and before landing we received a small breakfast. Service was decent, with the flight attendants being friendly and helpful.I would say the seat comfort was decent and all of us got a comfortable amount of sleep and rest on the flight.Overall my view of this flight was that the hard product was average, but the soft product was decent. The seats were a bit old, but comfortable enough with good pitch and decent recline. However the IFE was small with a limited number of decent movies and TV shows (to the point where I didn't actually watch anything on the whole flight).Amsterdam to London - KLMThis was a very short hop, as my son said, we literally took off and then landed. The flight was a standard European short haul flight. From what I recall we got some snacks and water on the flight and it was completely uneventful.ReturnOur return flight was with Air France. This time it was just me flying with my two kids.LHR to CDGThe first leg was from LHR to CDG. The flight was delayed due to the incoming flight not being on time, but Air France turned the flight around extremely quickly. As a result our departure was only 30 minutes behind schedule and we actually landed on time.The flight itself was again a standard European short haul flight. However Air France did provide a small sandwich and soft drinks, which I think is above what most European airlines now provide as complimentary. Also the seating was a 2-3 configuration, meaning I was able to sit together with my two kids. The seat backs, like most European shorthauls, didn't have any IFE, but did have a nice panel to put a smartphone or tablet for screen watching while you were still able to use your table, which was a smart addition. In addition the seatbacks had both USB-A and USB-C charging slots.CDGThe connection at CDG was smooth. We landed into Terminal 2E and luckily the connecting flight was also from Terminal 2E. From landing we made our way over to Concourse K by the monorail, and went through security. Security was very quick, so from landing to getting to the departure lounge was about 20 minutes. Our flight for HKG departed at 23.20 so we had a few hours to spend at the airport.The terminal building seemed quite new and was not busy at all. We had a nice meal at “I Love Paris by Guy Martin”. The staff were super friendly there, but do note that the kitchen closes at 21.00. This was the one downside with the terminal, a lot of places shut well in advance of our departure time.There were some free PS5 games consoles near our departure gate, so this kept the kids busy before it was time to board the flight.CDG to HKGBoarding was on time. First impressions of our A350-900 was that it looked new and the seats did look quite nice. The IFE was big and seemed to have a good selection of movies and TV shows. The seat pitch however did feel quite cramped, especially compared to our KLM longhaul flight.We got the usual blanket, pillow and headphone set up. The economy headphones, while economy standard, were probably one of the better quality plane headphones I’ve used. They were quite comfortable with some extra padding and provided more than acceptable sound. The seatbacks also had USB-A and USB-C charging slots.The seats themselves were a bit hard and for the 12 hour flight were not the most comfortable. The seat recline was extensive, more than expected for economy. Great for the recliner, but not so great for the person sitting behind the recliner. We were very lucky that the people in front of us didn’t recline their seats for the entire flight.Dinner was pretty good, with a starter, hot main and a dessert. We also got served champagne, which was a very nice touch for economy. After dinner service it was time to try and get some sleep, no problem for my kids, but I struggled. Luckily the IFE kept me entertained due to the good selection of movies and TV shows.Just before landing we received a lunch box, which was sufficient.Service on the flight was OK. The flight attendants did their job in serving food and drink, but that was about it. They did come round once during the quiet section of the flight for water.Overall the flight’s hard product was good (apart from seat comfort and pitch) but the soft product was bare bones.ConcludingBoth KLM and Air France were decent. The Air France A350 was a much nicer plane, but the service on KLM was better. In economy I would be happy to fly either airline again.
