I may not necessarily be an expert or
very frequent traveler, but the recent trip to Melbourne also gave a
prime example on what kind of service you can expect on a long
flight. As far as Air France and the flight to Sint Maarten is
concerned, it didn't necessarily start promising when the staff only
started the check-in for the short connecting flight to Paris one
hour before the scheduled boarding. It didn't help much either that there
were three different Air France flights at almost the same time.
Another point to consider when having
Paris CDG as hub for the long distance flight is the outside taxi
spot for most short-distance flights to terminal 2G, which result in
as long as 45 minutes of delay to get out of. I missed three flights
in my life so far and two of them were in CDG for that very reason.
Important additional information for
the long distance flights that may be a reason for some of the
differences: Each flight was more than eight hours, with Thai I was
flying in the A380 and Boeing 737 whereas Air France provided an
A340-300.
The boarding
At Thai there were different boarding
groups to reduce the chaos before the start while everyone is trying
to find their seats. Air France did not divide anything and let 400
passengers board without any specific order.
Plastic all the way
While both airlines used plastic cups
for the regular soft drinks, Air France also had plastic cups for the
coffee and tea as well as knife, fork and spoon. A little bottle of
red wine was already part of the hot meal that got served about one
hour after takeoff.
Thai International on the contrary came
through the cabin half an hour after takeoff with a hot towel for
refreshment, provided a little snack and soft drink and then asked
for the alcohol preference before the hot meal. None of the cutlery
was in plastic.
Hospitality on board
Don't get me wrong, there was nothing
wrong with the Air France staff at all. But the Thai crew was even
more polite and the greeting ritual when getting on and off the plane
is another level of hospitality and respect.
On-board services
Especially on long flights it can be
very boring. Most passengers either try to sleep through most of the
time or one puts the focus on the interactive on-board services. The
screens on the Air France flight were tiny and you could barely see
anything, the total offer for recent movies and music was also rather
predictable.
This would be another advantage for
Thai in the overall score, as their screen size was quite comfortable
with a plethora of different and very recent as well as older movies
and TV series. The flight information with six maps was excellent and
much better than Air France.
Comfort in the economy class
Maybe one day I will also be able to
compare the expensive business class setup, but we shall focus on
economy for now. The available space was similar with a slight
advantage for Thai, but more importantly the quality of the seats in
general was superior. For either plane it was possible to stretch a
little when sitting and that should always be in the best interest of
the passenger to avoid cramps on long flight.
Quality of the meals
This category shall be considered as an
almost-tie with a slight advantage for Thai. While there was no
choice on the 737 flight, two different meals were available to pick
from on the A380, which may very likely also be the case for the
French fleet as well. The hot meal for both airlines was quite good,
though Thai scores a bonus point for also putting a little fruit
plate in as well.
Summary
If I was to pick between Thai and Air
France for the same destination, I'd pretty much always pick Thai
unless there was a huge difference in the price that would justify
otherwise.
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