How to Travel Internationally – A Flight Tip

I was going to start this off by saying, “Usually I don’t advocate spending more money…” but then I realized that was a lie lol.

I flew Air France for the first time last Friday and something told me that Premium Economy was the way to go. Now, I tried to fight it. I wanted to save money so for a fleeting, and I do mean fleeting, I thought about Economy but then I was like, “well if I’m going to pay to do Premium why not whole hog it and do Business Class?”

But in the end I did Premium and I am SO happy I did. It was worth it.

Now, I called Air France to do my reservation because:

1.) I was doing everything online and I couldn’t see all the features I wanted to see.

The wait time was not long at all and when I got on the phone I found an attendant who was more than happy to explain everything to me and walk me through the whole process. I explained to him what I wanted to do and he also recommended Premium Economy because I got a little bit more space to myself than Economy without having to pay the exorbitant First Class prices. Plus we decided that during COVID-19 more space was necessary for cleanliness sake.

He confirmed my nonstop overnight flight (a must!), picked my seat, and we were off.

Okay! Great things about my flight:

• We were offered a warm wet towel to wash our hands, brand new medical masks, and hand sanitizer as soon as we sat down.
• I had my own overhead bin to put both of my stuffed full bags in.
• I had a very cute blanket and pillow set that were both very comfortable and actually useable (You know how sometimes they give you them and they are both wafer thin and scratchy? Complete opposite this time!). The blanket was also sealed which I VERY MUCH appreciated.
• The tv was touchscreen with tons of channels for tv, movies, and music… I think there were even meditations? But don’t quote me. (The sound on my headphones was a little off but I didn’t mind. I did some recalculations and was able to watch the Hangover just fine thank you. lol)
• My seat reclined and I was able to put my foot up on the little leg holder and feet rests.
• We got cuter little necessities bags than business class did. Mine was puffy like a jacket and orange.
• We had a seemingly slightly bigger bathroom with less folks using it since it was just our cabin using it. Again COVID-cleanliness.
• Premium Economy means having less people to deal with. I think we had a total of five rows in our cabin in total. We even had two babies and they were very cool/quiet the whole time. (Shoutout overnight flight!)
• Drinks were offered a few times and the food on this flight was SIGNIFICANTLY better than what I have on other international flights. (Not sure if it was because this was Air France but so much better). Also they gave you the choice of wine, champagne, beer, juices, and sparkling water – all of which, I think, was free. (I had a ton of sparkling water and juice bc I was trying to go to sleep lol.)
• Also, because I did this whole process online he put me in my own row by myself. So, I was really able to spread out and enjoy my experience in solitude.

Overall, it was just a very wonderful experience that I highly recommend. Honestly, I can’t wait to fly again.

SO, the next time you fly, even if it is not on Air France, I highly recommend booking a little earlier so that you can have that Premium Experience. It is, of course, not First Class, but it is way better than being chattel-ed in Economy with close together seats and no room to live for 8 hours. If you are flying Air France I can’t recommend it enough. I was warm comfy, alone, and those 8 hours seriously felt like four.