Air France Business Class Flight Review, Paris to Los Angeles

Air France Business Class should be on your list if you’re searching for a comfortable way to fly from Europe to the U.S. West Coast—especially with kids. We recently flew from Barcelona to Los Angeles via Paris in Air France’s Business Class as a family of four and had an amazing experience from start to finish.

With two full business class flights, airport lounge access, lie-flat seats, thoughtful service, it was the perfect ending to our spring break in Spain. In this Air France Business Class flight review, I’ll cover everything from booking with miles to dining, seats, entertainment, and what it’s like to fly Air France Business Class with kids on the long-haul Paris to Los Angeles route aboard the Boeing 777-300.

Booking Air France Business Class with Flying Blue Miles (for a family of 4)

For our family trip from Europe back to the U.S., we booked four Air France Business Class tickets from Barcelona to Los Angeles, with a short layover in Paris, for just 192,000 Flying Blue miles + $617.20 in taxes and fees. The best part? We took advantage of Flying Blue’s 25% child discount on award tickets, which makes this one of the most family-friendly frequent flyer programs out there.

Now, Flying Blue, the joint loyalty program of Air France, KLM, and Transavia, offers a 25% mileage discount for children ages 2–11 when they fly on award tickets with an accompanying adult. To unlock this discount, you’ll need to book directly on the Air France or KLM website — a great tip if you’re traveling as a family and looking to stretch your points.

Here’s how our booking broke down:

• Route: Barcelona to Paris (CDG) in Business Class
• Connection: Paris to Los Angeles (LAX) in Business Class aboard a Boeing 777-300
• Points used: 2 adult tickets at 56,000 miles each + 2 child tickets at 40,000 miles each = 192,000 Flying Blue miles total
• Fees: $617.20 for all four tickets

We booked these tickets by transferring Amex Membership Rewards points to Flying Blue at a 1:1 ratio, locking in our seats about 11 months in advance when award availability first opened.

💡 Pro tip: If you’re traveling with kids and planning far ahead, booking with Flying Blue is one of the best-value ways to fly lie-flat in business class on a transatlantic route.

Here are our favorite ways to earn Amex Points

When it comes to accumulating Amex Membership Rewards for flights, we love to take advantage of multiple earning strategies. Here are our top three:

1. Opening American Express personal Credit Cards
   American Express personal credit cards, like the Amex Gold or Platinum, offer fantastic welcome (sing-up) bonuses that can give your points balance a significant boost. Plus, point-earning potential on everyday purchases. With bonus categories like dining, supermarkets, and travel, you can rack up points quickly.
2. Opening American Express Business Credit Cards
   If you own a business, Amex’s business credit cards (like the Business Platinum or Business Gold) are a fantastic way to earn even more points. Business cards feature larger sign-up bonuses that can help you reach your flight redemption goals faster.

3. Rakuten
Shopping through Rakuten is another simple way to stack up Amex points. By linking your American Express card to Rakuten, you can earn additional Membership Rewards points while shopping at hundreds of online retailers. During special promotions, you can score even more points, making it an excellent strategy for earning without much extra effort.

Flight 1: Barcelona to Paris – Air France Business Class Experience

This short flight was just under 2 hours, but having business class perks made a big difference with kids. Air France European Business Class includes priority boarding, a blocked middle seat, enhanced meal service, and lounge access.

Highlights of Barcelona to Paris – Air France Business Class experience included:

• Lounge access at BCN: a calm space to snack and relax before boarding (we did not get to check this out since it was a 6 am flight)
• In-flight meal: a light yet elegant tray with Iberian ham, cheese, bread, and fruits for breakfast
• Friendly crew: made the kids feel special right away
• Extra space: helpful when traveling with little ones (the little one actually slept the whole time)

Layover at Paris CDG: Air France Lounge access

After landing at CDG Terminal 2F, we traveled to Terminal 2E, Hall L, for our long-haul flight. Since we had business class tickets, we enjoyed complimentary access to the Air France Business Lounge, which was fantastic—modern, quiet, and well-equipped for families.

If you have enough time, you can even squeeze in a 20-minute complimentary Clarins facial—a surprising (and much-appreciated) perk that comes with business class tickets.

The lounge also included:

• Hot and cold buffet items
• Champagne, espresso, fresh juice
• Plenty of seating, workspaces, and showers
• Kids’ TV area with cartoons

Flight 2: Paris to Los Angeles Air France Business Class

This 11-hour flight was the core of our journey. While we were hoping for the new Air France business class seats with privacy doors, we ended up on an aircraft still outfitted with the older configuration, which many flyers are still likely to encounter.

For our family of four, we chose the entire row 3 with two middle seats and two window seats. This allowed each child to sit next to a parent, which has proven to be the best seating arrangement for us.

So, on this trip, we were seated in 3A, 3E, 3F, and 3L, with the girls occupying the window seats and us in the middle.

Cabin Layout & Seats

• 1-2-1 configuration
• 17.3-inch entertainment screens
• Plenty of personal storage, charging ports, and a large tray table
• Lie-flat beds and Clarins amenity kits

Amenities Paris to Los Angeles Air France Business Class

Flying in Air France Business Class from Paris to Los Angeles includes a thoughtful set of amenities that help make the long-haul journey more comfortable — especially when traveling with kids. Here’s what’s included in the Air France Business Class experience on international flights:

Amenity Kit

Each business class passenger received slippers and a well-organized kit containing Clarins skincare products, a toothbrush, toothpaste, socks, eye mask, and earplugs. It’s a practical and travel-friendly set of essentials for a long international flight.

Fully Lie-Flat Seats

The business class seats on this route recline into a fully flat bed. There’s ample legroom, personal storage, and a large entertainment screen at each seat — ideal for getting real rest on a transatlantic flight.

While the bedding included a pillow and blanket, no mattress pad was provided. Of all the international business class flights we’ve taken as a family, only Japan Airlines Business Class has offered an actual mattress topper as part of the sleep setup — a unique perk we haven’t encountered with other carriers so far.

In-Flight Dining

Meal service on our Air France Paris to Los Angeles business class flight included a three-course lunch with multiple entrée options, a French cheese course, and a choice of desserts. A buffet bar was available midflight with snacks like sandwiches, shortbread, fruit, and chocolate. Before landing, a second hot meal was served with both meat and vegetarian options.

Champagne and French Wines

As expected from Air France, the drinks menu featured champagne, French wines, and a variety of cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages. Flight attendants were attentive in keeping glasses full throughout the flight.

Entertainment and Connectivity

Each seat came with a large, responsive touchscreen loaded with recent Hollywood films, French cinema, TV shows, games, and music. Noise-canceling headphones were provided, and there were USB ports and universal outlets for device charging.

Family experience onboard – Air France Business Class with kids

• Kids were greeted with activity kits and toys
• Interestingly, while we did not preorder any specific meal for our 4-year-old, she was given a special kid’s tray with chicken fingers, juice, and a fruit pouch
• Crew was warm, professional

Air France Business Class Dining (Paris to Los Angeles – Boeing 777-300)

Air France is known for serving elevated meals onboard. Soon after takeoff from Paris CDG, we were served a beautifully plated lunch featuring multiple course options.

Starters:

• Eggplant caviar, pickled zucchini, and flaxseed
• Wheat berry and ewe’s cheese salad with diced marinated salmon and herby mayonnaise

Main course options included:

• Pork loin with honey and soy sauce, potato purée, and onion compote
• Chicken with buttermilk sauce, buckwheat risotto, and parsley oil
• Haddock with a mildly spiced carrot sauce, plus carrot variations with orange and ginger
• Herb, leek, and green cabbage flan with watercress and spinach sauce (vegetarian)

Cheese Plate:

• Cantal, Fourme d’Ambert, and Picodon — a strong nod to regional French cheese culture

Desserts:

• Crunchy chocolate gourmet dessert
• Dreamy raspberry and lemon dessert
• Ice creams and sorbets

Our kids loved the desserts (especially the sorbet), and the cheese course was surprisingly generous.

Pre-Landing Meal Service

Before landing in Los Angeles, a second meal was served with a lighter feel:

Main dish options included:

• Roast chicken fillet with tarragon jus and rissoled potatoes
• Pearl barley with zucchini coulis, soybeans, and fresh goat’s cheese (vegetarian)

Arrival in Los Angeles (LAX)

We landed slightly early at LAX Tom Bradley International Terminal. Thanks to priority deplaning and no checked bags, we were through immigration and curbside in under 30 minutes. The kids were still half-asleep but in surprisingly good moods—this never happens after an economy red-eye!

Bottom Line

Air France Business Class delivered a polished, comfortable, and family-friendly transatlantic experience. The seats were lie-flat, the French catering was excellent (especially the desserts and midflight snacks), and the crew was warm and attentive throughout our long-haul journey from Paris to Los Angeles.

Booking four business class seats for just 192,000 Flying Blue miles, thanks to the 25% child award discount, made this an exceptional value and a smart strategy for families traveling on points. If you’re planning a trip from Europe to the U.S., keep an eye on Flying Blue award calendars and book early for the best rates and availability.