It had been 5 years since I had flown Business Class overseas and I had forgotten how wonderful it really is. From the time you step into the airport, your vacation begins hassle-free. When we arrived in San Francisco to check in for our Air France flight to Paris, the line up for coach class was over 100 people deep. There was 1 group in front of us for Business Class check-in. After we quickly got our boarding passes, we were handed our pass to the Business Class lounge–far from the madding crowd. This peaceful area, with drinks and snacks, was a nice respite from the busy airport. Sixty minutes before flight time, we were informed we could board at our leisure. The line-ups again at the gate snaked throughout the boarding area but all we had to do was head to the special, Business Class entry and walk onto the plane.
I had checked out the seating plans when I booked our flights and found that there were two sections on the airplane for Business Class seating. One cabin only had 17 seats so I booked our seats early into this smaller area of the plane. There were 2 seats on either side of the plane, plenty of space between rows and aisles and it was VERY quiet. Service was first class with 3 attendants offering unlimited drinks and a regular flow of very good cuisine. The part I enjoyed the most was the seats. In one configuration they recline to a “Lazy Boy” type of seating—perfect for relaxing, reading or watching your private video monitor. It was sooo comfortable. After dinner, I hit another button and the seat lay nearly flat into a bed. Comfortable enough to stretch out and sleep as long as you are not too tall. I slept long enough that it did not feel like 2am Phoenix time when we arrived and we were able to enjoy a little bit of Paris for the remainder of the day.
The cost for Business class seats on Air France from San Francisco is $6,100/ticket. Instead, we used 100,000 Delta miles per ticket obtained by trading in Marriott Rewards points for miles and free hotel stays. This is a great way to maximize the value of your points. And that is the point!
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