Today was the first day and first time of travelling internationally and flying again since most of the world has been restricted and limited from crossing borders for 2+ years.

Delta

Let’s start with Delta.

Many people have been travelling domestically again for quite some time, and have gotten used to the reduced level of services and amenities, but would it be like to fly internationally again?

I can that is not 100% back to where it was pre-pandemic, but it is nice to see that beverage and meal services have returned. Delta had a choice of wines and mixed drinks to choose from, but the selections were not necessarily 5-star. In addition, they are strict about the masks. They reminded people that you need to return your mask to its normal position after each sip of wine/beer. Maybe that is how they were trying to reduce their alcohol costs on flights as people would get exhausted of taking masks on and off continuously…

On the food side, they started to return to multi-course meals with warm soup. This was nice. Delta also allowed you to pick you main entrée in advance of the flight which was nice.

Air France

I do have to admit that the Air France multi-course breakfast was phenomenal and outclasses any American based airline. They even have excellent Devol-Leroy champagne and excellent Bordeaux choices even when it is is 10AM in the morning! I passed, but many of the French passengers did not turn down this offer!

I found the new Airbus seats to be very comfortable and with modern controls and entertainment. What was the downside? The cloth seats are getting very stained and they are not that old.

I was a little nervous about a 1 hour connection in Paris (CDG airport) between flights. Yes, you need to go through immigration, security and change terminals using the train. Once you are off the plane, you have only 45 minutes. I found that if you are in Sky Priority, no problem. Easily done and you have 15 minutes to spare to check out your favorite shops. It is like walking down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées !

On the return flight at the end of the week, I will share the experience of KLM as well to compare another airline on its experience for people to have a broader view of US – Europe flights.

KLM

I should have taken a picture of the meal, but I found the service, food and experience to be identical to what we all felt pre-pandemic. Very efficient and European service and you felt welcomed as a passenger and a customer,

The KLM lounge in Amsterdam has been updated enormously. It is much larger, modern and has many new amenities and services that did not exist pre-pandemic.