That being said, my experience on Air France was quite nice.  Like any good American, I'm skeptical of all things French.  But Air France seems to have its act together.  I'm not sure if it was because it was an overseas flight or if that's just how all their flights are, but here's what they did right: 
  1. Gourmet meals in economy class.  The few times I've flown first class, I'm always amazed at the difference in meal quality.  It's like being treated like a king while the peasants all eat their moldy bread and water.  Air France served a nice big meal in economy class, equal to a first class meal.  Quite a surprise.
  2. Meals on short flights.  My connecting flight from Paris to Hannover was about an hour and a half long, but we still got a little meal.  Remember when they used to do that in the U.S.?  I don't.
  3. Free booze.  I'm not a big drinker, and I only had one beer on the flight.  But it's the principle.  Getting something for free is so rare, especially from an airline.  And even if Air France simply factored that into the price of the ticket, it worked for me.  I'm easily tricked.
  4. Headphones, earplugs, and a sleeping mask, for free.  Brilliant, seeing that it was an overnight flight.
  5. Seatback entertainment system.  I've seen this on other airlines, and it's such a great idea.  Instead of waiting for that 4-inch screen to noisily slide down from the ceiling, you can watch whatever you want on the back of the seat in front of you.  Movies, TV, a camera on the nose of the plane.  There were even games, which helped fill some of those 7 or 8 hours in the air.
So in conclusion, air travel in the U.S. is so bad, I'd consider going with Air France in the future (if it was only an option!).  That's saying a lot. #travel