A first look at Air France’s new long-haul seats

"Best and Beyond" is the key phrase when it comes to the new seats, and it is clearly with regard to upgrading and improving. Air France has set itself the goal of becoming one of the top three airlines in the world when it comes to the products they offer, and of course, not least when it comes to premium class cabins. Other aspects include, not only the hardware, but also customer service and customer care, with 13,000 employees receiving additional service training. In total, Air France has invested one billion Euros in upgrading its long-haul aircraft, which is equivalent to just under 800 million pounds. The first aircraft with the new seats will enter service in late June and it will be a Boeing 777-200, operating on the Paris-New York route. Air France's new first class will first be launched in September, with Paris-Singapore-Jakarta the premiere route.

First Class - La Première

We start with the best - the new first class suite. The new La Première consists of only one row, four suites in a 1-2-1 configuration. This is in contrast to the current Boeing 777-300 aircraft, which normally has two rows and eight suites. With a 1-2-1 configuration and two aisles, each passenger has direct access to the aisle without having to pass any other passenger.

Air France new first class La Première In front of each seat, there is a 24-inch display with HD resolution and touch screen. This is a big improvement on the current product, where the screen is located in the armrest and is considerably smaller in size. On the side of the seat's shelf for newspapers and magazines, is a box for the storage of personal belongings, and a table that can be folded forward. Just as with the current seat, there is also a box under the ottoman where you can store your shoes during the flight.

Air France new first class La Première Perhaps the biggest change is the thick curtains hanging in each suite, which, when required, create total isolation from the cabin and the other passengers. This is a unique concept in the industry and as such, Air France is the first airline to implement this. The current La Première seat is completely open with relatively little privacy from the rest of the cabin. The nice thing about this new approach is that with a single adjustment, you can go from a completely open and airy cabin to one with total privacy. Above the seat is an ottoman that can be used as visitor’s seat, for example, if you have a travel companion and want to eat together. Otherwise the ottoman is a footrest. Much of the new cabin is crafted in leather, with the cabin walls, curtain details and the headrest and armrests.

Air France new first class La Première

Business Class - Affaires

The new business class seat, Affaires, has a completely new design that is fully horizontal when in the lowered position and with a 1-2-1 seating configuration, compared to the current 2-3-2, that allows all passengers direct access to the aisle without having to climb over other passengers. The seat design is built around a circular wall to create complete privacy from other passengers. The advantage of a 1-2-1 configuration, is that there is also good, practical seating for both those who have travelling companions and want to sit together, and for those travelling alone and want privacy. The seat design is not entirely unlike what Cathay Pacific and Delta have chosen for their latest business class products. Cathay Pacific is actually the original, but the Air France product manager mentioned to BusinessClass.co.uk that Air France has bought more options with the model and it is therefore more advanced.

Air France new business class The seat itself, is upholstered in dark blue leather while the rest of the seat design is white, with details in red. A newer and more colourful combination than the current business class cabin, which is white, grey and brown.

Air France new business class Above the seat is a high resolution touch screen monitor of 16 inches, which is a considerably larger screen than the 10.4 inches available today. If you prefer to use a remote control to navigate through the entertainment system, then this is also available along with the new option, touch screen. In addition, there are USB sockets and electrical sockets in the seat and headphones are kept in a small cupboard where there is also some room for personal belongings.

Premium Economy

In 2009, Air France launched its fourth cabin class - premium economy. Air France is generally satisfied with the development of its newest product, during the five years that have passed, 3 million passengers have flown in premium economy. The new premium economy seat has a new design, with features such as a larger table than before, an electrical socket and a USB socket.  Premium economy generally offers 40 percent more space than regular economy class. The seat is the same model as what Aeroflot offers in its new premium economy, Comfort Class. You can read our review of this seat on a flight between New York and Moscow in this article. The interesting thing with this model, is that the seat’s backrest does not fold back when it is time to fold the seat for the night, rather, the seat cushion moves forward. The seat on the left in the picture below gives you an idea how of it works. The positive aspect of this, is that the person behind is never bothered if the seat in front is reclined.

Air France new premium economy The new premium economy also comes with HD screens that are larger than before, 12 inches compared with the previous 10 inches. With a new entertainment system from Panasonic, you get a menu in 12 languages ​​and with over 1000 hours of entertainment.

Air France new premium economy In total, 1100 premium economy seats have been installed on 44 Boeing 777s between June 2014 and July 2016.

Economy Class

There is primarily, two new features coming to economy class - the seats have just over 1 inch more legroom than before and they have been upgraded with HD screens, which are also larger than before. The reason that they have been able to squeeze in a bit more legroom is that the seat has a slightly different design and one can also move the seat pocket. The seat also has a wider table than in the past, and has been fitted with a head rest which is adjustable, the wings can be folded up and thus give better head support. In economy class, you also get a fleece blanket, headphones (which hang on a convenient rack above the screen) and an eye mask. Free champagne is still being offered in economy class.

Air France new economy class As in other classes, a brand new entertainment system, from Panasonic, is being introduced, with the menu in 12 languages ​​and over 1000 hours of entertainment. The screen is now 9 inches, compared with the previous 6-8 inches. The screen also has a touch screen functionality. Additionally, there is now both electrical sockets and USB sockets in economy class, with two power sockets for every three seats.

Air France new economy class

Air France new entertainment system

What does Business Class think?

New and fresh in most aspects, especially the new entertainment system, which is really very good. It has, for example, a chat feature in which you can chat with other passengers through the screen. The system works much the same in all four classes, even if the menus are smaller and slightly more compressed in economy and premium economy compared to business and first class. HD resolution also works very well in all classes. The legroom in economy class felt completely fine. I reclined the seat in front to the maximum and had no restrictions in my seat and was completely comfortable. The premium economy seat I had tested previously. The model is different from most traditional seats and I would instinctively think that it can be folded slightly smaller than the traditional premium economy seats of some competitors, namely the actual angle which is possible when the seat is completely folded down. The seat is, however, very comfortable and reasonably wide and as you can also fold up the bottom of the seat, you get a pretty reasonable resting position for it to be economy class. The new business class and first class, are of course, the crown jewels. These, we will look at more in separate articles. There, you will also get a taste of how the new chinaware will look in business class and first class when it is rolled out in early 2015.