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If you’re flying between New York and Paris on Air France in the not-too-distant future, you could be in for a big upgrade.
The French flag carrier is soon set to roll out an updated cabin configuration on 12 of its Boeing 777-300ERs, the largest plane in its fleet. These 12 aircraft will feature a much-enhanced product across all three of its classes: Business Class, Premium Economy and Economy Class.
The new business-class seats, from French manufacturer Safran, aren’t revolutionary (we’re not talking about Qatar Qsuite here), but they are the best Air France has ever offered and will be a highly competitive “hard product” for North Atlantic crossings. So far, Air France has announced only New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) for route this configuration, but the carrier promises more city pairs to come.
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And, if you’re not lucky enough to snag one of the 48 reverse herringbone seats, all angled toward the window, the Premium Economy cabin also got a welcome upgrade. It’s using the same seat that’s on Air France’s Airbus A350s, and the cabin has doubled in size to include the same number of seats as Business Class — 48. Even those seated in Economy Class will see enhancements.
TPG toured one of the first Boeing 777s to get the new seats on Tuesday at Air France’s Paris Orly Airport (ORY) maintenance base, Air France Industries. This aircraft, registration F-GZNS, was nearly complete, with mostly just ceiling panels missing in parts of the aircraft. The airline is converting two other aircraft at the moment, including one at Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport (BOD). Air France has yet to announce when the new configuration will enter service, and didn’t provide many new details on Tuesday. But the airline implied that these aircraft will be hitting the skies very soon.
Here’s your first look from a U.S. outlet showing Air France’s new business class, as well as the other cabins in this configuration.
In This Post
Business Class
The first thing that hits you when entering the new Business Class cabin from door two — the second set of doors on the aircraft that’s commonly used for boarding — is the color. Air France’s most comparable exiting product is the Boeing 777-300ER that features the carrier’s First Class product, La Premiere, and a whopping 58 reverse herringbone business class seats that are not dissimilar. But that cabin uses very bright colors. Many feel it’s sterile and lacks personality.
Sterile, this cabin is not.
Across the cabin — and the entire aircraft (even in the lavatories!) — was a primary tone of dark blue, something the carrier introduced with its new Airbus A220 aircraft. Also prominent is Air France’s longtime symbol, l’hippocamp ailé. An Air France spokesperson said that Air France-KLM CEO Ben Smith is big fan of it, and wants to see it more prominently featured.
L’hippocamp ailé on the business class cabin bulkhead. ETHAN KLAPPER/THE POINTS GUY
The carpet inspiration came from the A220 as well — designed to invoke the vibes of a Parisian apartment.
“Parisian apartment” carpeting. ETHAN KLAPPER/THE POINTS GUY
Parts of the new suites are lined with tan-colored French leather, a secondary color throughout the cabin.
Tan French leather. ETHAN KLAPPER/THE POINTS GUY
The seat itself will be somewhat familiar if you’ve flown in Air France’s 777s that currently feature 58 biz-class seats — common on New York and other premium routes. But, it sports many enhancements to get excited about.
Air France’s new business class seat. ETHAN KLAPPER/THE POINTS GUY
For the first time, Air France is offering a business-class seat with a door — joining the ranks of British Airways, SkyTeam and joint venture partner Delta Air Lines and, most recently, American Airlines.
The Air France business class door. ETHAN KLAPPER/THE POINTS GUY
The door is closed using a large button inside the suite. It opened with a surprising amount of seemingly spring-loaded force — so be careful when using it. To open the door, it must be pulled back manually.
The inside of the business class door. ETHAN KLAPPER/THE POINTS GUY
Once you get situated in the seat, the first thing that catches your attention is — not surprisingly — the massive 17.3″ 4K display.
The 4K screen. ETHAN KLAPPER/THE POINTS GUY
It can be controlled via touchscreen, or via a remote, that features a trackpad. The new system features Bluetooth pairing in all cabins.
Air France business class remote. ETHAN KLAPPER/THE POINTS GUY
The new seat features multiple charging options. First, there’s a USB-A charger below the seat’s storage compartment.
USB-A charging. ETHAN KLAPPER/THE POINTS GUY
Then, there’s a USB-C and 110 volt outlet in front of the large table surface in the seat.
USB-C and 110 volt charging. ETHAN KLAPPER/THE POINTS GUY
And, finally, Air France is offering wireless charging on top of the table. With all those options, it’s unlikely your devices will run out of juice on one of these flights.
Wireless charging. ETHAN KLAPPER/THE POINTS GUY
The table — not to be confused with the tray table — is also where the seat’s control panel is found.
Seat control. ETHAN KLAPPER/THE POINTS GUY
This control panel features four recline functions. Reclining the seat into a fully-flat bed — and vice-versa — was a straightforward process that was comparable to most other business-class seats on the market. The bed is about 28 inches wide and 6.5 feet long when reclined.
Air France business class seat reclined. ETHAN KLAPPER/THE POINTS GUY
Hit the reading light button on that panel and — get this — it toggles the l’hippocamp ailé symbol on the storage compartment door on and off.
L’hippocamp ailé can be turned on and off. ETHAN KLAPPER/THE POINTS GUY
A reading light is also available in the seat, and it works exactly the same as the one that can be found in United’s Polaris business class — by pressing to open it.
Reading light. ETHAN KLAPPER/THE POINTS GUY
The final button on the panel is the “do not disturb button,” which turns a light outside the seat from green to red.
Speaking of tables, the tray table pulls out from under the storage table, and then folds out.
Air France 777 business class tray table. ETHAN KLAPPER/THE POINTS GUY
The storage compartment opens up to a pair of headphones and is lined in that tan French leather. In practice, I find it a good place to store cables and amenity kits — so long as you remember to take them at the end of the flight. The door of the compartment also features a mirror.
Storage compartment. ETHAN KLAPPER/THE POINTS GUY
The footwell is largely comparable to the existing one in Air France’s 58-seat business class configuration.
Footwell. ETHAN KLAPPER/THE POINTS GUY
However, there are eight incredible seats in this configuration: The four seats in row one and the four in row nine, the first and bulkhead rows of the cabin.
Seat 1A. ETHAN KLAPPER/THE POINTS GUY
These seats feature extra room given the lack of seats in front of them, and don’t have a cut-out for your feet. The best part? Air France has no plans to charge extra for these eight seats, so be sure to snag them as soon as possible when booking a future Air France flight in this configuration!
Finally, for those who sit in the center two seats of this 1-2-1-configured cabin, a movable divider can be raised and lowered in case you’re traveling with a stranger, or have had enough of your travel companion.
Air France 777 Business class divider raised. ETHAN KLAPPER/THE POINTS GUY
Overall, this new product has enough enhancements to go out of your way to book flights on it. More details on those flights once they’re announced.
More: Air France unveils new business-class seat that now features a sliding door
Premium Economy
Over the years, a number of TPG reviewers have taken issue with Air France’s Premium Economy. (One review put it bluntly: “stick to economy.”) Now, Air France is bringing its latest Premium Economy product from the A350 to the 777 — and the company thinks it’ll be enough of a hit that it’s doubled the number of seats from 24 to 48 in this 2-4-2-configured cabin.
Air France 777 Premium Economy. ETHAN KLAPPER/THE POINTS GUY
The seats, with about 38 inches of pitch, feature a respectable amount of recline. They also feature leg rest and foot rest.
Air France 777 Premium Economy seat. ETHAN KLAPPER/THE POINTS GUY
The new seat features a 4K display, like its Business Class counterpart. This screen is 13.3 inches.
Air France Premium Economy screen. ETHAN KLAPPER/THE POINTS GUY
Each Premium Economy seat is provisioned with high-end headphones. A gooseneck reading light is also available.
Premium Economy headphones and reading lights. ETHAN KLAPPER/THE POINTS GUY
The seats feature an adjustable headrest. The tray table folds out of the armrest, similar to many other Premium Economy offerings.
Economy Class
Air France Boeing 777 Economy Class. ETHAN KLAPPER/THE POINTS GUY
Perhaps the most notable feature of Air France’s 3-4-3-configured Economy Class cabin is the screens. That’s right, you can enjoy 13.3 inches of 4K entertainment, just like your Premium Economy counterparts. The new screens are likely among the best Economy Class screens out there.
Air France 777 Economy Class screens. ETHAN KLAPPER/THE POINTS GUY
Pitch in this section is around 31 inches — standard for a legacy carrier like Air France. The tray table in this section folds out from the seat in front of you and also has a cupholder — allowing you to enjoy a beverage without having to open the table up.
Air France 777 Economy Class tray table. ETHAN KLAPPER/THE POINTS GUY
Bottom Line
Instead of reinventing the wheel with its new business-class product, Air France took an already solid product and added more modern touches — along with some beautiful dashes of color. Things like wireless charging, 4K monitors and doors on the seat make this a desirable and competitive product. And, everyone on the plane will benefit from some of these enhancements — at least with the monitors and Bluetooth audio pairing system. I look forward to trying this product out in the near future. It’s an enhancement worth your while.