11 May 2022

Air France: new business seat and more sustainable catering

A new way to travel in Business aboard 12 Boeing 777-300s this fall. A new French menu in all cabins departing from Paris at the end of 2022

Air France has unveiled its new long-haul Business cabin, elegantly reasserting the French-style art of travel. Constantly striving to offer the highest level of comfort, the airline’s completely redesigned iconic seat features even more enveloping curves and extra comfort.

Air France is introducing a new standard dedicated to this travel cabin. Progressively rolled out on 12 Boeing 777-300s, it will fly for the first time in autumn 2022 from Paris to New York (JFK airport), one of the airline’s legendary destinations. With attentive service, gourmet cuisine designed by French Michelinstarred chefs, a carefully selected wine and champagne list and a wide selection of in-flight entertainment, the journey can begin.

The 48 spacious seats in the cabin are based on the 3 “F”s: Full Flat, meaning that the seat transforms into a real bed almost 2 meters long, Full Access, providing all passengers direct access to the aisle, and Full Privacy, ensuring optimal privacy. The seat cushions have been made even softer to ensure you cross time zones without fatigue. A new sliding door allows each passenger to create a totally private space, out of sight from the other passengers in the cabin. The seats located in the centre of the cabin have been completely redesigned to create a greater sense of privacy for passengers travelling together. These seats are now equipped with a central panel that can be lowered by pressing it down, thus creating a convivial space in which to make the most of the flight together.

Finally, the seats at the front of the Business cabin have extra space in front of them for additional comfort. Thanks to this new major step in its move upmarket, all Air France Business seats will be fully flat by autumn 2023, compared with 90% today.

Air France has unveiled a cabin and a seat that elegantly displays its signature colours: navy blue, the presence of white adding light and contrast, and touches of red embodying its excellence and savoir-faire. The carpet on the floor revisits the traditional ornamental herringbone pattern, symbolising the emblematic world of traditional Parisian Haussmann apartments.

As you settle comfortably into your seat, you are greeted by a backlit winged seahorse, embodying the founding myth of the company and its rich history. Inside the seat, the soft upholstery provides a feeling of warmth and privacy. Air France has chosen noble, soft and natural materials such as wool, brushed aluminium and full-grain French leather for the manufacture of its seat. Each seat is also embroidered with the red accent, the airline’s brand symbol. During the trip, all passengers are provided with a soft microfiber pillow and a soft blanket. With a simple touch of a button, it is possible to adjust the seat recline as desired as well as the light intensity. A new ‘do not disturb’ feature is also available, informing the crew that the customer wishes to rest.

Each seat has a large 17.3-inch 4K high-definition anti-glare screen, equipped with noise-reducing headphones and, for the first time, a Bluetooth connection so that customers can use their personal headphones. A new, state-of-the-art graphic interface available in 12 languages makes it easy to choose from a wide variety of programmes. More than 350 films are available, including a large selection of French movies, as well as TV series, documentaries, music and podcasts.

A specific section on well-being also allows young and old alike to learn about meditation and seated yoga during the flight. Finally, kids now have their own navigation interface to easily find all the entertainment specifically dedicated to younger passengers. Ultra-connected, the seat also features A and C USB ports, an induction charger and a laptop socket. In all cabins, customers can use Air France Connect, the airline’s in-flight Wi-Fi offer. The portal offers three passes, one of which is completely free of charge and allows customers to send and receive messages. Customers can also consult all the information related to their flight and their connections.

In line with its commitment to more responsible travel, Air France is for the first time providing a new comfort kit made of 93% recycled material. Its plastic packaging has been removed in favour of an integrity seal. Sober and refined, it is available in two colours, navy blue and grey. Each kit contains a toothbrush and a pen made from cornstarch, as well as earplugs wrapped in kraft paper to avoid plastic. A large sleep mask, socks, toothpaste and Clarins cosmetics complete the kit. By offering these eco-friendly kits, Air France is continuing its actions to limit the use of single-use plastic on board its flights whenever possible.

The new Air France brand movie

A more responsible catering offer on board

On long-haul flights departing from Paris, Air France has entrusted the menu in its Business cabin to Michelin-starred French chefs. The greatest names in French haute cuisine, including Régis Marcon, Anne-Sophie Pic and Michel Roth, take it in turns to offer vegetarian dishes as well as refined dishes with red or white meat or fish. These meals are enhanced by tableware signed by French designer Jean-Marie Massaud. The wine and champagne list is selected by world famous sommelier Paolo Basso. By the end of 2022, on all flights departing from Paris, Air France is committed to offering 100% French meat, dairy and eggs in all its cabins, as well as fish from sustainable sources. A vegetarian dish will also be systematically available and all meals will be prepared entirely in France. The kids’ and infants’ menus will be made from 100% organically grown produce. As part of the fight against food waste, this year Air France is offering customers the possibility of pre-selecting their hot meal in Business before departure. This service combines the guarantee of availability of the customer’s choice with fairer consumption. The airline is also committed to recycling and eliminating 90% of single-use plastic on board its aircraft by early 2023. Finally, when certain items can no longer be used on board, they are donated to charity.

Edited by editoral staff

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