Tag Archives for air france.
An Air France passenger flying from Paris to Washington Dulles switched seats to a new coach middle because her seat back entertainment screen wasn’t working. She’s black, and the passenger next to her was uncomfortable with her taking the seat beside him. Air France made her move because he was uncomfortable.
There’s not a single American or European carrier amongst the world’s top business class offerings. However if we were to pick one to include it would have to be Air France? And their best business class is onboard Airbus A350s with their newest seat.
There won’t be doors. Instead, like the current seat, there’s a privacy curtain for the seat. What’s nice is that the center seats feature a “full-height, electric sliding partition” for total separation or allow passengers to more fully travel together.
They’ve removed overhead bins from the cabin – something other carriers do in first class, as well, to create a more spacious feel. For storage there’s a sliding drawer that holds carry-ons, a drawer for footwear, and a compartment for personal items and a wardrobe.
This lounge was renovated shortly before the pandemic, and while I guess it is… different than before I also wonder, given what it’s like now, why did they bother?
Air France KLM’s Flying Blue program has made award space wide open across the Pond for nearly all of their transatlantic routes, starting this summer (when space has been scarce!) and through the end of their schedule.
Air France flight 356 from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Toronto Pearson experienced a tail strike as it attempted to land, aborted the landing and executed a go around. It’s one of the worst tail strikes I’ve seen in some time. Fourteen minutes later it executed its second landing on runway 4L.
As part of a massive pandemic bailout of Air France KLM the French government banned the airline from flying the shortest domestic hops that can be taken by train in the name of the environment.
Air France has shared updates on its plans for a new first class, and it looks to be amazing. They’ve dropped some new details on the product that will debut in 2024 and begin flying in 2025 in their Investor Day presentation.
Earlier today I wrote about getting transatlantic business class awards for an unheard of 13,500 miles each way.
It turns out there’s an even better deal out there. Business class for practically free: just 1,500 points to fly business class to France.
Business class is about the seat. You have more space, and an available bed, so you can be more comfortable and well-rested rather than beaten up by the time you reach your destination. None of the ‘above and beyond’ business class products are offered by U.S. or European airlines.
At that point, then, the gradations in service matter but I do think – once the product hits a certain level of quality – it becomes more (though not exclusively) about schedule and price.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
