Here is the long-awaited event for months, the reveal of the new seat (the new “Suite” should I say) of Air France’s “La Première” class.

In early 2013, Alexandre de Juniac, CEO of Air-France KLM wanted to put the customer back at the center of the company’s investments and dethrone Ethiad or Singapore Airlines in terms of quality of service .

The press conference is the culmination of the design work for the new Air France long-haul cabins, the Economy and Premium Economy cabins having been presented during the IFTM Top Résa show last September (link on the site of my excellent colleague Sophie Figenwald), and the Business cabin having been presented to the press on February 4th .

Seat: Bigger, better, stronger

The 3 m2 space is the largest ever allocated by Air France to its passengers, regardless of travel class.

The seat has all the attributes of a 2014-style first-class seat: a 180-degree recline, a length of over 2m and a width of 77cm that make it a real bed, sported by a Sofitel MyBed d excellent quality. Only a small mattress is missing to reconstitute a real heavenly bed.

Although the seat is certainly not the width of a Singapore Airlines seat, its clean lines give it a certain elegance and the light colors enhance the brightness of the cabin.

Reinforced confidentiality thanks to a unique and effective curtain system

If Air France dreamed of providing its La Première customers with a suite, it did so intelligently, with a system of curtains allowing total insulation during sleep, something that no suite, generally fitted with sliding doors, which only allow an imperfect separation because they do not reach to the top.
These curtains are therefore a smart option that allows Air France to differentiate itself from its competitors.
However, the integration of these different suites in the same cabin remains to be seen, in particular for the future central suites.

A French signature reinforced by new, more noble materials

Air France highlights the quality of the materials used not only on the seat, but also in the coatings of the cabin itself: leather or suede are included.
The tableware, which is more modern, has also been revised, as well as the toilet bag now offered by Givenchy.

A partially raised ambition

Clearly, the seat presented is a leap in comfort compared to the existing Première cabin on Air France: the noble materials used, as well as the privacy created by the curtains are differentiating assets.

However, Air France is still far from achieving the objective set by Alexandre de Juniac: to overtake Singapore Airlines or Ethiad. If certainly, the concept of closed suites does not please everyone, Ethiad has just presented its new suites which will equip its A380 next December. And there, I don’t see who could not like: clean lines, individual spaces large enough not to reinforce claustrophobia. Ethiad has just put a new standard into practice, which Air France will struggle to achieve in the next decade.