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Stepping into Air France’s new business cabin is like checking into a mini luxury hotel suite in the sky. With full-flat seats that lie down to nearly 6.5 feet long, a push-button sliding door for privacy, and elevated dining from French chefs who've helmed Michelin-starred restaurants, every detail is focused on making passengers in the 48 seats feel completely pampered.
While fully enclosed seats have become a growing trend among business cabin offers, paired with the Paris-based carrier’s signature flair for style and service, the experience feels a notch above others.
“With our new business cabin, we offer a new standard of comfort,” says Fabien Pelous, Air France’s senior vice president of customer experience. “The seats ensure optimal privacy for each passenger.”
The first of 12 Boeing 777-300s equipped with the upgraded class took off from Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport to New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 20, and now runs on one of the six daily flights in each direction, the 5:30 p.m. Paris-bound flight from NYC and the 8:30 a.m. departure the opposite way. It also runs on selects routes to Rio de Janeiro and Dakar, Senegal. While the new cabin is still rolling out slowly, Air France plans to have fully flat business class seats by the end of the fall, up from the 90 percent of seats today.
Arriving at JFK’s dated Terminal 1 for the afternoon flight two weeks ago, I was immediately relieved to find solace in the Air France lounge, recently refreshed with a Clarins spa offering free pre-flight facials. When it came time to board, the business-class passengers were ushered onto a different jet bridge. But since the cabin is separated into two sections, those in the latter rows from nine to 14 ended up being funneled back with the economy passengers, creating a more hectic boarding experience than those in the first half.
Even so, upon entering the business cabin, with its herringbone pattern carpet meant to symbolize Parisian Haussmann apartments and the midnight blue aisle paneling to the spacious pod, there’s a distinct sense of French haute couture. On the surface, the cabin seems simplistic, with clean curved lines, almost devoid of amenities. But then the delights start to show themselves, like tucked-away surprises.
Waiting for each passenger on their seats are a pillow and blanket. Unlike other business-class seats, no brand name partnerships are needed to show off their quality. The mid-sized pillow was supportive enough to cradle the head, yet soft enough to fold in half for extra height. While the blanket could have been heftier, our flight was warmer than most, so it wasn’t needed.
Also on the seat was a coat hanger, but the first sign of the doting service came the moment I placed my hand on it and the flight attendant showed up almost instantly to take my coat. As I settled into my seat, I noticed that every element was mindfully ergonomic. The bottom shelf of foot space offered a touch of elevation, while the top shelf was the spot-on height for ultimate comfort I’m always searching for with adjustable footrests.
An indentation on the console made for a restful alcove for one arm, while a one-touch button popped up a full armrest on the other. The little vestibule holding a bottle of water and required flight materials was hidden at the far end of the console, just out of view, so as not to disturb the soothing appearance. Also worth noting was the ease of the seatbelt, which was just like one in a car, unlike other business class seats with bulky pads or multiple clicks.
But the true highlights of the seat are the tech offerings, with the 17.3" high-definition 4K screen as the starring attraction. With an anti-glare coating, the images were crisp and sharp from every angle, whether I had the overhead lights on while dining or was laying completely flat in the dark, as if I was in a mini movie theater. Its vast offerings—in 12 languages—were also packed with a wide range of more than 350 films, from freshly released movies like Ticket to Paradise to feel-good classics like Music and Lyrics, as well as documentaries, podcasts, and TV shows, totaling more than 1,000 hours of programming. Other standouts included a comprehensive travel guide to destination cities that go beyond the standard fare (like eco-friendly local restaurant Nosso in Paris and Malaysian coffee shop Kopitiam in Manhattan), and guided seated yoga sessions that range from anti-stress breathing to digestion improvement. The system also has a kid-friendly option for young fliers to engage with suitable programming.
While a comfy set of noise-canceling headphones are built into the pod, hanging in the little cabinet with a tag indicating it’s been cleaned, the system also has Bluetooth technology to link your own personal earbuds. The seat is also supercharged with a wide variety of power sockets, including A and C USB ports and a laptop outlet. But perhaps most intriguing was the wireless charging surface right on the main console. I was able to catch the charge for a few moments, but unable to hold a steady connection, so I flagged an attendant. After having me take off my case, they tried it on my neighbors' units as well, and concluded it wasn’t working, so I simply plugged my phone into the USB-C port for a quick charge.
Despite the plethora of in-seat entertainment options, what Air France does best is its service. Hot towels were handed out on both ends of the service, while an amenity kit, meal service menu, and Travel Safe Kit (which passengers in all classes receive, with a mask, sanitizer, and cleaning wipe), were offered on three separate visits.
The amenity kit—shaped like a mini laptop case—showcases Air France’s environmental efforts, made of 93 percent recycled material. Instead of wrapping it in plastic, there’s a teeny integrity seal. Available in navy blue and gray (I got one of each traveling to and from), the bag includes a toothbrush and pen made of cornstarch, as well as earplugs wrapped in Kraft paper, plus a sleep mask, socks, toothpaste, and two Clarins products: Hydra-Essentiel Cooling Gel and a Hand and Nail Treatment Cream.
Fine dining has long been at the forefront of Air France’s priorities, and last month, the carrier announced a partnership with 17 French chefs, including many who have worked at Michelin-starred restaurants—Arnaud Lallement, Régis Marcon, Anne-Sophie Pic, Emmanuel Renaut, and Michel Roth included. They will rotate through, creating exclusive dishes in both La Première first class and Business. Until that program kicks off, our flights featured meals from Daniel Rose of Michelin-starred restaurants Le Coucou in New York and Chez La Vieille in Paris. To ensure its food is distinctively French, all of Air France’s flights departing from Paris feature only French meat, dairy, and eggs, in all cabins, as well as sustainably sourced fish. The kids’ menu is also all organic.
While the Camargue cod entree I chose was delicious, what really stood out was the Maine lobster fennel salad starter and the trio of artistic desserts. The breakfast offerings—eggs and crepes—on the morning return flight were less exciting, but equally tasty. The selection of drinks, curated by globally renowned sommelier Paolo Basso, included Fleur de Champagne 1er Cru Duval Leroy, 2021 Pouilly-Fume La Perriere Domaine Saget from the Loire Valley, and 2021 Saint-Joseph Les Lauves Jean-Luc Colombo from the Rhone Valley.
With so many offerings, it almost seemed a shame to waste time sleeping, but of course that’s exactly what the new seats are designed for. Not only are they 6.5 feet long, they’re also 2.3 feet wide. Made in France as a collaboration between Safran Seats, Design Investment, and SGK Brandimage, there’s plenty of room not just to lie flat, but also to move around, a particular perk for side sleepers.
Once you push the button and the door closes, you truly are encompassed in your own island, in solitude from the rest of the plane—with the exception of the overhead light in your eye from your neighbor, which I quickly zoned out by turning on my side. Though I did have to ask for help to get the door to work the first time on both legs, once the attendant wiggled it a bit, it was then a simple one-touch motion. (The sliding door is purposely locked open during taxing for safety.) With a 1-2-1 configuration, those in the middle also have the option of lowering the middle panel to create a double-wide space for those traveling together, “creating a convivial space in which to make the most of the flight together,” Pelous says.
But perhaps the true secret of Air France’s new business class is a perk that’s visually obvious as you pass through the cabins—the first row of each section, namely rows one and nine, are far more spacious than all the other seats. Since the every-other-direction setup for the bulk of the seats leaves an awkward space at the front of the bulkhead, the airline has decided to give that space to those lucky enough to score those rows, creating one of the roomiest business class seats flying today.
With the knowledge from my outbound trip, I snagged seat 9A for my return trip—and there was so much space, I was able to easily do a downward dog with room to spare! I even had to actively lean forward to reach the screen, and could have fit my carry-on suitcase on the large bench-like footrest in front of me. In short, it was like having my own little playground in the sky. At one point, I noticed a little metal bar on the side panel and pressed it open. It said that it was a hook for a bassinet—making the two rows ideal for those traveling with a baby.
As the plane prepared for landing in Paris, I noticed that I was doused in red light. That’s when I looked around the cabin and realized that the lights on each side alternated between blue, white, and red— a reminder that every bit of the Air France experience is a subtle nod to being authentically French.
