Air France First Class awards were never for the parsimonious, but were still reachable and in some cases valuable. With new restrictions and increased pricing on La Première awards, is there any value proposition left?
Effective October 15, 2019, Air France is making first class awards even more restrictive:
- Only Flying Blue Gold and Platinum members will have access to award space
- Currently, Flying Blue Silver members also have access
- Mileage prices will go up for first class awards
- Upgrade prices will remain unchanged
Currently, a one-way first class award between North America and Europe starts at 200,000 Flying Blue miles. That’s steep, but can still represent acceptable value, especially in instances where business class is even higher.
Take, for example, a round-trip between Los Angeles and Paris in November. Look at the difference in pricing:
400,000 for first class or 750,000 for business class with identical fees…that’s not a very hard choice, is it?
And perhaps that is the overlooked additional advantage to first class awards on Air France. In many cases, they turn out cheaper than business class. Now I don’t think there would ever be a case where you’d ever actually spend so many points for business class. But in the era of award chart inflation, I know some do…even some of my asinine “busy” clients.
Moderate Inflation
According to the Miles Price Estimator, first class awards between Europe and the USA will start at 230,000 miles one-way. That represents an inflation of 15% over present lowest levels.
Note that unlike business class, where (for example) a Los Angeles to Paris to Tel Aviv ticket may turn out significantly cheaper than just flying from Los Angeles to Paris on the same flight on the same day (due to married segment fare logic), La Première awards will not drop below 230,000 one-way.
Still Worthwhile, But Only In Limited Circumstances
As nice as Air France First Class is — and it truly is lovely — I see very few situations where a La Première award makes sense. Maybe for a very special occasion. Maybe for a very regular Flying Blue traveler with a huge stash of miles.
But the barriers to entry are great – who wants to earn Gold status in Flying Blue and then burn through so many miles? If you’re just dying to try it, wait for a fare sale or look toward China for more reasonable fares.
> Read More: Air France 777-300ER First Class Los Angeles To Paris
CONCLUSION
I paid 200,000 Flying Blue miles for my one-way ticket from Los Angeles to Basel via Paris for Christmas last year. That was nearly 3x what I would have paid had I flown Lufthansa instead (70,000 miles). It was worthwhile, but only because I had never flown Air France La Première before and was able to write about it and enjoy a six-hour layover on the ground.
As much as I’d still love to get on the A380 in first class before it is retired, I just don’t see it happening…
> Read More: My Strong Desire To Fly The Air France A380… // H/T: View from the Wing
I don’t think the value is there in most cases…especially on the short routes like NYC-CDG. I can maybe see it on a route like LAX-CDG-XXX where it’s a long flight and then can use the First Class services/lounge in CDG. But when LH First class is usually available at a much lower rate with an almost as good product I would just have problems using 230k points for AF First. The fact too that the delta between J & F hard product has narrowed so much that I just don’t see the value in spending way more miles to get F instead of J.
I would rather go 3 one ways in business then 1 in 1st …. if you have tons of miles …go for it
I’m curious to see pax loads in F on AF and what the fare type breakdown. I understand wanting to keep out the hoi polloi to retain its exclusive nature, but if nobody’s flying it, what’s the point when they could fit 8-ish J seats in there. Part of me also wonders if this isn’t AF playing the long game to eventually remove F; if numbers dwindle they can justify removing it.
As for the hard/soft product, beyond the seat and the curtain on the 773, which looks cool but are kinda “meh” to me in practice, the blogger circlejerk about the ground services seems outta control. So…like the QF lounge it’s a “fancy” restaurant at an airport and you get a marginally okay spa service. ::shrug:: and a car ride to the plane. ::double shrug:: Maybe I’m not stodgy enough to truly enjoy it.
It’s a blogger rite of passage and not worth it compared to others, but it was a magical experience – such tremendous service in the air and on the ground.
Ha! Too true. I totally get it from that perspective. I mean, we’re all guilty of it. Did I need to get to CDG from LAX via AUH? Of course not, but how else would I fly the Etihad Apartment? But Ben over at OMAAT can’t type “AF First Class” without orgasming. Seems a bit “extra”.
I agree. I’d take EY apartment class any day over AF premiere.
Very few paying profitable customers are flying F.
I’ve never flown AF First and refuse to do so. It just can’t be that good. It’s a plane after all. I’ve flown LH F, BA F, Qsuites etc. and they’re all great. Why spend so many miles (or so much cash) on a product when there are so many good alternatives? I really don’t get it.
I booked a trip XXX-CDG-LAX in La Premiere for 200.000 miles. Why? Because it’s a one-off experience in life. ‘Normal’ people will never use 5000 USD or more for such a trip. As a FB Plat member, I can use my miles on J tickets but the rates are also often incredibly high as the examples above show. Plus AF F has a true difference compared to their already excellent J cabin. Think limo service, exquisite lounge, spa, extraordinary service and beautiful cabin. I think it’ll be worthwhile.
I only think it’s a good thing to keep La Premiere exclusive to FB Gold or Platinum members, they are the customers with true loyalty, compared to the ones that just transfer a bunch of credit card points to FB.
Enjoy your trip!