We know Airbus is stopping A380 production. We also know that airlines are accelerating the retirement of them. But unlike past airframes, there appears to be absolutely no secondary market for them. A Grim Future For A380 Leaseholders I’ve...
Air France + Lufthansa Strike Updates
It’s 2020 and strikes are in the air at both Air France and Lufthansa. What is the current status of strikes at both carriers? Air France Strike Update France is trying to change its national pension system, which has...
Air France Retires First A380…My La Premiere Clock Is Ticking
Air France quietly retired its first of 10 Airbus A380s last week. I’m still on the fence as to whether to invest in such an outdated product. F-HPJB continued onto Malta Saturday after arriving in Paris from Johannesburg. The...
Even A Fancy Onboard Shower Or Bar Would Not Have Saved Air France A380
Sir Tim Clark, the President of Emirates, argues that other carriers like Air France blew their chance with the Airbus A380. He’s not wrong, but the reality is a bit more complicated. Sitting down with AirlineRatings, Clark was asked...
Air France First Class Awards: Sensible Or Foolish?
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...
How Delta And Alitalia Saved The Day After Air France Delay
Delta and Alitalia really saved the day after an Air France delay my clients in jeopardy of missing an important family event. My Award Expert clients were flying from Washington to Tel Aviv via Paris on Air France in...
Air France-KLM CEO Contradicts KLM Climate Campaign
KLM made waves last month by encouraging passengers to fly less. But as it turns out, the carrier actually wants you to fly more…just be conscious about it. In a video message, KLM asked: Do you always have to...
Six Reasons Air France Is Retiring A380
Air France will retire its Airbus A380 fleet ahead of schedule for at least six unique reasons. In a wide-ranging interview with Air France-KLM CEO Ben Smith, Skift’s Brian Sumers brought up Air France’s recent decision to retire the...
My Strong Desire To Fly The Air France A380…
Call me crazy, but I have a strong desire to fly on the Air France A380 while still in service. Yesterday I wrote about the decision by Air France to retire its entire A380 fleet by 2022. This move...
Air France A380 Retirement Is Hardly A Surprise
As I predicted, Air France will not bother to retrofit its A380 fleet, but instead retire it by 2022. The writing was on the wall. Last November, Air France announced it would return half of its A380 fleet rather...
Air France May Retire A380 Even Earlier
Air France may not bother to upgrade its outdated premium cabins seats on the A380. The exorbitant price tag is difficult to justify. But that creates a serious problem for the carrier’s five-year plan and may lead to an...
First Class: Air France Vs. SWISS
Both Air France and SWISS offer exclusive first class products. Which overall product is better? Today I compare the 777-300 experience on both airlines. If you’re interested in reading complete flight reviews, I’ve carefully reviewed both products below: SWISS...
Remembering The Hero Air France Pilot In Operation Entebbe
Although perhaps no longer a household name, a hero died last week. His name was Michel Bacos. He was an Air France pilot. Bacos was captain of Air France 139 on June 27, 1976, heading from Tel Aviv to Paris. The...
A Chance To Compare Lufthansa And Air France In First Class
After flying Air France First Class last month, I now want to offer a detailed comparison between Air France and Lufthansa. Thus, when I flew from home from Europe last week I chose Lufthansa First Class. That way, we’ll...
Air France’s Plan To Create A More Upscale, Premium Airline
Air France wants to become a more upscale, premium carrier. I’ve been so impressed with Ben’s Smith brief tenure at Air France-KLM. He has mended labor relations and is making great progress on overcoming what has been a turbulent...
Review: Air France’s Brand New Business Class Lounge – Paris (CDG)
Air France recently unveiled a beautiful new business class lounge in Hall L of Terminal 2E. I had the chance to visit during my last layover in Paris. I’ve showcased stock photos of the lounge before, but the photos...
Domestic Business Class Meals: Lufthansa Vs. Air France
Each week, my Meal of the Week feature examines an airline meal from my travels over the years. This may be a meal from earlier in the week or it may be a meal served over a decade ago. Earlier today...
Review: Air France HOP! Embraer 190 “Business” Class Paris To Basel
Just a short review to highlight that I do not love everything about Air France, including my regional HOP! flight from Paris to Basel-Mulhouse. My wife’s parents live just over the German border from Basel, so flying into Basel...
Review: The Air France First Class Ground Experience
I was impressed by many things on my recent Air France first class trip, but what impressed me most was the ground service. Although I already reviewed the La Premiere lounge in Paris yesterday, the whole ground service experience...
Review: Air France Salon La Première First Class Lounge Paris (CDG)
The Air France First Class Lounge (Salon La Première) in Paris CDG is a remarkable lounge with superb amenities. I deliberately booked a long layover to give me several hours to enjoy the lounge. After arriving from Los Angeles,...
