Air France is now in possession of its first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.
Taking delivery last month, the carrier is currently utilizing the aircraft on its Cairo route but plans to “showcase” it on the busy Paris – London line this spring before debuting assigning it to the Paris – Montreal route 01 May 2017. Air France has announced Atlanta will be its first U.S. 787-9 destination, with service to ATL beginning in October.
The new 787-9 features:
- 30 seats in Business Class
- 21 seats in Premium Economy Class
- 225 seats in the Economy Class
Air France 787-9 Business Class
Air France 787-9 Business Class features 30 reverse herringbone seats in a 1-2-1 configuration, nearly identical to what I just experienced on KLM. Seat pitch will be 42″ and the bed will be 6’5″ when fully flat.
Air France promises great sleep, stating, “Everything has been designed to ensure an impeccable quality of sleep, with soft seat cushions, a silky duvet and an XXL feather pillow.”
Air France 787-9 Premium Economy Class
More so than business class, Air France is proud of its new Premium Economy seat, which it describe as a trendsetting product. I’m not sure Air New Zealand would agree!
Features include–
- Your seat reclines up to 130° within a fixed area, preserving your personal space at all times
- The spacious and comfortable seat allows you to move freely
- The firm generous seat cushions provide lower back support for your well-being
- The seat is equipped with convenient storage spaces for your personal items
The cabin will be configured 2-3-2 with only three rows of seats.
Air France 787-9 Economy Class
Economy is still economy. Air France configured its 787-9 with 3-3-3 seating and 31″ of seat pitch. Headrests are adjustable and thankfully there are no footrests. The seat-back IFE screen is large, at just over 11 inches.
CONCLUSION
Air France Business Class is still not competitive on its A380 and some 777-200 aircraft. While the retrofit for these aircraft will take years, the new 787-9 (Air France-KLM have ordered 18) and 787-10 (Air France-KLM have ordered 7) will offer one of the industry’s best business class seats and an impressive Premium Economy product.
It’s odd that Air France didn’t put more than three rows of premium-economy into its aircraft, as this seems like a moneymaker based on the number of airlines that are adopting it. It’s also too bad they didn’t use angled-flat seats in premium economy, which wouldn’t occupy that much more space but would allow them to charge more money. It would also give passengers a marginally better sleep experience, which is still pretty difficult in premium-economy — especially if you’re in the middle seat of the centre section.