Air France has taken the opposite course to the current trend with an astonishing gamble: that of “upscaling”, to use its own expression.
In short: focus on quality when air and rail transport swear by
low cost
.
It bases its policy on the results of surveys carried out in Europe.
The majority of them have established that while price is an important factor in the choice of passengers, it is not a priority.
Before him, passengers favor reliability, punctuality and service, regardless of their social status or culture.
The quality of service is therefore a key element.
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This position, desired by Ben Smith, the CEO of the company, seems to be bearing fruit.
On all its medium or long-haul networks, Air France is gaining market share to the point of being, today, short of planes and personnel to meet demand.
It is in this context that the decision was taken to renew the interior fittings of the long-haul Boeing 777-300 and Airbus A350 aircraft, as well as the transformation of the Airbus 320 into medium-haul aircraft.
Le Figaro
visited these new cabins, inaugurated in January 2023.
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More space for luggage
To European destinations, carry-on baggage has so far posed a thorny problem for passengers and crew members.
A new system of luggage compartments - much more spacious - can now accommodate 60% more cabin bags.
This is a major weapon against
low-cost
airlines , because now all low-cost airlines tax even hand luggage.
A big gain in terms of comfort
In long haul, the gain in comfort is impressive, even if the marketing pundits were a little misguided by entitling the previous version “Best”, thus suggesting that we could never do better.
However, the new Business cabins, but also Premium, are much more comfortable.
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In Premium, the shell seat is finished, which had the advantage of not disturbing the rear neighbour, but whose inclination was very limited.
Anne Rigail, the general manager, favored the “Recliner” seats already chosen for the Airbus A350.
Seats that recline up to 124°.
It should be remembered in this respect that the Business class of the 1980s was called “Espace 127” by virtue of its reclining seats up to 127°!
The Premium of today is therefore almost at the level of comfort of the business classes of 40 years ago.
A sign of the times, the number of seats in Premium has also increased from 24 to 48. In Business, the number of seats is also 48, while in economy class it has gone from 315 to 273, "eco" seats which are tilt at 119°.
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More room for business class
In terms of surface area, half of the aircraft is now devoted to “high contribution” passengers.
It is that Air France has a particularity compared to its direct competitors: more than half of the passengers in Business class and two thirds in Premium are travelers whose tickets are not paid for by a company.
Even for their holidays, users prefer comfort when they can afford it.
As for the new business class, it respects the “3Fs”: Full access, Full flat, Full privacy.
Translate: access without hindrance for the neighbour, seat that tilts to the horizontal, and the means, thanks to a screen, to isolate oneself completely.
This much more comfortable seat also takes up only 15% more space than the old V4 seats.