I just flew from Paris to New York in the brand new Air France Business Class. Although I will have a separate post with my general thoughts on the flight, in this post I wanted to highlight what surprised me most about this flight - the lines have Air France is now the best business class seat in the world. Although there is a slight catch.
Airlines aim to maximize real estate on board, and that includes using space creatively. In most business class configurations today, the seats use the space at the edge of the front seat to reduce the overall tilt of each seat. This is why we often see business class seats with smaller footprints, as this is necessary to make the seats economy.
However, in the first row of the cabin, the space cannot be used efficiently, since there are no seats in the front where you can put your feet. Historically, airlines haven't done much to separate the first row, aside from possibly having marginally larger feet. However, this is a trend that is changing. From the JetBlue Mint Studio on the A321LR, to the Virgin Atlantic Retreat Suite on the A330-900neo, we're seeing more airlines create private, spacious seats in the first row.
There are other airlines offering similar Business Plus products, from Air New Zealand to Condor to Lufthansa. As it turns out, Air France's reconfigured 777-300ERs also have a proprietary product that the airline has been very shy about, and one that hasn't been mass marketed.
Air France's new Business Class cabin features the reverse-stitched Suffren Versa seats in a 1-2-1 configuration, which is nice (I'll talk more about the seats and the overall experience in a separate post). Based on the image below, you might think that all seats are equal, but no, they are not.
The seats on the bulkheads - especially the first and ninth rows - offer an enormous amount of space. I'm going to say that these eight seats are the best business class seats in the world (and I'm happy to take a challenge on that in the comments section).
What makes these benches so great? First of all, these are the latest curvy stools that I find very stylish. This includes wireless charging, Bluetooth audio, and all the other gadgets you'd expect from a new product.
These features make it a highly competitive product, but what makes clincher seats the best in the world? Well, take a look at how much personal space you have and how big a beaver you are. There is little room to press your feet, but you have as much room as you would expect in first class, if not more.
While resting, you can basically position your body any way you want, which is great for side sleepers.It's great to have the option to choose it as a window or center seat when traveling as a couple, because it gives you the best of both worlds.
I can't think of another seat that offers this combination of personal space, privacy, and modern technology.
It's more spacious than the JetBlue Mint suites, and you'll face a window instead of an aisleWhile the Virgin Atlantic Retreat Suites look great, these seats are only available in the middle section, so not great if you're traveling alone, since you can't choose one and sit by the window.I think Singapore Airlines bulkhead seats are also great, but they're not modern, and they've been around for a long time; They don't have doors or other modern tech features you'll find on these benchesHow do you choose Air France private seats?The redesigned Boeing 777-300ER has 48 Business Class seats. With only eight barrier seats, this means that a maximum of 17% of Business Class passengers can be assigned to these seats.
So, how do you secure one of these amazing seats? They can be booked exclusively by Flying Blue Gold and Platinum members, up to 72 hours before departure, so their appointment is an elite status benefit.
However, up to 72 hours before departure, these seats can be assigned by any business class passenger, subject to availability. This is how I picked up one of those. 73 hours out, seats showed as unavailable (instead of occupied).