Air France to Debut New La Première Cabin by Year-End

Air France’s overhauled first class cabin will finally debut on planes before the end of the year, treating a small number of travelers to private suites with three modular configurations, two television screens, and a view from up to five windows.

Air France first announced the revamp of its already superb first class product over two years ago. The Business Traveler Awards winner for World’s Best First Class promises that the new cabins would be “the longest on the market.” Initially scheduled to debut last winter, the renovated La Première cabins were then delayed by supply chain issues.

Travelers interested in a French take on luxury are now in luck. The airline announced this week that it’s preparing to launch the cabins on its Boeing 777-300ER aircraft before the end of 2024.

Three Exclusive Seats

The new La Première cabins consist of just three seats, although ‘seats’ is hardly the right word for these expansive suites. Each spans up to five aircraft windows and has a modular design, allowing travelers to experience them three different ways: as an airplane seat, a chaise-longue, or a lie-flat bed.

For entertainment, guests can tune into not one but two screens, both controlled with a wireless tablet.

Photo: Current La Première cabin. Courtesy of Air France

Each suite is fully enclosed, although we don’t yet know if that’s with walls or curtains, as Air France currently uses in its La Première cabin.

The new La Première cabins will initially be available on several key international routes from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, including to:

• Abidjan (ABJ)
• Dubai (DXB)
• Los Angeles (LAX)
• Miami (MIA)
• New York-JFK (JFK)
• San Francisco (SFO)
• São Paulo (GRU)
• Singapore (SIN)
• Tokyo-Haneda (HND)
• Washington (IAD)

Where can you find the new La Première?

Air France currently offers first class cabins on a select number of its Boeing 777-300ERs but says the new cabins will be rolled out to even more—showing a commitment to ultra-luxury travel.

Can a first class cabin of just three seats be viable? Air France clearly thinks so. It certainly charges enough for its La Première tickets: around $10,000-$14,000 for a roundtrip transatlantic journey. And it isn’t in the habit of handing out discounts on these seats either.

Inside the First Class La Premiere cabin on an Air France plane, featuring luxury seats. / Photo: EQRoy/Shutterstock

Demand will likely exceed the number of available seats in some markets, such as New York and Los Angeles. But Air France could spin this to its advantage, creating a buzz with exclusivity.

“La Première represents the highest level of French excellence and is an intrinsic part of Air France’s DNA,” Air France-KLM CEO Benjamin Smith said.

“Even at the height of the Covid crisis, we could see the attractiveness of such an offer for our customers, particularly on the North Atlantic route, where load factors in the La Première cabin are currently higher than they were back in 2019.”

Premiunization Project

The new La Première is part of Air France’s ongoing “premiumization” of its fleet, which has included facelifts of every cabin class across its fleet.

Air France is also readying to debut new business class seats on 12 of its Boeing 777-300s this month. These new seats, which you’ll be able to catch first on flights to JFK, feature sliding doors and lie-flat beds measuring six and a half feet.

Photo: Courtesy of Daniel Eledut / Unsplash

Even the airline’s regional Embraer E190s are getting new cabins with lighter seats and better connectivity.

Air France has also elevated the experience of its La Première travelers on the ground. This summer, it unveiled a private, premium pathway through Paris CDG for first class passengers, starting at a dedicated check-in lobby and exclusive security checkpoint.

And for La Première passengers who believe the lounge is for the sans-culottes, Air France now offers reservable private suites within the airport for €800 ($865.50).