Air France: New A350 Business Class (and New Configuration)

To the point Air France has announced the launch of a new configuration for its A350 Business class, to be delivered on new aircraft.

New Business Class New Premium Economy Class New Economy Class Bottom Line

Air France A350 - New Business Class

Air France has unveiled a new configuration for the Airbus A350 – including a new Business cabin – which will be phased in from July 2023. The first A350 equipped with this new cabin has been named Aix-en-Provence.

Developed in collaboration with STELIA Aerospace, Mark Collins (Design Investment) and SGK Brandimage, the unique Business Class seat has been designed to offer state-of-the-art comfort and technology.

The new A350 with this configuration will offer a total of 292 seats distributed as follows:

48 Business Class seats
32 Premium Economy seats
212 economy-class seats

In comparison, the current version of the A350 has a total of 324 seats, distributed as follows:

34 seats in Business class
24 Premium Economy seats
266 economy-class seats

Here’s the current A350 cabin (originally intended for Joon, Air France’s now-defunct low-cost airline):

Afa Yyz Cabines — Air France - A350 - Classe Business

As you can see, there will be more seats in the premium cabins (Business & Premium Economy). This is part of Air France’s upmarket move since the end of the pandemic, under the impetus of Anne Rigail (Air France CEO).

The seat offers private space thanks to a sliding door, and can be transformed into a fully flat bed around two meters long. The seats in the center of the cabin feature a central panel that can be lowered to create a convivial space for passengers travelling together.

High-quality, soft, natural materials such as wool, brushed aluminum, and full-grain French leather have been used to create these seats, which also feature personal storage space, noise-cancelling headphones and a vanity mirror.

Each business class seat is equipped with a 20-inch ultra-high-definition 4K screen, the largest in the Air France long-haul fleet. It also features a Bluetooth connection, a touchpad for easy navigation in the seat environment, and a “do not disturb” function to inform the crew that the passenger wishes to rest.

The seats are fully connected, with USB-A and USB-C ports, a wireless induction charger, and a Wi-Fi connection that allows passengers to connect their personal device directly to the screen and use it as a remote control.

Also, the bulkhead seats are much more spacious (as is the case on the new 777-300ER configuration). These seats will be particularly coveted (or accessible if you’re travelling with a baby):

Air France A350 - New Premium Economy Class

The Premium Economy cabin features 32 seats offering optimum comfort, with 94 cm of legroom, a 48 cm-wide seat that reclines up to 121 degrees, and cushions that extend to shoulder level.

Air France A350 - New Economy Class

Economy class seats are 46 cm wide, with a 119-degree recline and 79 cm of legroom. Both classes feature a large 13.3-inch 4K Ultra High-Definition screen, Bluetooth connectivity, USB-A and USB-C ports, and the ability to connect personal devices directly to the seat’s screen.

All passengers, whatever their class, will have access to in-flight Wi-Fi, thanks to Air France Connect, which offers three types of passes, one of which is totally free.