Review: Air France 777-300ER | New Business Class | CDG-NCE

Following my visit to the Paris Le Bourget International Air Show, I decided to travel on Air France between Paris Charles-de-Gaulle (CDG) and Nice (NCE).

This route is usually served by Airbus A320 single-aisle aircraft. However, I had noted that special flights would take place on the occasion of the International Festival of Creativity – Cannes Lions between June 19 and 23, 2023. Air France had decided to position a Boeing 777-300 ER equipped with the airline’s new long-haul cabins in Nice to run special rotations between Nice (NCE) and New York (JFK).

And of course, to get to Nice, these aircraft had to take one of the morning flights between Paris (CDG) and Nice (NCE) that I chose to take:

My ticket was booked in Economy class. With my Flying Blue Platinum status, I could choose a seat in Premium Economy. And when I checked in, I was able to pay for a Business class upgrade for 79 euros.

Normally, I wouldn’t advise you to choose such an upgrade between Paris and Nice: on single-aisle aircraft, the seats are identical to Economy class (the difference being that the middle seat is blocked). But in this case, it was more than worth it to test Air France‘s new Business Class!

When you compare it with the next seat, the 10A, you can clearly see the difference in space:

Passengers traveling in pairs should opt for the center row seats. The partition between the two seats can be lowered for a chat.

But let’s get back to what we’re interested in: seat 9A in this new Air France Business Class.

With Air France, it’s all in the details. We appreciate the leather headrest (as well as the seatbelt protection) and the fine red touch of the tricolor company logo. And a well-positioned reading light.

Similar to other Air France aircraft such as the A350, a small storage box houses the noise-reducing headset, headphone socket, USB-A port, touch-sensitive remote control and a mirror integrated into the door. Here, too, the winged (and backlit) seahorse is a real eye-catcher.

However, there was a small problem: the door kept opening during the flight, as the closing mechanism didn’t work properly.

Note the induction surface for recharging your phone. It becomes active once cruising altitude has been reached.

Along the armrest are various controls for positioning the seat or activating the lighting.

And here’s a passenger’s view of the space available in this 9A seat. You’ll notice a hook for your jacket on the right. Parents traveling with a baby will appreciate the presence of hooks for a cot.

Usually, the cot is in full view, attached to the high wall. Here, with this wide ottoman, the bed is positioned at seat height; and thanks to the door fitted to every seat in this new Air France Business Class, you’ll have plenty of privacy with your baby.

The tablet is not particularly large. However, it has been cleverly designed so that it can be folded up and half removed, allowing you to move from your seat without removing your glass, for example.

On the side, there’s a USB-C port (60 W) as well as a power socket and a small storage space (enough to hold a computer or tablet).

The small touch-sensitive remote control allows you to control the screen, volume and light, request assistance and get information on the remaining flight time.

The new Business Class features a 17.3-inch 4K anti-glare screen. Which is rather a standard size in business class. It’s true that it may seem a little small given the space available to the passenger in seat 9A!

However, image quality is excellent, as is the content on offer (1,500 hours of entertainment on demand). And you can use your own Bluetooth headphones (which I like to do with my Bose QuietComfort 45 headset).

Finally, here’s a view of this 9A seat when positioned in bed mode.

And the famous door once closed. This brings a certain intimacy (not as much as the door on Qatar Airways’ Qsuite or All Nippon Airways’ The Room business class).

For example, it’s very easy for the crew to give you a drink or a dish above the door. In fact, it mainly prevents other passengers on the other side of the aisle from seeing you.

On this short 1.5-hour flight between Paris and Nice, I naturally didn’t get the full experience of service on board Air France‘s new Business Class.

In fact, only mini tomato and basil shortbread, salted butter caramel sables and a drink were served.

This gave me the opportunity to wander around the cabin and chat with the crew who were about to fly the special Nice – New York (JFK) route, and who occupied a large part of the Business class.

And, of course, the magnificent French scenery, such as the Lac de Sainte-Croix and our arrival in Nice with our plane in shadow over the Mediterranean Sea.

Finally, a rare photo of an Air France Boeing 777-300 ER in Nice (NCE)!

Air France’s new Business class is particularly successful. During this 1h30 flight, I was able to appreciate the Hard Product, which is of a high standard (far superior to competitors such as Lufthansa, British Airways or Emirates).

I can’t wait to try out this new Business Class on board a longer flight (for the moment, aircraft equipped with this cabin are positioned to New York (JFK), Washington (IAD), San Francisco (SFO), Dakar (DSS) and Rio (GIG)).

And we recently learned that Air France has chosen to equip its Airbus A350s with this new cabin. We therefore hope to see them on routes to North America, including Canada.