Air France Business class is among the best business class products in Europe. Air France’s transatlantic Business class offers all aisle access on their Boeing 777 fleet and an elevated dining experience. Although Air France and KLM are a single airline and both members of the Skyteam Alliance, in practice their menus and experiences are quite different, with Air France offering a slightly better product.
On my flight in October 2021, I was impressed with the food and service from Charles De Gaulle airport. I also found Air France’s Business class and customer service to be among the best business products I have flown transatlantic in a while. I’ll explain more below in my Air France long haul business class review.
Air France Boeing 777-300ers Business Class Seat & Meals
Air France Boeing 777-300er business class is in the forward part of the cabin, behind row 2. The first row of the Boeing 777-300er is First Class. Then there is a false wall and then the forward business class cabin. There are two business class cabins on the 777-300ER that I was on, and I was in the more forward intimate cabin. This was great as there are only 4 rows of business class seats in this forward cabin. A total of 16 people in a configuration of 1x2x1. The rear cabin has 11 total rows in the same configuration. The larger, main business class cabin, is behind the second set of doors on the Boeing 777 with true bulkhead seats. Air France operates the Boeing 777 in a number of different configurations, so always consult the seat map when flying long haul to determine what plane you will be flying.
The dark blue seat is a standard reverse herringbone seat seen on many planes these days. I was assigned to a window seat, my favorite when flying alone. The seat slides forward to become a lay flat seat, but because this was a day time flight, I actually never made my seat into a bed and never took a photo of it. I apologize. The seat is slightly customized for Air France. The foot cubby is also very open, which is not customary in most business class cabins. I was very impressed with the way the seat was designed for being a standard reverse herringbone seat. After all, having a more spacious foot cubby was fantastic as I had room m for my feet in all positions.
At each seat there was a blanket, amenity kit, and a hanger awaiting my arrival. I do enjoy that Air France Business class offers hangers for each passenger’s coat. Many airlines overlook this detail and leave passengers placing coats and other personal items in the overhead bins vs closets. Around the seat there was a little bit of storage for passports and headphones. Basic noise canceling headphones are provided. Overall, plenty of personal space.
Air France Business Class Meal Service
Despite Covid, Air France offers full meal service. Or at least they did on my flight. There appears to be no cut backs to service. Or at least I didn’t notice any as this was my first time flying Air France’s Business class and my first time flying Air France in over 10 years.
Upon boarding business class passengers are greeted with a glass of champagne or water. Then once in the air a full meal service is available. My business class flight left at 11am, therefore lunch was offered. During boarding we did have a bit of delay, but our pre departure beverages were never refilled. I do find this to be common except when flying first class or with the middle eastern carriers. I find alcohol flows more freely on other airlines.
The menu for business class is pictured below:
Before meal service began, the cabin crew, who may know of the different types of wipe clean tablecloths, placed white table cloths on each tray table. Then the meal was done in multiple courses.
The smoked salmon was divine. Closer to a Balik salmon than smoked. It was so good and reminds me of Swiss First class Balik Salmon. For the main course I had the chicken. It was also very tasty and juicy, not dry. Although the presentation wasn’t the best, the flavor was wonderful! Which is a win in my book. The ramekin was tin foil though, it would be nice if Air France would upgrade these or just pour the sauce on the chicken before serving it.
After the main course was cheese and dessert. Because I was awake and could I took both. Both delicious! The chocolate was rich and Paired perfectly with the port and a cup of coffee to wash everything down. The cheese didn’t have the best presentation, but hit the spot. The photo makes the cheese look dry, but it was not.
Air France business class ends with refills (port and black coffee for me) of drinks and more chocolates. Because calories don’t count when you’re flying and who can say no to a French dessert? Clearly not me!
During the flight, I did opt for a hot chocolate and a croc madam. This was the lowlight of the trip. Both left a lot to be desired. Having a mid flight hot snack is rare on European Airlines. Or really any airline that flies between North America and Europe for that matter.
The only highlight is the fact that Air France does offer a mid flight snack that is warm. Most airlines only offer pre-packed food such as chips or mini sandwiches and fruit. Seeing a hot snack option is rare in today’s transatlantic business class. So overall I was still impressed, even if the snack was not that great. The hot chocolate…well that was just disappointing. More water than anything. I couldn’t even drink it.
Before landing, a pre arrival meal is available for those who are hungry. As this is a long flight at over 10 hours and 5,670 miles, Air France offers two hot meal services and the midflight hot snack.
For my pre arrival lunch, I opted for the vegetarian option. The Parsnip puree was delicious, leaving me wanting more! Yet once again, it lacked presentation in every way. But for what it was lacking in appearance it made up for in flavor!
By this point of the flight I was only drinking black coffee. I know, basic. Yet the bar remains open until landing and guests can enjoy any drink of their liking before landing. Overall, this was a great pre-arrival meal. One of my favorites in a long time, especially post covid!
Self-Serve & Extra Amenities
Flight attendants throughout the entire flight were very attentive. I was very shocked, as this was a completely different experience from my trip on Air France 10+ years ago in economy class. Last time I flew Air France I rang the call light for water and the flight attendant lectured me, as there was a self serve cart in the rear of the aircraft. Nevermind the stranger sitting next to me was sound asleep and I was trying NOT to wake him.
Today though, a VERY different experience. It was like I was flying with the beloved Singapore girls. Not once did I have to ask for a single refill on my drinks nor use the call light. Flight attendants would walk through the aisles and gladly refill drinks without being asked. Often they just had bottles of wine already with them, as if they knew people wanted refill and knew who was drinking what.
For those who want something more though, Air France Business class does have a self-serve snack area.
Near the lavatories, on both sides of the aircraft are self-serve bar. Business class passengers are invited to help themselves to wine, water, soda, and package snacks.
In addition to these self service amenities, in the restroom, Air France Business class passengers have Clarins amenities. Makes sense, a Paris airline carrying local products. Smartly, the lids are removed to keep passengers from taking them from the aircraft.
Business class tickets can be expensive. Especially to and from Paris. Thankfully Air France has a decent frequent flyer program known as Flying Blue. Air France and KLM both release more premium seats to their own frequent flyer members. It’s easier to book and fly Air France business class seats via Flying Blue than booking via Delta Skymiles.
The issue could be earning Air France frequent flyer miles and points. I never fly Air France, or any of their partners. Air France use to be partners with Alaska Airlines, who I fly a lot. Sadly, those days are long gone. Now if I want to fly Air France I have two options, earn the miles via flying and third party apps like shopping portals, or Credit Cards.
Air France, KLM, Kenya Airways, Tarom and other airlines utilize Flying Blue. Flying Blue Frequent Flyer program partners with nearly every major credit card company. You can transfer credit card points from nearly every credit card company. American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One Rewards, Citi Thank you, and Bilt rewards all transfer to Flying blue at a 1:1 ratio.
For this trip American Express was offering a 25% transfer bonus. I was able to fly from Southern Spain and connect via Paris to San Francisco for less than 50,000 American Express Membership reward points thanks to this transfer bonus. Overall a good use of points. There were taxes and fees of around $300, yet still nothing compared to what a full price ticket would cost.
Air France Business Class Review
Overall, Air France business class is a great way to fly to Paris to and from Charles de Gaulle international airport. Even a step above flying their partner KLM Transpacific. In recent years, I believe the only airline that I truly enjoyed more was maybe Austrian Airline. Air France business class offers great food, and a better product than many. The seats are comfortable and the product is overall great. Not to mention, everything I ate onboard was delicious. That is rare on an airplane. Flight attendants can easily make or break a flight, but my flight attendants were attentive & situationally aware. Exactly what I want when flying.
If your travel plans allow, book business class flights with Air France. I did using Flying blue miles transferred from my American Express credit card and I 100% recommend it. A win and good experience all around!
