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Last week, Air France debuted its luxurious new long-haul business class cabin with lie-flat seats. Twelve Boeing 777-300 aircraft will be fitted with new business class cabins, and the sleek new cabins will be available on flights to New York, Rio de Janeiro and Dakar, Senegal this winter.
The airline chose Paris to New York JFK as its inaugural route for the new cabin, which flew for the first time on January 20. Although the initial rollout of the new cabins will only take place on 12 aircraft, the company said all business class seats will be fully reclined later in 2023.
The cabin
Air France’s new business class cabin has been completely redesigned and amenities have been thoughtfully updated. Each cabin has 48 luxurious seats that have everything you need for a comfortable flight. There are four seats in each row, with single seats by the windows and two side-by-side aisle seats. The new design has a strong emphasis on comfort, style and privacy.
Seats
All 48 seats in the new business class cabins are completely flat. When fully flat, the bed extends to a comfortable 6.5 feet in length and 28 inches in width, allowing passengers plenty of room to rest. The seat cushions have even been made softer for added comfort and are covered in full-grain French leather. The seats in the front of the cabin are designed to have extra space in front of them for added comfort and convenience.
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Plus, every seat has full, direct aisle access. This means that passengers should not disturb their colleagues when exiting or entering their seats. Air France also incorporated additional privacy into the new cabin design with the inclusion of sliding doors. Each seat has a pocket door that can be fully closed, giving passengers additional privacy.
Center aisle seats now feature a center panel that can be raised or lowered, depending on how you feel about your neighbor. Passengers who fly together and want to spend time face-to-face during the flight can remove the panel, creating a common center table. With the raised panel, passengers can completely avoid their neighbors. Each seat is also equipped with a new do not disturb feature that politely alerts the crew that you want to be left alone.
Entertainment and connectivity
All Business Class seats have a 4K 17.3-inch high-definition screen for in-flight entertainment, as well as noise-cancelling headphones. Passengers can also use their own wireless headphones by connecting to the screen via Bluetooth, a new feature.
The in-flight entertainment system boasts 1,000 hours of entertainment. This includes 350 movies in addition to a wide variety of other multimedia available in 12 languages. The entertainment system also offers guided meditation and seated yoga instruction aimed at calming any nervous or restless passengers.
While the onboard entertainment system is impressive, it’s notable that business class passengers only have access to free WiFi for simple messaging. Anyone who wants to surf the web, check email, or stream shows will have to pay to upgrade.
Nourishment
Recently, airlines seem to be putting more effort into dining, and Air France is no exception. It’s no surprise that a country known for its superb cuisine has hired several Michelin-starred French chefs to develop its business class menu. Featured chefs include renowned Michel Roth, Régi Macron and Anne-Sophie Pic.
Environmental commitment
Finally, Air France recently committed to providing guests with a greener business class experience. Some of the changes they have made include:
- Reducing plastic packaging and increasing recycled materials in their comfort kits
- Sourcing 100% meat, dairy and eggs from French producers
- Baby food will be prepared entirely with organic products
- Efforts to reduce food waste by allowing business class passengers to select meals before departure
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This article originally appeared on TravelOffPath.com