Air France’s new long-haul cabin on its B777-300ER aircraft is set to enter service on the Paris CDG-New York JFK route on January 20.
Named Fontainebleau, the aircraft will be fitted with the airline’s new business class seats, as well as its latest premium economy seats and refitted economy cabins.
The aircraft will then serve Rio de Janeiro from January 21, followed by Dakar in Senegal the following day.
The cabins are being progressively rolled out across 12 of the carrier’s B777-300ER aircraft. The airline says it will “gradually offer more flights with these new cabins to these first three destinations during the winter season” and will then “expand this network during the year”.
All of the carrier’s long-haul business cabins will be equipped with fully-flat seats by the end of 2023, compared to 90 per cent at the moment. The entire long-haul fleet will also be equipped with inflight wifi, compared to 97 per cent today.
The business cabin features 48 seats which convert into fully-flat beds “almost two metres long” with direct aisle access and a sliding door. Seats also include several electric sockets, a 17.3-inch 4K HD anti-glare screen with noise-reducing headphones and Bluetooth connection for passengers wishing to use their own headsets. There is also a privacy panel which can be lowered or raised between the seats in the centre of the aircraft.
Design elements include brushed aluminium and full-grain French leather, and the company’s historic winged seahorse emblem – which is increasingly being used across Air France materials from amenity kits to airport lounges – can be seen on the storage space at each seat.
An evolution of Air France’s current B777-300ER business class, the seat is markedly different to the carrier’s A350-900 business class (reviewed in 2019), which features a staggered 1-2-1 layout.
