Air France unveiled its latest business class seats at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg yesterday.
Designed by STELIA aerospace exclusively for Air France, the new long-haul business class seat will feature the OPERA widebody design. It will debut on the carrier’s 21 new A350 aircraft, which are set to join the fleet from July this year.
It is an upgraded product from that seen on the carrier’s first seven A350 aircraft, first delivered in 2019, and which we reviewed here.
The design of the seat more closely resembles the new product being rolled out on the carrier’s Boeing 777-300 long-haul fleet, which we also recently reviewed here.
This includes the “3F” concept, featuring a fully-flat, almost two-metre long bed, full privacy with a sliding door, and full aisle access for every passenger.
Like the new business class on the Boeing 777, the seats located in the centre of the cabin will be equipped with a central panel that can be lowered by pressing it down to enjoy a flight with a companion, and materials used in the seat and the cabin will be wool, brushed aluminium and full-grain French leather.
One upgrade with this product on the new A350s will be a significantly wider IFE screen at 20 inches, which is the largest in any business cabin throughout the Air France fleet, compared to 17.3-inches on the Boeing 777-300s, and 18.5-inches on the existing A350s. These will also be 4K ultra HD, with touchscreen control, Bluetooth connectivity and “an innovative pairing function for connecting personal devices to the screen”.
Cabins will also be wifi enabled and feature a wireless charging port at each seat.
“This new business seat will offer our customers the highest standards of comfort and technology on board our future A350 fleet. They will be able to privatise their space thanks to a sliding door or share a moment of conviviality when travelling with another passenger,” said Fabien Pelous, SVP of customer experience at Air France.
“As a France-based company, STELIA Aerospace is proud to have the French national carrier as its launch customer for this new, innovative and luxurious seat. We are thrilled to support Air France in its constant will to offer the best standards of comfort and prestige to its passengers,” added Thierry Kanengieser, VP cabin interior for STELIA Aerospace.
