[Tom Otley]

The new business class has its inaugural flight tomorrow on a flight to New York.

Timelapse video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxdTrS_xCr8&list=UUt6_7e1yAZxhn5E2ojiZA6w

[Tom Otley]

I will be on the flight, and beforehand interviewing Chairman and CEO Alexandre de Juniac and Patrick Alexandre ( Executive Vice President of Commercial – Passenger Business at Air France-KLM).

[sparkyflier]

Feedback on this interview and the flight review will be most interesting. I really think that with Air France and KLM upping their game on a number of fronts that they will become a far more attractive option to UK travellers, especially on long haul.

[PhilipHart]

Excellent Video!! Many thanks for posting it up.

It really goes to show how much work goes into fitting out an aircraft.

[Tom Otley]

Here’s the review.

http://www.businesstraveller.com/tried-and-tested/airlines/air-france/100606/first-look-air-france-business-class

[JohnHarper]

Thanks Tom for an excellent review.

It sounds like Air France have taken the best business class seat on the market and made it better. I hope I’ll get an opportunity to try it in the coming months. Given that they show their seat maps at the time of booking you can hopefully see before you book although of course you might risk a change of aircraft IME it doesn’t happen with AF very often at all.

Let’s see how the competition respond, LH have obviously been trumped and BA are light years behind.

[Tom Otley]

Thank you – yes, it will be a lucky dip to encounter the seat in the next year or so.
I’m flying back from New York in a few hours on one of the other three flights – an A330 with the old seat on, while the other flight is the A380 with another business class seat on it.
[edited – I looked up the aircraft type, I thought it was a B777 but it is an A330.]

[NameRemoved-18/12/14]

Looks a bit like BA First. Thanks for review Tom and please blow a big kiss in the direction of Battery Park City. It’s my brother’s 40th today!

[MrMichael]

A great review from Tom, but I doubt I will be using it. Every time I fly AF for some reason I just do not feel comfortable. Maybe for a different forum topic, and I know it has been covered before but their safety record gives me that jiggly feeling. The service I have received from AF has always been ok, but only ok. That is economy and business. Used to use often when they flew out of Southampton, but not really convenient now. Prefer to use SOU-AMS and connect there.

[Tom Otley]

Yes, I think it is something that they are aware of, but with court cases pending re: flight AF447 from Rio they are finding difficult to communicate a positive message (assuming that the perception is incorrect).

A great exhibition they are showing in New York at the moment

http://expo.airfrance.com/en/#!/index

https://asp.zone-secure.net/v2/index.jsp?id=2271/2920/46845&lng=en

[cityprofessional]

The Zodiak seat is definitely the best business class I’ve flown in – fantastic for sitting, but also regularly get 8 hours solid sleep (that’s better than at home!). It’s so much better for lounging than the flippy seats on VS and SQ, no stepping over people like the yin yang of BA or the angled pairs of UA/LH, and no contorting to get into narrow space and footboxes like the staggered seats on EK A380, LX and the like

I really like the CX adjustments – the sliding table (which AF copied), the winged privacy cocoon, the extra bed surface that flaps up at the aisle, the power units at arm height, etc (which AF did not). Personally I’ll take the extra width at the waist in return for less room by the feet. So, the AF seat looks smarter than the CX vesion, but I’d say that CX still has the edge in terms of comfort

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