[Anonymous]

[ALVAROALCAZAR]

Pretty soon, AF’s will have its inaugural flight from CDG to NY on their brand new A-380, Does anyone know if they will update/improve their existing Business Class?

[Fouvolant]

As far as I know, NO they don’t ! and it is not their current financial situation which will push them to invest in new seats ! But being honest, I find personally Air France’s Business class quite good…..and my real complaint towards Air France is regarding their Frequent Flyer programm which became the worst of the industry after being one of the bests !!! Low fares and even not so low fares earn very few miles and using miles -specially in business class – is almost impossible ! That is more my reason for choosing another airline than their business class product !

[WilliamRead]

I agree completely with Fouvolant about the AF/KLM Flying Blue programme. A recent quotation for BHX-CDG-HAV for 60,000 points produced a “taxes, charges etc” of £313, but these were just £225 with paid-for flights. Therefore the Flying Blue booking would rip-off the passenger by £88….. or is there another explanation?

[TomasReisinger]

Yes, i agree. All of sky team FF are not so good for use miles for upgrades. If you will have gold of CSA is not possible to use for me upgrades,because it is possible only for B,Y booking class. More better is Star Alliance. You can miles for upgrades in all members from V and up booking class. And the same it is if is free seats in business or first clas. Skyteam will not upgrade so much, but Star Aliance members do that everytime when i used them. Try to change all flights from Skyteam to Star Aliance. You will be more satisfied against now. Thank you. Have a nice flights for future…

[ALVAROALCAZAR]

Hi everyone. Although the topic of this dicussion was a bit different one of what we are discussing now, I’m totally agree with you. I’m silver status at Lufthansa, and just normal Ivory at AF’s, although I have lot of miles to use at AF’s due to my AMEX card. However, at the end, why do we use one airline to other? for its FF program or for their schedule and convenience? I’m based in Valencia, Spain, although Iberia , from here, has te wider range, most of the times we use both AF (2 daily flights to CDG with its partner Air Europa) and LX (one daily to ZRH) . But although trying to look for the higher amount of miles to obtain, most of the times, I have just to “pass through the ring” and use the opposite one of my status level. Maybe you guys, based close to a good Hub, has wider options.

[MarcusUK]

Agree with all of the above!

AF have ruined the Flying Dutchman program, but least the KLM Brand was kept, far more appealing & deserving of loyalty, as are the Dutch in Business.

FB are completely useless when you contact them phone or email, with basic obvious mistakes they will never put right, & remain rude & unhelpful.
You earn less miles now, it has increased for spending a flight, approx 30% less overall value!
However, with my Gold card renewed o my EU flights numbers alone , 30 per year to qualify, have to say they are one of the most pleasant KLM to fly in EU. Lounges are excellent in LHR & Amsterdam, planes in great form, new comfortable, & very reliable.

Wonder if AF are to “Pack them in” at the back, as both Airlines added another seat across in Y on their 777’s, which i would not now fly.
But they have a premium economy in also, new?
See how they compare to others with the A380?

[excessbaggage]

Hi MarkRoberts9 – i seem to remember reading that the AF new premium economy will not feature on the first few A380s, as the design had not been completed in time. I believe the plan is to retro fit it at a later date.

[MarcusUK]

Ah interesting.
mails from FB publicising the AF new Premium economy on some routes, promote Tokyo for eg, but they also list the A380 as serving on this route?
Confusing…

[Hess963]

I just found out that AF is offering the new Prem Y starting in the end of Dec. 2009 for Beirut and Singapore while in Jan. 2010 Peking and Hongkong will be following.

[Tom Otley]

From Air France:

Roissy, 1st October 2009

Inaugural flights on Air France’s first Airbus A380, operating the Paris-New York-Paris route on 20 and 21 November 2009!

THE AUCTION OF 380 SEATS ON EACH OF THE TWO INAUGURAL FLIGHTS BY AIRBUS A380, THE PROFITS OF WHICH WILL GO TO THE AIR FRANCE CORPORATE FOUNDATION, WILL BEGIN ON 1 OCTOBER, AT 10AM
> a dedicated website for full information and to access the auction: http://www.af380.com
> an account on “Twitter” and “facebook” to follow the experience live

The auction by Air France of 380 seats on each of its two inaugural flights by Airbus A380 begins at 10am on Thursday 1st October and ends on 21 October 2009.

This auction sale concerning seats in the Voyageur (Economy) and Business class is open to all markets and will take place on the eBay.fr site, on a staggered basis, with each auction period lasting 3, 5, 7 or 10 days. The auction includes the return ticket on a scheduled Air France flight.

From the very first day, 100 seats will be put on sale for a period between 7 and 10 days.

To take part, the bidder needs to register on the eBay site and go to the Air France boutique specially created for this event. The reserve price will be set in most cases at 380 euros in Voyageur
(Economy) class and 1,380 euros in Business class. This reserve price may change during the sale period.

Once the first bid has been submitted, an email will be sent to the participants inviting them to follow the auction. At the end of the sale, the highest bidder will receive another email inviting them to settle their bid and will be subsequently contacted by Air France to fix the conditions of their trip (selection of return date, recording of personal data, etc).

To follow the auction, Air France has opened the mini-site af380.com containing a breakdown in real-time of the number of remaining seats.

“For Air France, this auction of seats on the first European A380 for the benefit of its Foundation is an exclusive event. We now hope that our customers will be able to realize their dream of making an exceptional trip”, announced Frédéric Babu, Air France Marketing Experience VP.

To ensure passengers enjoy this unique experience in New York and Paris to the fullest, Air France has conceived a number of exclusive cultural and shopping events.

For the auction winners of the Paris-New York flight…

Three prestigious artistic experiences have been set up in New York: Sarah, the Colette boutique «trend setter», Jérôme Sans, the co-founder of Palais de Tokyo, and Narcisco Rodriguez, the fetish designer of the New York fashion scene, will accompany passengers of flight AF380 through their cultural and shopping experience, from Moss to Labo or Gagossian galleries to Deitch Gallery.

For the auction winners of the New York-Paris flight…

The hidden and unusual sights of Paris await our travellers. The cream of Paris gallery owners will open their doors exclusively for the passengers of this flight: Yvon Lambert, Kamel Menour, Kréo, Emmanuel Perrotin, as well as the Maison Rouge and ‘hors axe’.
Luxury labels will also be involved in this exceptional tour: artisan luggage label (Pinel & Pinel), shoemakers (Pierre Corthay), fashion designers (Anne-Valérie Hash), as well as some 38 artists specialized in gourmet food, fashion and design.

For the auction winners…

> Air France hotel partners will offer the auction winners a preferential rate in their hotels in Paris and New York, for a limited number of places.

> Flying Blue programme members can earn miles according to the valid miles scale.

> Each winner will be able to take advantage of additional hold baggage (max. 23kg in Voyageur (Economy) class and 32kg in Business) on the outbound and return flights.

> Tickets can be reserved under a different name than that of the auction winner if the winner decides to offer their ticket to a third party. No name changes will be authorized once the ticket has been issued.

THE AIR FRANCE A380 FOCUSED ON SUPPORTING THE

«Since 1992, the Air France Foundation has supported over 580 projects in 67 countries, so that sick and disabled children as well as those in distress have access to education, leisure activities and culture. It seemed important to us that the first Air France Airbus A380 flight should not just be the symbol of state-of-the-art technology for the benefit of our customers, but also a symbol of solidarity”, declared Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, Air France CEO.

The Air France Foundation has therefore selected three associated partners, to which the profits from the auction will be dedicated:

? In France (Marseille): «Association Arts et Développement», street art workshops in city neighbourhoods. With the help of money collected through the auction, the association will open new workshops in 2010 in the high-risk areas of Marseille and in other towns in France.
? in South Africa «François-Xavier Bagnoud Association», an after-school programme dedicated to orphans affected by AIDS. The profits from the auction will mean being able to finance new villages in the Cape region.
? and in India (New Delhi): «Association Plan France», a project aimed at improving living conditions for child workers. Thanks to financing from the auction, the project will benefit over 500 child workers in Delhi.

More info about the Air France A380:

> As Europe’s first airline to offer customers the comfort of the Airbus A380, Air France will be the first carrier to operate transatlantic flights between Europe and the Americas on this very large bodied aircraft.

> The Air France A380, which can carry 538 passengers is equipped with three cabins, 80 Business seats and
106 Voyageur-Economy seats on the main deck, and 9 Première seats and 343 Voyageur-Economy seats on the main deck.

> Starting on 23 November 2009, the Air France A380 will leave from Terminal 2E of Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport at 1:30pm (local time) and arrive at New York JFK at 3:45pm (local time). The return flight will leave Terminal 1 in New York JFK at 7:10pm, arriving in Paris the next day at 8:35am. Boarding the A380 will be fast and comfortable thanks to the use of terminals fitted with double-deck bridges specially designed for this aircraft in Paris and New York.

> Air France has 12 Airbus A380s on order. Powered by four GP7200 engines designed by Engine Alliance (50/50 joint venture between General Electric and Pratt & Whitney), the Air France Airbus A380 will fly a maximum distance of 13,000 kms. The A380 is the quietist aircraft of its generation, and presents one of the lowest fuel consumption and CO² emissions levels per passenger.

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