Hello from France, as I continue the outbound portion of my review trip to Bangkok! For the second segment of my trip, I flew Air France’s Boeing 787-9 business class on the 6hr25min flight from Montreal (YUL) to Paris (CDG).
While I fly Air France across the Atlantic fairly frequently, it had been many years since I flew the carrier’s Dreamliner business class, which admittedly doesn’t have the latest products (unlike some Airbus A350-900s and Boeing 777-300ERs).
I’ve gotta say, as usual, Air France impresses across the Atlantic, even if the Dreamliner doesn’t have cutting edge seats. I found the service to be friendly and efficient, food and drinks to be very good, and entertainment and amenities to also be excellent.
While I’ll have a full review soon, in this post I’d like to share some initial thoughts.
Air France’s 787 business class seats are competitive
Air France’s 787s have a total of 30 Safran Cirrus seats. This is a pretty standard last generation reverse herringbone product, so I find it to be perfectly comfortable, though it’s not as cutting edge as the carrier’s newer cabins (in terms of there not being doors, and tech not being that updated).
Given that these seats are quite old at this point, they’re very well maintained, and I found the cabin to be looking pretty fresh.
What really helped with getting comfortable was the bedding, including a well padded pillow and blanket, plus the new Sofitel mattress pads, which I found to materially add to the bed’s comfort. It’s awesome how these can be placed on the seat at the beginning of the flight, and can remain there even through landing.
Beyond that, slippers were offered to all business class passengers, along with the typical amenity kit. I’m a fan of the Clarins hand cream, as my hands get super dry when I fly a lot, as I do on these review trips. Other than that, the kit isn’t anything remarkable, so it’s something I think Air France could update at some point, given how it otherwise has a leading product.
Air France’s 787 business class entertainment & Wi-Fi are good
Air France’s 787s have 16″ touchscreen displays at every business class seat. They’re not 4K or super high definition, unlike in Air France’s new business class, but they’re still sufficient, and the entertainment selection is huge.
The Dreamliners also have Wi-Fi available for purchase. The cost for a full flight is 29 EUR, which I find to be a bit on the high side, given that the speeds aren’t great on the Dreamliner (fortunately Air France is transitioning to free Starlink Wi-Fi for most of its fleet). Since this was an overnight flight, I decided to just use the free messaging pass that’s available to all passengers, since I didn’t need the Wi-Fi otherwise (on a daytime flight, I would’ve purchased it).
Air France’s business class food and service flow are great
I think Air France consistently nails the service flow on short overnight transatlantic flights. Airlines need to strike the right balance between offering a satisfying and high quality meal, while not having the service drawn out too much. It’s amazing how many airlines get that wrong.
For example, I always judge how fast airlines get out their first drink in business class, because most passengers want a drink as soon as possible. Of course there’s a lot of preparation required before serving the meal, but Air France has a smart system. Just 25 minutes after takeoff, the crew passed through the cabin with trays of champagne (or other limited drinks), plus some cheese crackers (which are addictive).
Then 40 minutes after takeoff, a tray was brought out with the appetizer duo, salad, cheese, and dessert. This is such an efficient system for delivering the meal. The appetizer consisted of fennel and watermelon salad, plus scallop with citrus fruit zest, while the dessert consisted of a raspberry and nougat tart.
Despite the efficient presentation, that doesn’t mean the crew doesn’t take their time with each passenger. For example, it’s a nice touch how they offer cracked pepper with the appetizer.
For the main course, I opted for the lobster with rice bisque, corn, and edamame. The dish tasted great, and given that Air France doesn’t plate its business class meals onboard, I thought the presentation was excellent as well (all too often these pre-plated dishes come out looking like someone had a bathroom accident).
Then just under 90 minutes before landing, breakfast was served. Despite the short flight duration, there was the choice of a hot or cold breakfast, and I chose the former. This included scrambled eggs (as someone who isn’t a fan of breakfast meat, I appreciate that Air France typically keeps these dishes vegetarian), a croissant, yogurt, and fruit.
Honestly, what more can one ask for on an overnight flight like this? It’s the perfect balance, as I see it. Of course there are airlines with more intricate meal services, but that comes with a compromise in terms of efficiency.
I also have to say, the crew was just lovely, as I find to typically be the case on Air France, In particular, the chief purser, Corina, was a delight. She was originally from near Strasbourg, and also spoke German, so that’s how we communicated the whole flight, which was fun. It was like flying Lufthansa, except it was a good experience. 😉
Bottom line
Air France is Europe’s highest quality global airline, and it’s nice to see just how much the company has improved over the years. Even when not flying the carrier’s new business class, I still had a great experience.
These reverse herringbone seats have held up nicely, offering good comfort and entertainment, though obviously I prefer the carrier’s new seats.
Air France’s business class soft product is also very consistent. I don’t think there’s an airline flying across the Atlantic that strikes a better balance between the quality of the meal, and the pace at which it’s served. On these overnight flights, that can be such a tough balance, but Air France gets it right.
I am curious to see what happens with these 787s in the long run. Air France has a fleet of just 10 of these, and no plans have been announced for them to be reconfigured, so there are a few ways I could see this playing out.
What’s your take on Air France’s 787 business class?
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