Air France released a 35-minute documentary on La Premiere's 70-year history, featuring CEO Ben Smith, chef Alain Ducasse, and a rare look inside the airline's archives.
Ben Smith was just on CNN with Questy hours ago!
I love the curtains on La Premiere. I hope it catches on upcoming First & Business Class products. And I do love the idea of a daybed.
The daybed is amazing! I wasn't sure about it when I first saw the announcement, but after flying it a couple of times, it's actually really comfortable. And agreed on the curtains.
I find these awards so confusing. I mean, how can AF have the world's best first class but have another 5 or 6 airlines above it and ranked as better overall.
Unless the competition has become so cutthroat the the difference between ranks is measured in grams of caviar or milliliters of vintage champagne, I'm struggling to make sense of these awards that assess one thing (cabin) in isolation.
But, anyways, I must remind myself that this comes from the same company that awarded 5* to LH based on a hypothetical seat, so...
Short answer: Probably some pay-to-play.
Slightly longer answer: First Class isn't the only thing being evaluated.
LH caveat: They threw-in a few extra rubber duckies.
@ hbilbao -- In general, the awards make absolutely no sense, and I wouldn't read too much into them (though in this case, Air France actually does have an exceptional first class). Like, Emirates won the award for best economy catering in the Middle East, but then on the global ranking, it didn't even crack into the top 10, while Qatar Airways was number five. How does that work?!
Ultimately the issue is that the World Airline Awards are just based on random surveys, and it's not even verified that everyone who participates has actually flown the products they're rating. That's why the results make little sense... but hey, there's no perfect system.
Unlike EK F on a380, La Premiere doesn't have an on-board shower, unless AF's F passengers are getting real 'creative' in the forward lavatories...
Wow, both documentaries are excellent. Thank you for sharing this. Experiencing La Première is very much on my bucket list; and, I'm impressed by those of you who've pulled it off already. Whenever I'm booked on an AF 773 with the product (new or old), I've always inquired at check-in about upgrade offers; but, it hasn't worked out for me yet. That said, I’d trade that first class suite in a heartbeat for just one flight on Concorde. Sadly, I never got the chance.
What a beautiful video. In terms of service delivery, Air France Air France is leagues above its competitors.
Added to the queue, thanks for flagging! I saw the Concorde one earlier this summer, and loved it. I noticed the same thing about Ben Smith, with the questions he asks it's very obvious he's nerding about that stuff, really refreshing. It really makes me wish I had experienced Concorde!
J’ai trop hâte de l’écouter. Merci !
Travelling an AF First better SFO and CDG next week thanks to the one perk that corporate America still provides to its execs. Can’t wait!
My word, that dubbing is annoying. Can anyone find a non-dubbed version, or can I change a setting?
You can open it in YouTube and edit the soundtrack in settings, select French original.
Captivating Air France La Premiere Documentary, Featuring Ben Schlappig next please 😉
At the other end of the spectrum is Carsten Spohr, a CEO who hates his customers with passionate intensity, and will even lose sleep trying to find new ways of making the passenger experience ever more miserable (and costly).
AF is to LH as butter is to lard.
Not really about this video, but why is dubbing so important? Why not watch with subtitles? That would preserve the original voice and is way less distracting than audio that does not match the speaker.
I have never been in the first cabin. But from all the images and reports i have seen, i just think its the most overhyped product in the first class market. Why ?
I have become this way over the last 10-ish years of reading these blogs. The only two F products I haven't flown but would consider are AF's and LH's old F...not their new, weird bedroom. Same with SQ's 777 nonsense and their dentist office-chic A380 rooms - no thanks. But they USED to be aspirational because it was new to me. Just as I'm sure they're aspirational to other folks.
As a fairly seasoned traveler who has homes on both sides of the Atlantic, all I care about now is sleeping during the flight. Hats off to those who still have the wanderlust and productlust I once had, but with the points/miles game changing significantly in the last few years, and my budget not really able to sustain flying F when J will do the trick, these sorts of things are like, "Cool story, bro" for me anymore. If I could do it on points, for sure. But with availability drying up or being restricted to elite members, it's super off my radar anymore. All said, I still applaud AF and LH and others for doing more to differentiate themselves, especially since the US3 are abysmal, even if it's not for me anymore.
Interestingly, previous (socialist minded) CEOs of Air France did not believe in First Class but reluctantly provided it due to demand following its privatisation in 1998. Jean-Cyril Spinetta, for example, chose to fly in Business Class instead.
Love the video! Air France should definitely scrap the transfers in the Porsche and bring back the retro French cars from the video. That would be a real 'expérience française'! Does anyone know exactly what model it was at 4:53 in the video?