Air France is known for its La Premiere first class, which offers the world’s best first class ground experience, and also one of the world’s best inflight experiences. Central to the carrier’s amazing ground experience is the La Premiere Lounge. Well, there are some changes coming to the lounge, and it’ll require a bit of patience, though should be great news in the long run.
In this post:
Air France La Premiere Lounge undergoing a renovation
Air France has announced that its La Premiere Lounge will be undergoing a renovation starting February 2, 2026, which is expected to take several months. Per an announcement on the carrier’s website:
From February 2, 2026, for flights departing from Paris after 2 PM (except on Sundays*), the La Première lounge will be closed for renovation. During this period, our teams will welcome you at the specially refurbished La Première vestibule. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
So it seems that the idea is that the lounge will remain open over peak hours, from the mornings until 2PM, and then work will take place in the afternoons, nights, and into the early hours of the morning. I would expect that it won’t quite be business as usual even during peak hours, since there will presumably be some longer term projects that can’t be completed each day.

After 2PM (except on Sundays), passengers flying in La Premiere will be accommodated at the arrivals and departures vestibule, which is basically where check-in is. The catch is that this is located in the Schengen area, so those La Premiere passengers who don’t have a visa for the Schengen area will have to be accommodated elsewhere.
This isn’t a big space, but then again, it’s not like there are many La Premiere passengers in the evenings anyway.
I’m excited to see what the La Premiere Lounge changes entail!
I’m delighted to see that Air France is investing in the La Premiere ground experience even more, and I can’t wait to see what the airline comes up with.
What makes the La Premiere ground experience so special isn’t necessarily any “frills,” but rather how seamless it is. It’s equivalent to private aviation, and perhaps even better, by most metrics. From the second you arrive at the airport until the second you get on the plane, it just couldn’t be smoother. Heck, on arrival, you can even clear passport control from the car that picks you up at the plane.

Air France’s food in the La Premiere Lounge is also stellar, the best you’ll find in any airport lounge, in my opinion.

All that being said, at this point the La Premiere Lounge could definitely use a bit of an aesthetics update, as it does feel a little outdated compared to the rest of the experience. I imagine that the arrivals and departures vestibule, plus the La Premiere Suites, give us a good sense of what the updated interiors could look like.

I’m also curious if we see any new amenities added, beyond those that already exist. Currently the lounge has a single spa suite, and also has a relaxation area, though it definitely could use a bit more privacy.

We’ll mark this as “developing” for now, and I look forward to seeing what Air France comes up with.
Bottom line
The Air France La Premiere Lounge will be undergoing a renovation over the coming months, starting in early February. We can expect the lounge to remain open in the mornings and early afternoons, while it’ll be closed the rest of the day, so that work can be performed.
Air France has opened new facilities for first class passengers in recent times, including the new arrivals and departures area, plus the new (paid) suites. I imagine that gives us a good sense of the updated aesthetic. The big question is what amenities could be added.
What are you expecting from the updates to the La Premiere Lounge?
Sorry, I mean 29th of May.
Hi, I am thinking of traveling on LP from Paris on 29th. When do you expect the renovation be finished? I understand that currently the due day is not yet announced.
Wow wow!All I can say is this is coincidentally perfect timing.Flying Blue is poaching BA's ClubGold status holders over to Flying Blue Platinum/SkyTeam ElitePlus as we speak....... La Premiere lounge CDG renovation.... Brand New Air France Flagship Lounge opens Spring 2026 in London Heathrow Terminal FOUR.....
Bye bye BA Club!!!!
Another thing they will ruin with 2020s design...
The best first class service worldwide is Air France . It is the most élégant airline in the world and the service is 5 stars palace . After rénovation it will be ❤️
Tais toi, you aren't white
I was at the CDG LP lounge last week. It was eerily empty in the morning. When I tried the previous day to pre-book a spa treatment, I was told all the appointments were taken. But that seemed strange since when I arrived and there were hardly any other passengers around. So I walked down to Clarins and found they were doing construction. No appointments? Actually, there was no working spa.
Honestly, any disruption to...
I was at the CDG LP lounge last week. It was eerily empty in the morning. When I tried the previous day to pre-book a spa treatment, I was told all the appointments were taken. But that seemed strange since when I arrived and there were hardly any other passengers around. So I walked down to Clarins and found they were doing construction. No appointments? Actually, there was no working spa.
Honestly, any disruption to the ground service needs to be better than that greeting area. When we walked through it the tables were filled with dirty dishes and leftover food. The price for La Premiere is simply too high for any aspect of the service to be off, even slightly.
Perhaps you were in the wrong lounge. The LP lounge is Sisley, not Clarins.
Considering that nothing's changed in the LP lounge in 18 years, this renovation can only mean good things, one hopes.
Which is an interesting contrast to LH, considering that LH's FCT has been unchanged for 23 years and still manages to look pretty darned good.
Totally agree. The first time I walked into the LP lounge I was super disappointed…red and white leather, no privacy. Kind of tacky grace jones 1980s…food super top notch and service and seamless transfer perfect…but just not the look and feel I expected. I managed to see a few famous people even, but shouldn’t we not be seeing famous people? Isn’t that kind of the point? Anyway, first world problems. But the lounge needs a...
Totally agree. The first time I walked into the LP lounge I was super disappointed…red and white leather, no privacy. Kind of tacky grace jones 1980s…food super top notch and service and seamless transfer perfect…but just not the look and feel I expected. I managed to see a few famous people even, but shouldn’t we not be seeing famous people? Isn’t that kind of the point? Anyway, first world problems. But the lounge needs a facelift to become more sleek, elegant and private. F lounges at Lufthansa after all these years are still elegant and sobre. But the catering is now terrible under Käfer. And the wonderful ex-do&co employees sharing space with the cheap Käfer hires…my heart goes out to them. A Spohr inspired race to the bottom.
Now if AF gives Ultimates LP lounge access; I will ditch my HON crown once and for all.
I’ve never flown LP or experienced this lounge but I know how much Ben loves it. What always surprises me is that the adoring posts come with the same photo of the lounge which looks totally drab!!! So good to know an update is in store.
For me it looks totally unappealing (good food aside).
More grey than a battleship.
Only 10 readers interested in this World Class airline …. it tells me all about the readership ….
The lounge in and of itself, like layout/furniture etc, is quite unremarkable and nothing special, and it's small. But it's all about the service and the food, really. Very curious to see how it'll look like post renovation because it most certainly needs it.
One man’s drab is another man’s classically restrained and very tasteful.
I saw a review where it was likened to a 70s nail salon!------- i totally agree----- it is a bit vulgar. Much prefer the quiet tastefulness of the LH and CX lounges.
I'll be connecting via CDG in LP on 2/6 and 2/15...both outbounds from Paris depart before 2pm, so I'm happy to report back regarding my personal experience.
Off topic. Can you do a post on the best ways to earn flying blue status?
@ Eli -- I can certainly work on an updated post, but here's my last one on this topic:
https://onemileatatime.com/insights/flying-blue-elite-status/
:-)
Thanks, will check it out