Can You Redeem Miles For Air France First Class?

Air France offers one of the world’s most exclusive first class products. It’s not only exclusive in terms of the size of the first class cabins, but also in terms of how few ways there are to get into these cabins with miles. In this post I’ll go over all those details.

Basics of Air France La Premiere first class

Air France’s first class, known as La Premiere (“the first” in French), is one of the world’s best first class experiences. Personally I rank the inflight product as being the third best in the world (after Emirates and Japan Airlines), while I rank the ground experience as being the best in the world.

Currently Air France only offers first class on select Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, which fly to high yield markets (like Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Singapore, Sao Paulo, Tokyo, etc.). Each of these planes is configured with just one row of four first class seats, in a 1-2-1 configuration.

Air France has innovative first class seats, as each has a curtain that goes all the way from the ceiling to the floor, giving you utmost privacy. The only other first class product in the world offering this level of privacy is Emirates’ new first class.

Everything else about the inflight experience is incredible as well, from the consistently great service, to the top notch food, to the amenities.

The awesomeness of the Air France first class experience doesn’t end in the air, as Air France offers an unrivaled first class ground experience. You’ll be driven to and from the plane, you can receive a complimentary spa treatment, and you can enjoy an amazing meal in the lounge.

Note that you can also independently buy the first class ground experience, though there are many restrictions associated with that, and it’s not cheap.

Air France is even planning on introducing a new first class product in 2025, though details are limited as of now.

Redeeming miles for Air France La Premiere first class

Here’s the catch — of the world’s best first class products, Air France La Premiere is the product that’s most inaccessible with miles.

You can only redeem miles for Air France first class directly through the Air France-KLM Flying Blue program, and only if you have Flying Blue Platinum status (or Ultimate status):

• You can’t redeem miles for Air France first class if you are a Flying Blue Gold, Silver, or non-elite member
• You can’t redeem any partner loyalty program miles for travel in Air France first class
• Note that similar restrictions exist for upgrades with miles
• There are carrier imposed surcharges on these award tickets, but they’re fairly mild (at least compared to airlines like British Airways and Lufthansa), typically around $200 one-way
• Air France isn’t very consistent with how many award seats it opens up; it’s common to see anywhere from one to three first class award seats per flight, but it varies greatly

So if you are eligible for these redemptions, how many miles should you expect to pay? There’s not just one consistent price between regions in first class, so it all depends on the market, and where you’re connecting to.

For example, the absolute cheapest market for a first class award is between Washington and Paris, where you’ll pay as little as 165,500 miles one-way (I suspect it’s the US route with the least first class demand).

Most other US markets cost 232,500 miles one-way.

The single most costly sector in first class is from Paris to Singapore, where you’ll pay 285,000 miles one-way.

You can also build connecting itineraries, like Los Angeles to Singapore for 419,000 miles one-way…

…or perhaps a better value would be Sao Paulo to Singapore for 376,500 miles one-way.

As you can see, these are rather steep redemption rates. If it’s any consolation, at least Flying Blue allows stopovers on one-way awards, so you could break up your journey with a stopover in Paris.

Are there tricks to booking Air France La Premiere first class?

While I wouldn’t say there are any “tricks” to booking Air France La Premiere, there is one other way to potentially get a decent deal on Air France first class.

Air France sometimes sells paid first class upgrades at check-in, and prices vary; for example, from Paris to Dubai it might cost as little as ~$1,000, while from New York to Paris it typically costs ~$2,200. That’s not some incredible bargain, but it’s the only other option for getting a half decent deal on such a ticket.

At most other airlines, there are also reasonably priced first class tickets bookable with cash. However, Air France’s first class fares have continuously creeped up over the years, and there are almost no deals to be had.

Bottom line

Air France La Premiere is one of the world’s best first class experiences. Unfortunately it’s also one of the toughest experiences to secure with miles.

You can only redeem miles for Air France first class if you have Platinum status in the Flying Blue program, and even then redemption rates are high. Some might find it to be worthwhile to earn status with Flying Blue to redeem for Air France first class. Alternatively, Air France does sometimes sell first class upgrades at check-in, which is otherwise the best strategy for booking Air France first class.

Have any OMAAT readers redeemed miles for Air France first class?