- Introduction: A Royal Visit To Versailles
- Review: Air France La Premiere First Class Boeing 777 (MIA-CDG)
- Review: Air France La Premiere First Class Arrivals Lounge Paris Airport (CDG)
- Review: Airelles Chateau De Versailles, Le Grand Controle (AMAZING!)
- Review: Bulgari Hotel Paris, France
- Review: Air France Business Class Airbus A220 (CDG-VIE)
- Review: Park Hyatt Vienna, Austria (World Of Hyatt Gem)
- Review: Austrian Business Class Boeing 787 (VIE-IAD)
- Review: United First Class Boeing 737 MAX (IAD-MIA)
To kick off the return portion our royal visit to Versailles, I flew Air France’s Airbus A220-300 business class on the 1hr30min flight from Paris (CDG) to Vienna (VIE).
Intra-Europe business class is rarely much to get excited about, given that it’s just economy with a blocked middle seat and better service. That being said, Air France’s short haul business class on the A220 is about as good as it gets.
The A220 is a pleasure to fly, and the 2-3 layout makes it a comfortable ride, whether in business or economy. On top of that, the plane has power outlets and Wi-Fi, and I also like Air France’s short haul catering and friendly service.
In this post:
How I booked my Air France business class ticket
I booked my Air France business class flight from Paris to Vienna on the same ticket as my Air France La Premiere first class flight from Miami to Paris (since Flying Blue allows free stopovers on award tickets). I booked the following for 236,000 Flying Blue miles plus $302.10 in taxes & fees:
2/15 AF99 Miami to Paris departing 7:50PM arriving 10:45AM (+1 day)
2/19 AF1738 Paris to Vienna departing 3:30PM arriving 5:25PM
While Flying Blue miles are easy to come by (thanks to the program partnering with major transferable points currencies), as you can see, first class awards aren’t exactly a bargain, given the mileage requirements. On top of that, Flying Blue greatly restricts these awards — they’re only available to Flying Blue Platinum members.
Air France business class lounge & boarding
My Air France flight was departing from Terminal 2F. I know some people don’t like Charles de Gaulle Airport, but as an aviation geek, I absolutely adore the architecture (and the airport’s famous chime!). The departures experience for business class passengers and elite members is pleasant, with a dedicated security lane.
I also finally had the chance to visit Air France’s Terminal 2F lounge. While I won’t be reviewing it in detail this time (it was simply too crowded, and I like to review lounges when they’re quieter), this is a way above average regional lounge, if you ask me.
The architecture and design are stunning, the food and drink selection is substantial, there’s even a spa with complimentary treatments (if you can get an appointment), and the shower suites are plentiful and luxurious. Air France really is a cut above the competition in so many ways.
After some time in the lounge, I headed to the gate, as my flight was departing from gate F34, with boarding scheduled for 3PM, 30 minutes before departure. This area of the terminal has such cool, retro design, yet is also horribly lacking when it comes to available seating.
Boarding started right on schedule, with SkyPriority passengers being invited to board first (business class passengers and SkyTeam Elite Plus passengers).
Air France A220 business class cabin & seats
At the forward door, I was greeted by the friendly lead flight attendant. I was happy to be onboard an Airbus A220, one of my favorite commercial aircraft. Air France’s A220-300s are configured with 148 seats, spread across 30 rows, in a 2-3 configuration.
The A220 is just so much better than other narrow body jets when it comes to passenger comfort. In economy, the 2-3 configuration means that only 20% of seats are middle seats (compared to 33% of seats on other jets). Meanwhile in business class, there are still two seats blocked per row, so those seated on the left side get both a window and an aisle seat.
Anyway, the size of business class can change with every flight on these jets, by simply moving the curtain and divider. On this flight, there were five rows of business class, for a total capacity of 14 passengers (since the first row only has seats on the right, and not on the left).
Air France’s A220 seats have 30″ of pitch, 18″ of width, and 3″ of recline. I assigned myself seat 5F, the window seat on the right side, in the last row. As mentioned above, on the right side of the cabin, the center seat is blocked, while on the left side of the cabin, the aisle seat is blocked. So if traveling alone, the ideal situation is to select a seat on the left, so that you’re guaranteed an aisle and a window.
As far as seat features go, this is one of the more amenity-rich narrow body seats you’ll find, which isn’t saying a whole lot. There’s a personal device holder on the seat back, plus USB-A and USB-C outlets, with 60W charging.
The seat back also has a cupholder, which is a handy feature, for situations where you have a drink, but don’t want to use a tray.
Speaking of the tray, it was totally standard and rectangular.
The A220 has modern overhead consoles, with reading lights and individual air nozzles.
There wasn’t much in the way of amenities at seats, though packaged refreshing towels were passed out during boarding.
The product certainly isn’t anything to get excited about, but when you combine the comforts of the A220 with the charging ports and Wi-Fi (more on that below), I’d argue that this is about as good as intra-Europe business class gets. The exception of course is Turkish Airlines, plus a very limited number of jets from Luxair and Bulgaria Air. I’m also a fan of Aegean’s regional business class.
Air France business class entertainment & Wi-Fi
Air France doesn’t offer any seat back or streaming entertainment on its A220, but the airline does offer Wi-Fi. On this flight, Wi-Fi options were as follows:
- There was a complimentary messaging pass, which doesn’t allow sending pictures, videos, or audio
- There was a €12 surfing pass, which allows web surfing, but doesn’t allow streaming of content
- There was a €22 streaming pass, offering the best speeds and fewest limitations
That pricing is definitely on the steep side, given the short flight length. Fortunately since I was connecting from La Premiere (even though it was a few days earlier), Wi-Fi was actually free. That was a pleasant surprise, as I wasn’t expecting that.
Best of all, keep in mind that Air France is soon introducing Starlink Wi-Fi, so that there will be high speed connectivity for all passengers on a complimentary basis.
Air France A220 departure from Paris
This flight was packed, with nearly all seats occupied (though I had a set of three seats to myself). Boarding wrapped up by 3:25PM, at which point the first officer made his welcome aboard announcement, and informed us of our imminent departure.
At 3:30PM the main cabin door closed, with the only empty business class seat being the one across from me. Around this time, the first officer was back on the PA to announce that we’d be delayed by around 10 minutes, to wait for bags to finish being loaded.
That ended up taking a little bit longer than planned, and we ended up pushing back at 3:50PM. At this point, the safety demonstration was performed — there was an audio track with the instructions, and then a manual demonstration in the aisle.
At 3:55PM we began our quick taxi to the departure runway.
Then at 4:05PM we were cleared for takeoff on runway 26R.
We had a powerful takeoff, and a smooth climb out.
Interestingly, the seatbelt sign stayed on for over 15 minutes, which is unusually long on a European carrier, when the ride is smooth.
Air France business class snack & service
As soon as we leveled off, the lead flight attendant passed through the business class cabin with the snack service. I think Air France has the best intra-Europe catering of any major European carrier, and this flight was no exception.
There was no choice of snack on this flight, but rather everyone got the same. This included a lentil, fig, chestnut, and kumquat salad, with butternut squash and orange cream. Then there was a selection of cheese, a bread roll, and a Paris-Brest for dessert.
I appreciate how Air France gives a little menu cards with snacks, so you actually know what you’re getting (many other airlines don’t). Furthermore, as someone who doesn’t eat pork, I like how Air France typically focuses on snacks that most people can eat, as it’s so common to see airlines just give a plate of pork as a snack (which excludes me, plus those who adhere to two major religions).
The flight attendant offered a round of drinks with the snacks, and I ordered a Coke Zero and a sparkling water.
The flight attendant was friendly and attentive, and she made several passes throughout the cabin during the flight. A little later on, I ordered a cup of coffee.
Air France A220 business class lavatory
Another benefit of the A220 is that the lavatory tends to be quite spacious, especially compared to what you’d find on the 737 or A320. While the lavatory wasn’t particularly clean during my visit at the end of the flight, it was a good size.
Air France A220 arrival in Vienna
I spent much of the flight just gazing out the window, as flying over the Alps never gets old. What breathtaking views.
Soon enough, the sun began to set. At 5:10PM, the first officer was back on the PA to announce that we’d be landing in around 25 minutes, at 5:35PM. The seatbelt sign was turned on 10 minutes after that.
As expected, we touched down in Vienna at 5:35PM.
From there we had a five minute taxi to our arrival stand, where we parked next to a Lauda Airbus A320. We arrived at a remote stand, so we had to take a bus to the terminal.
From there I headed into the city for the night, where I’d be staying at the Park Hyatt Vienna, prior to flying Austrian’s 787 business class back to the United States the following day.
Bottom line
Europe is probably the most disappointing region of the world when it comes to the quality of short haul business class. That being said, Air France offers one of the best experiences in the region on its A220s. The plane is a pleasure to fly in general, and on top of that, Air France has power ports, Wi-Fi, good food, and friendly service. I’d pick this over the mainline regional business class offered by any IAG or Lufthansa Group carrier.
What’s your take on Air France’s A220 business class?
“ this is a way above average regional lounge”
???
The AF Lounge in 2F is their flagship lounge for European/Schengen flights, so calling it a regional Lounge is very much misleading.
Furthermore, you frequently fail to mention that European Business Class often has one extra benefit in addition to the blocked middle seat and that is a greater pitch between rows. Sometimes this can be substantial with airlines like TP, A3...
“ this is a way above average regional lounge”
???
The AF Lounge in 2F is their flagship lounge for European/Schengen flights, so calling it a regional Lounge is very much misleading.
Furthermore, you frequently fail to mention that European Business Class often has one extra benefit in addition to the blocked middle seat and that is a greater pitch between rows. Sometimes this can be substantial with airlines like TP, A3 or LX (depending on Equipment) and sometimes it simply doesn’t exist as all rows are spaced equally such as with OS, LH, BA and AF….
And this actually makes AF (alongside with BA) one of the more uncomfortable options to choose for European Business class. Even without the extra spacing which OS doesn’t have in the front rows, their pitch is still better than AF’s.
AF and BA are amongst the worst.
I assume what Ben meant is that it's a lounge for regional flights (since 2F is intra-Schengen), not that CDG is a regional airport :)
If not travelling on points, Air France short haul Business prices are wild compared with the competition. If travelling on points, Air France dynamic pricing is wild compared with Avios. If travelling on points on that one flight with Flying Blue saver promo whatever, I guess enjoy it while the stars align. If you're wealthy enough to not care about price, then take a different Business class each time and you'll get menu/lounge variety. If...
If not travelling on points, Air France short haul Business prices are wild compared with the competition. If travelling on points, Air France dynamic pricing is wild compared with Avios. If travelling on points on that one flight with Flying Blue saver promo whatever, I guess enjoy it while the stars align. If you're wealthy enough to not care about price, then take a different Business class each time and you'll get menu/lounge variety. If you're wealthy enough to buy a plane, then it's time to give it all up and meditate in a cave.
Normal AF J fares within Europe are indeed ridiculous (AF doesn't really intend to sell them, the J is there for connecting pax). However, you can usually get an upgrade at check-in for 100€ per sector, which is fairly reasonable.
That’s a whopping amount of points. I assume you have an unlimited amount but I don’t know if i could ever justify that for such a short transatlantic flight and a short hop on an Economy seat. Especially for two! Or was it four??
Tarom, a Sky Team member, although seriously struggling, still flies a few 737s with proper 4 row 2x2 armchair style seats in J. Best time to use those is domestic flights in Romania, albeit short hops, where business class service is not available.
@Ben
Air France does not particularly focus on things most people can eat. They just happen suit your palate. A decent amount of people don't want fish or shellfish, particularly on planes but salmon and shrimp are very common ingredients for AF short haul, and people don't get a choice, nor can they preorder if they have an allergy.
I generally like what AF is serving, though the bread would probably be considered a...
@Ben
Air France does not particularly focus on things most people can eat. They just happen suit your palate. A decent amount of people don't want fish or shellfish, particularly on planes but salmon and shrimp are very common ingredients for AF short haul, and people don't get a choice, nor can they preorder if they have an allergy.
I generally like what AF is serving, though the bread would probably be considered a crime if someone tried to sell in the streets of Paris.
I love those tablet holders in the seat backs. If you’re not going to have screens, it’s so nice to have a place to put a tablet without cluttering up the tray table and worrying about it falling over.
That meal looks quite nice, something I’d definitely try,
I really like how even short "domestic" hops in Europe can afford to present a tasteful and classy small meal for F. I guess we are unwilling to pay for that in the US. Or the airlines here just have to suck the profit out of everything.
Business class with economy seats that have 30″ of pitch do not deserve a four star and a half rating! Regardless of whether that's the European standard.
Seat 2A on the Air France A220 has to be the best intra-Europe business class seat (excluding planes with dedicated seating, like Turkish), right? You're guaranteed a row to yourself, plus it has tons of extra leg room due to the positioning of the closet at the bulkhead.
"I think Air France has the best intra-Europe catering of any major European carrier"
Better than Austrian?
Also, did I miss something, or did Ford take a different route back to the US?
@ Aaron -- Austrian has great catering as well, though the difference is more noticeable on long haul flights than short haul flights. Maybe I just really liked the Air France snack since it was vegetarian, and it's rare to see that.
Ford flew home nonstop on American, as I find saver level award availability for him at the last minute. That way he could get home a day earlier.
I was wondering if you could still access the La Première lounge after your 4 days stop over but I am guessing that based on your review that you could not access it
It is a shame that stopover are not considered as a connecting flight
@ petervonpije -- Yeah, sadly it would need to be a same day connection to get the La Premiere ground services.
Whilst I am a fan of AF long haul Business Class I do not think their short haul product is that great - even by European standards.
Firstly - the CDG lounges. I have departed on AF flights providing lounge access six times in the past six months. On EVERY occasion the spa was either closed altogether or had no slots available. I honestly do not understand the point.
Onboard catering - Meh. I think...
Whilst I am a fan of AF long haul Business Class I do not think their short haul product is that great - even by European standards.
Firstly - the CDG lounges. I have departed on AF flights providing lounge access six times in the past six months. On EVERY occasion the spa was either closed altogether or had no slots available. I honestly do not understand the point.
Onboard catering - Meh. I think it is a poor show to not have a choice of meal (even BA offers a choice on the 35min hop from Heathrow to Manchester) and their breakfast is truly appalling.
I’m with you on this subject DK.
Being SE of England based, travelling inter Europe on anything other than BA, hardly makes any sense for me.
The one exception is LHR-IST. When I’m paying for my J ticket, I much prefer TK.
That said, I am looking forward to my next SIN trip on the new AF La Premiere when available.
Swiss, to my surprise, last week informed me that they have a pre-selection of meals on my European J flight -- each way I tried a different option and they were quite good. On par with what I see on the photos here. For a short-haul flight a huge improvement compared to what it was before.
Air France is overhyped. Flew them many times in EU J (recently on Christmas Day). While the lounge is spacious, they are crowded and the food is comparable to any other European lounge. American Centurion Lounges beat AF lounges, any day.
The food looks nice but isn't anything special. Would so much rather fly Austrian into VIE, better catering. Don't see the hype for AF at all. Just my $0.02.
It’s funny you rave about AF’s short-haul catering as there are many on FT who seem to be convinced it’s the worst food that’s ever been served to anyone anywhere. (To be fair, some of their meals are definitely worse than this one.)
I like AF EU J meals but considering them best among European carriers? Doesn't sound right, considering that AF only does cold food with no meal choice, not to mention that all the meals follow the same concept, and so get repetitive quite early. Compare this to wonderful BA Club Europe catering with a choice of three mains, two of which are cold, or similar concept (but with even better meals) on Aegean. In fact, even LHG has better food than AF on most routes.
I must disagree with your assessment, Ben (and this is even coming from me as a FB Ultimate) - AF's intra-EU J on the A220 is definitely up there in Europe with the best, but in my experience Iberia has been (very surprisingly) better than AF on short-haul flights. Long-haul is a very different story though.