Review: Air France Business Class Airbus A350 (JFK-CDG)

For the first long haul segment of my trip to Japan via Mongolia, I flew Air France’s Airbus A350-900 business class on the short six hour overnight flight from New York to Paris. I was excited about this flight, as it was operated by one of Air France’s newest A350s, featuring an all-new passenger experience.

Air France’s new A350 business class is spectacularly good, and will probably soon make my list of the world’s best business class products. The seats are fantastic, the tech couldn’t be better, the A350 is generally a joy to fly, and Air France also has among the best soft products of any European airline. This is a pretty great way to cross the Atlantic.

How I booked my Air France business class ticket

I booked my Air France business class ticket using Air France-KLM Flying Blue miles. Specifically, I booked the following award in business class for 50,000 Flying Blue miles plus $226.70 in taxes and fees:

1/25 AF9 New York to Paris departing 11:30PM arriving 12:40PM (+1 day)
1/26 AF1318 Paris to Frankfurt departing 3:25PM arriving 4:45PM

Flying Blue miles are are easy to come by, as the program is transfer partners with Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Citi ThankYou. On top of that, Flying Blue often sells miles at a discount.

Air France business class lounge & boarding

In the previous installment, I reviewed the Air France Lounge JFK Terminal 1, which is quite good. It’s spacious, has a solid selection of food and drinks, and even has a spa with complimentary treatments.

I was on the last flight of the evening from New York to Paris, which was departing from gate seven, on the opposite end of the terminal of the lounge. I saw the gorgeous A350-900 parked at the gate — I really do love the Air France livery, and find it to be simple yet elegant, especially on the A350, with its cool-looking “raccoon mask.”

Boarding was scheduled for 10:45PM, 45 minutes before departure. Sure enough, that’s exactly when boarding started, with business class passengers being invited to board first.

Air France A350 business class cabin & seats

I was flying one of Air France’s new Airbus A350-900s, in a very premium configuration, with 48 business class seats. Before I talk about this product, let me point out a couple of things:

• Air France has 20 Airbus A350-900s with a staggered configuration in business class, which is different than this product; there are no plans to reconfigure those jets with this product
• Air France has a new Boeing 777-300ER business class product, which is also exceptional; this looks very similar to the new A350-900 product, but it’s actually a different seat from a different manufacturer

Anyway, back to this product. Air France’s new A350s have 48 business class seats, spread across 12 rows, in a 1-2-1 configuration. Air France has reverse herringbone seats on these planes, and it’s the launch customer for this specific product. Air France selected the STELIA Opera seat — interestingly this is primarily intended for narrow body jets, but Air France partnered on a customized version of the seat for its wide body aircraft, which you won’t find on any other airlines.

The forward cabin (between doors one and two) has a total of 32 seats, spread across eight rows.

Meanwhile the rear cabin (behind the second set of doors) has a total of 16 seats, spread across four rows. I love how Air France is evolving its cabin finishes, between the blue carpet with a pattern, and the prominence of the carrier’s winged seahorse logo.

To take a closer look at the seat options, those who are traveling with a companion may prefer to choose one of the sets of center seats, so that you can fairly easily communicate with the person you’re traveling with.

That being said, if you’re traveling alone and end up in one of these center seats, don’t worry. There’s a privacy partition that can be raised to basically give you full privacy, so you won’t even have to interact with the person seated across from you.

My preference, whether traveling alone or with someone, is to select one of the window seats, as I’m a sucker for a good wing view.

The standard seats in this configuration are about as good as any reverse herringbone seats out there. Each seat has a door, a reasonably sized footwell, and a good amount of storage, which is about all you can ask for.

However, the best seats in this configuration are the bulkhead seats, and they’re arguably the best business class seats in the world. The rules for assigning these seats are the same as the rules for assigning the special bulkhead seats on the 777s. They’re saved for Flying Blue Platinum and Gold members up until 72 hours before departure, and at that point they can be assigned by anyone.

I checked exactly 72 hours before departure, and was able to assign seat 10A, the window seat on the left side in the first row of the second cabin. What makes these seats so awesome is that they have an endless amount of space for your feet.

The seat itself is the same as every other business class seat…

…while the ottoman is massive. This is the opposite extreme of having to squeeze your feet into a small footwell!

Air France’s A350 business class seats are very thoughtfully designed, with exceptional tech. To the side of the seat, you’ll find a storage compartment where you can hang headphones, which also has a mirror. I love how when this is closed, there’s Air France’s beautiful logo prominently displayed (though don’t worry, you can turn it off as well).

Another new feature of this product is the huge tablet to the side of the seat.

Think of this as being “mission control” for your seat, as you can use it to control just about everything, from the seating position, to the lighting, to the entertainment. You can either just click on the screen directly where it’s stored, or you can remove it so that you can have it in a more convenient position.

If you just want to make basic adjustments to your seat positions, there’s a small panel underneath the seat’s armrest, where you can control seat functions.

The counter to the side of the seat is quite large, and also contains a wireless charging setup.

You’ll find both USB-A and USB-C charging ports immediately next to this, and they’re 60W, so they charge your devices very quickly.

The seat also has an AC power outlet, but that’s located a little bit lower in the seat.

The tray table folds out from underneath the counter to the side of the seat, and the tray table is substantial, and can’t be folded over in half.

Each seat has a high definition entertainment monitor. This screen is the same size in the bulkhead row as in other rows, so it appears quite a bit smaller, given that it’s further away from you.

Another popular feature of the seat is that it contains a door. This is locked during takeoff and landing, but you can otherwise either slide it open or closed.

The seat also has an impressive amount of storage. Not only can you store stuff underneath the ottoman, but there’s also a drawer next to that where you can place things.

Air France’s new A350-900s are the “new production standard” models of these aircraft. In addition to the cabin being slightly wider than on previous A350s, these planes also have dimmable windows, and I shared my thoughts on those in a separate post.

Lastly, the overhead console contains reading lights and the seatbelt sign, but unfortunately Air France doesn’t have individual air nozzles on these aircraft.

This is honestly an exceptional business class hard product. You have an industry leading reverse herringbone seat with a door (and even better bulkhead seats), with unbeatable tech, combined with the generally awesome attributes of the A350. Air France has a winner here.

Air France business class amenities

Waiting at each seat upon boarding was a pillow and blanket. The bedding is solid, as the pillow is substantial and the blanket is quite thick. It’s not the best bedding in the industry, though, but it does the trick. I do think it would be nice if there were a different color pattern for the bedding, to add a bit more personality to the cabin.

There was also a pair of noise canceling headphones waiting at each seat, as well as a bottle of Evian water.

Toward the end of the boarding process, the crew distributed amenity kits. These contain eyeshades, earplugs, a dental kit, a pen, two creams from Clarins, and hand sanitizer.

A few minutes later, menus were distributed for the flight.

Lastly, pre-departure drinks were served, with the choice of champagne, water, or apple mint juice. I of course selected the champagne, which I enjoyed, though I was intrigued by the apple mint juice as well.

Air France A350 business class entertainment & Wi-Fi

Air France’s A350 business class entertainment system is phenomenal — the screen is high definition, the interface is easy to use, and there are all kinds of cool features.

Air France has a huge selection of movies, TV shows, audio, and games. I wasn’t able to count just how many options there were, but you really shouldn’t get bored, both in terms of the quality and quantity of options.

For those who are aviation geeks, there’s an excellent map interface that’s highly customizable. There’s also a tail camera, which is something that never fails to make me giddy.

Last but not least, Air France has bluetooth audio on its A350s, so that you can connect your personal headphones to the entertainment system. I’m happy to see this becoming an increasingly common feature.

Air France’s A350s also feature Wi-Fi. There were three different pricing options for the Wi-Fi:

• You can purchase a one hour “Surf” pass for €8
• You could purchase a full flight “Surf” pass for €18
• You could purchase a full flight “Stream” pass for €30

For those wondering, the “Surf” pass is advertised as being good for sending and receiving messages, while the “Stream” pass is advertised as being ideal for streaming music, audio, and video. However, I haven’t found the difference in speeds between the two plans to be that great, and the “Stream” pass doesn’t consistently allow streaming, so that’s something to be aware of.

On balance, I’d say Air France’s A350 tech setup is very good, between the great entertainment interface, the map feature and tail camera, the bluetooth audio, the Wi-Fi, and more.

Air France A350 departure from New York

This was quite a full flight, and every seat in business class was taken, so boarding took quite some time. One thing I noticed during the boarding process was the awesome boarding music, which was some sort of French pop. I absolutely loved it, as Air France is best when it leans into its French-ness.

At 11:20PM the main cabin door closed. However, we didn’t move for some time. At 11:30PM, the captain made his welcome aboard announcement, informing us of our flight time of six hours. He apologized for the slight delay for pushing back, and explained that we had to wait a moment to push, as there was an aircraft in our way.

At 11:35PM we began our pushback, at which point the safety video was screened.

Then at 11:40PM we started our takeoff. One of the benefits of departing so late at night is that there’s not much traffic at that hour. So within 10 minutes we made it to runway 4L, and were immediately cleared for takeoff.

I’m sorry, but these tail cameras never, ever, ever, ever get old.

We had a smooth climb out, and the seatbelt sign was turned off about 10 minutes after takeoff.

Air France business class dinner service

There was a dinner service on this flight after takeoff, and you can find the menu and drink list below.

On a short overnight transatlantic flight, it’s important for a crew to be deliberate with how they perform the service. It’s not about having the most extravagant meal service possible, but rather it’s about having the most functional and efficient service, while still offering something good. I’d say Air France nailed it with this flight, in terms of quality and pace.

Just 10 minutes after takeoff, the crew was through the cabin with warm towels.

Then just 20 minutes after takeoff, the crew passed through the cabin with a tray of champagne, along with some packaged cheese crackers. It’s always smart to get people their first drink as quickly as possible, since it keeps them happy. For what it’s worth, Air France is currently pouring Telmont Réserve Brut in business class.

35 minutes after takeoff, the meal tray was served. This was beautifully presented, and pretty packed. This included two appetizers (a lobster, herb cream, and fennel salad, plus a grapefruit and cucumber salad), then a garden salad, then a cheese selection, and then a cheesecake. Everything was very good, though talk about a lot of salads and a lot of cheese. 😉

Drinks were also offered off the cart at the same time, and I ordered a chablis and sparkling water.

20 minutes later, the crew passed through the cabin to clear any empty plates, and also served main courses. I ordered the sautéed shrimp with rice, mushrooms, and baby spinach. The dish was tasty, and was served with a side of lobster sauce.

This was a very good meal for a late night flight, and most importantly, the entire service was completed within an hour. Talk about great quality and efficiency!

Air France A350 business class lavatories

Air France has three lavatories in its A350 business class, with one being at the front of the cabin, and two being next to the center galley. The lavatories were unremarkable — they weren’t very large, but were modern.

The only notable amenities in the lavatories were a couple of products from Clarins.

Air France A350 business class bed

When I got back to my seat, I immediately reclined into bed mode, and tried to get some rest. The bulkhead seats are of course extremely comfortable, given just how much room you have for your feet. It also stood out to me how quietly the seat reclined, as there are some seats that make as much noise as a 777 engine during takeoff when being placed into bed mode.

I ended up falling asleep just over an hour after takeoff, with around 4hr50min remaining to Paris.

Then I woke up with around 1hr20min remaining to Paris. 3.5 hours of sleep on a flight of this length while still enjoying both the dinner and breakfast service is really hard to beat!

Air France business class breakfast service

Before I went to sleep, I was asked if I wanted to be woken up for breakfast. While I don’t usually have breakfast just a few hours after going to sleep, I was reviewing the flight, so I of course woke up for that. You can find the breakfast menu below.

As you’ll notice, Air France even offers a hot breakfast on such a short overnight flight, which not many airlines do. However, I couldn’t quite bring myself to eat that much.

Instead, I selected the lighter option, and opted for fresh fruit, yogurt, and some bread. I had a cup of coffee to go along with this.

Once breakfast was cleared, I also ordered an espresso, as I needed another caffeine hit.

Air France business class service

The crew on this flight was great. Not only were they friendly, but they were extremely efficient. On a six hour overnight flight, you don’t want the chattiest or most engaging crew, but rather you want a crew that’s focused on performing service in a friendly and efficient manner. The crew’s record here speaks for itself, as they completed the entire meal service within an hour after takeoff, and did it with a smile.

Air France A350 arrival in Paris

At 11:25AM Paris time, the captain was on the PA to inform us that we’d start our descent in about five minutes, and would be landing at 12PM, 30 minutes ahead of our scheduled arrival time.

Now let me tell you about the most frustrating aspect of this flight, given that it was light out. How the heck was I supposed to decide whether to watch the tail camera…

…or just look out the window at this gorgeous wing view?! Decisions, decisions!

The seatbelt sign ended up being turned on around 11:50AM.

We then had a perfectly smooth touchdown on runway 26L at 12:05PM.

From there it was a lengthy 10 minute taxi to our arrival gate, where we pulled in at 12:15PM, 15 minutes ahead of schedule.

I cleared security, and then changed terminals, prior to my Air France HOP flight to Frankfurt.

Bottom line

Air France’s new A350 business class is a delight, and sets the standard for business class among European airlines. Air France’s A350s have comfortable reverse herringbone seats with excellent technology, combined with the general benefits of the A350 (great cabin pressurization, a tail camera, etc.). If you can snag a bulkhead seat, you’re in for even more of a treat.

When you add in Air France’s tasty meals, friendly and efficient service, and good amenities, this is one of the best ways to cross the Atlantic. Air France has come a long way over the past several years, and I can’t wait to see what’s next for the airline.

What’s your take on Air France’s A350 business class?