Air France Unveils New Business-Class Cabin for Airbus A330s
Air France is introducing a refreshed business-class product with its Airbus A330s. The carrier is beginning to offer a 2-2-2 layout and brighter, airy cabin — though each seat will not have direct aisle access.
In all, the new A330 business-class cabin features 36 lie-flat seats. When in its lie-flat position, each of the seats offer 78.74 inches of length — about 6'5" — and 22.48 inches of width.
According to Air France, the cabin was designed to combine comfort and elegance. Its bright interior is a far step above the old seats installed on the A330, which were dark in color. While the color of the seat is changing from a dark blue to a light grey, it'll maintain a similar white headrest.
The new A330 seats offer supreme privacy for all passengers — even though it's in a less-than-ideal 2-2-2 configuration. This is because of the retractable privacy panel.
As far as inflight entertainment, passengers in Air France's new A330 business class can expect 18.5-inch touchscreen systems. The interface can be operated either by touch or a handset.
Additionally, the A330 will offer inflight Wi-Fi, with the opportunity to purchase one of three passes:
- Message pass — send and receive messages throughout the flight for free
- Surf pass — browse the internet, read and send emails from 3 euro to 18 euro (6,000 miles)
- Stream pass — high-speed internet, ability to stream and download files for 30 euro (10,000 miles).
Onboard Wi-Fi is also available on Air France's Boeing 787s, and it's being installed on Air France's Boeing 777 fleet. The airline says that the entire fleet will be equipped with Wi-Fi by the end of 2020.
While inflight, passengers can expect a self-service bar area. While not the extent of a full-size bar a business-class passenger could expect to find on Emirates' A380 or Virgin Atlantic's A340, the option to serve yourself to snacks or drinks while mid-flight is a nice addition.
Service wise, Air France is offering hot towels for passengers. Additionally, business and premium economy passengers can expect amenity kits that celebrate the airline's 85th anniversary, outfitted with Clarins beauty products.
Air France will fly the refreshed A330s to Houston (IAH) for the 2018-2019 winter season (until March 30, 2019). Then, for the 2019 summer season, the new product will fly to Seattle (SEA), Chicago (ORD) and Dallas (DFW) until Oct. 26, 2019. The aircraft will also fly to Delhi (DEL), Bengaluru (BLR), Cotonou (COO), Lagos (LOS) and Niamey (NIM) for the summer season as well as Ouagadougou (OUA) and Accra (ACC) for both winter and summer seasons.
As of time of publication, the route between Paris (CDG) and Houston (IAH) is not yet showing the new seat map on both ExpertFlyer and on Air France's website.
The 15 A330s in Air France's fleet will be fully retrofitted by 2020. In total, the refreshment comes following a 140 million euro investment.
Monday's announcement of the new business-class cabin interior follows a similar announcement in September 2018 in which Air France unveiled what the refreshed premium economy and economy cabins would look like on the A330s.
*Correction 8:30am ET: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the refreshed cabin is in a 1-2-1 configuration. It is, however, a 2-2-2 configuration.
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| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
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Why We Chose It
There’s a lot to love about the Amex Gold. It’s a fan favorite thanks to its fantastic bonus-earning rates at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets. If you’re hitting the skies soon, you’ll also earn bonus Membership Rewards points on travel. Paired with up to $120 in Uber Cash annually (for U.S. Uber rides or Uber Eats orders, card must be added to Uber app and you can redeem with any Amex card), up to $120 in annual dining statement credits to be used with eligible partners, an up to $84 Dunkin’ credit each year at U.S. Dunkin Donuts and an up to $100 Resy credit annually, there’s no reason that foodies shouldn’t add the Amex Gold to their wallet. These benefits alone are worth more than $400, which offsets the $325 annual fee on the Amex Gold card. Enrollment is required for select benefits. (Partner offer)Pros
- 4 points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (on the first $50,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter and $25,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter, respectively)
- 3 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the airline or with amextravel.com
- Packed with credits foodies will enjoy
- Solid welcome bonus
Cons
- Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
- Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
- Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.