Air France reopens its famed La Première lounge — with some refurbishments

One of the world's most exclusive first-class lounges has reopened — and it's gotten a facelift. During the pandemic, Air France has taken the downturn in travel to completely close its La Première lounge and revamp some of its interior.

As confirmed to TPG by an Air France spokesperson, the new and refurbished La Première lounge has reopened its doors for eligible passengers as of Tuesday, May 4.

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In the refurbished lounge, passengers can expect to find more private areas, as well as new modern light fixtures and a lighter, mirrored bar.

In the bar area, which features a premium selection of beverages, Air France has opted for a lighter-colored design. The previous design, as you can see by swiping through the gallery, featured a strong red backlight. The bar itself is in quite a dark area of the lounge with no natural light, so I'm a fan of the brighter finishings.

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The new bar area (Photo courtesy of Air France)

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In order to create more privacy for passengers seated in the alcove in the back of the lounge, Air France has installed a new lighting fixture. The aerial light bubbles provide those seated in the area with more privacy from their other neighbors — you can swipe through to see the old arrangement.

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The new lighting fixture. (Photo courtesy of Air France)

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Finally, the airline decided to offer more privacy for passengers looking to rest before their flight. At the far end of the lounge, close to the spa, the airline has added two curtained-off areas. Behind each curtain, there's a chaise lounge for those looking for supreme privacy.

The Air France La Première lounge has been closed for more than a year — since April 6, 2020. During the time that the lounge has been closed, passengers traveling in the carrier's best-in-class La Première cabin have had access to a temporary lounge on the mezzanine in the airline's Business lounge in Hall K of Charles de Gaulle (CDG).

Ultimately, it's great to see the La Première lounge back open — and with some refreshments. Even before the refurbishments, the La Première lounge offered one of the most premium lounge experiences for passengers. It's part of what helped Air France's La Première cabin win the best international first class award at TPG Awards in 2019.

Related: As good as it gets: A review of Air France La Première (777-300ER) from Paris to Beijing

Unfortunately, it's incredibly difficult to access the lounge. Air France doesn’t release first-class award space to airline partners. It only allows certain elite members within the Flying Blue program to redeem for first class. And even when they are allowed to redeem, it’s only for Flex tickets, not saver fares, meaning you can expect to pay a huge number of miles.

Or, you can pay cash for a La Première ticket — but they don't come cheap. You can expect to pay thousands of dollars for the experience. However, if you've got your eyes set on a luxury flight, I cannot recommend La Première enough. It's by far and away the best flight I've ever taken. Now, I just need to fly it again to test out the new lounge furnishings.