News
from: Air France USA
www.airfrance.us
Sources: Air France, Ruder & Finn
Published: March, 2009

ABOVE: Premium Voyageur seats have fixed shells and offer 40 percent more room than Economy Class.

Air France introduces a "Premium Voyageur" cabin on long-haul flights

PARIS, MARCH, 2009 -- Air France is introducing a new, private cabin on its long-haul flights, located between the Business and Economy cabins, called Premium Voyageur, beginning in fall of 2009. This cabin will be gradually phased in on Air France's entire international long-haul network on flights operated by Boeing 777s, Airbus A340s and A330s.

Starting on April 1, 2009, Air France customers will be able to book and purchase their seats in the Premium Voyageur Class cabin. The first destinations from Paris will be New York (JFK), Tokyo, and Osaka.

A sample roundtrip fare for the New York to Paris route starts from US $1,431 including all taxes and fees.

These fares easily enable customers to advance from the Economy Class cabin to an enhanced cabin and seat in Premium Voyageur that is characterized by:

• 40 percent additional space: on average, 22 Premium Voyageur seats will be available versus what would have been 40 seats previously in the Economy Class cabin;

• A completely new seat specially designed for Air France and equipped with a fixed shell which guarantees passengers' space and privacy. The seat is 18.9 inches wide, with a 123° seat back recline, and thanks to the fixed-shell, it is not intrusive for the passengers sitting just behind. Wide leather arm rests (3.9”) enable passengers to rest their elbows without bothering their neighbors;

• A seat pitch of 38.2 inches and plenty of legroom;

• A 10.4 inch wide individual video screen enabling passengers to enjoy 500 hours of viewing on demand which Air France offers on all its long-haul flights;

• Amenities from the Affaires (Business) Class cabin such as the travel kit, a bottle of water, noise-reducing headphones, a feather pillow and a pure wool blanket.

In this intermediary cabin product range, Air France is the first European airline to offer fixed-shell seats, and the first airline in the world to offer so much legroom in a premium economy class.

The meal service is the same as in Economy, with aperitifs, champagne, meals designed by Michel Nugues -- a member of "Toques du Ciel" -- with a choice of two hot meals, liqueurs, wines chosen by Olivier Poussier -- World's Best Sommelier in 2000 -- and on flights over 12 hours long, mini-sandwiches and Häagen Dazs ice-cream (except on the Caribbean and Indian Ocean networks).

At the airport, for smoother, stress-free travel, the service is similar to Business Class, with priority check-in desks, increased baggage weight allowance, boarding at passengers' convenience and priority baggage delivery.

Customers travelling in the Premium Voyageur cabin also benefit from all the advantages and services of the world's leading airline group, such as the frequent flyer program, Flying Blue. A trip in the Premium Voyageur Class cabin enables passengers to earn miles more quickly: a full fare ticket in Premium Voyageur (modifiable, refundable etc.) will earn customers 25 percent more miles than with a full-fare Economy Class ticket.

The launch of Premium Voyageur is also an opportunity for Air France to change its cabin brand names, which will be gradually introduced as of April 2009:

The Air France KLM group operates more than 2,470 daily flights out of Paris and Amsterdam to 242 destinations in 105 countries. Air France currently operates from 15 U.S. gateways and provides service from 125 U.S. cities through code-share agreements with SkyTeam partners Delta, Continental and Northwest Airlines. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.airfrance.us, call 1.800.237.2747 or contact your travel professional. (Outside the U.S., visit www.airfrance.com.)

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Photo: Air France USA.

 

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