Air France Frequence Plus - AF 380 Interiors

Hey Everyone,

I'm wondering if AF has announced what their interiors are going to be for the 380. Has anything come out about them yet? Mostly curious b/c I happen to be flying one (in Y, unfortunately) on one of the first days it's in service next month. I tried a search but couldn't find anything.

Have you missed these 2 threads?

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/air-france-frequence-plus/973181-af-a380-inaugural-jfk-november-09-a.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/air-france-frequence-plus/923438-a380.html

In short, there will be no new features introduced on the A380. It won't even have the new Premium Voyageur class, at least not for now.

The earlier threads didn't seem to confirm whether the new Affaires seats would be identical to the existing ones, or whether there will be any IFE improvements--there was speculation, but I haven't seen any photos or other detailed descriptions yet.

At least we have the information about relevable armreasts here : https://www.airfrance.biz/FR/fr/local/promosactualites/commercialnews/PDF/A380_AF.pdf

Yeah, I had looked through those threads and it seemed to be mostly speculation. But I guess it's what has come to pass.

Thanks!

A380 AF Interior unveiled :P:

La Première
http://www.aeroweb-fr.net/uploads/media/large/2009/42/280.jpg

Affaires
http://www.aeroweb-fr.net/uploads/media/large/2009/42/281.jpg

Voyageur
http://www.aeroweb-fr.net/uploads/media/large/2009/42/282.jpg
http://www.aeroweb-fr.net/uploads/media/large/2009/42/283.jpg

http://www.aeroweb-fr.net/actualites/2009/10/air-france-photos-de-linterieur-de-la380

You should have notice that there is NO innovation coming from Air France for this new aircraft, the only minor change is the bigger IFE screens in Affaires!

Thanks for posting.

I presume these are not official pics.

IMO Affaires taken from behind looks like coach and Voyageur taken with little light looks like Delta coach 8 years ago.

Thanks for posting.

I presume these are not official pics.

IMO Affaires taken from behind looks like coach and Voyageur taken with little light looks like Delta coach 8 years ago.Not to mention the P seats. That bird has never flown, they are already fixing the seats with green tape. :p

Affaires
http://www.aeroweb-fr.net/uploads/media/large/2009/42/281.jpg


Affaires seats look very much Voyageur Premium seats :confused::confused:

They do like to pack them in, don't they?!

They do like to pack them in, don't they?!

and people on ebay paid how much for that? :confused:

and people on ebay paid how much for that? :confused:

My thoughts exactly! Poor soul who paid 11k for 8 hours in one of those seats will be sorely disappointed!

Big :td: for not having full flats in affaires.

I mean Alitalia will have full-flats on their new delivered LR planes, no reason why AF can't.....

Big :td: for not having full flats in affaires.

I mean Alitalia will have full-flats on their new delivered LR planes, no reason why AF can't.....

And AF does.

It is just that Alitalia has no first class. Since AF has first class and full-flats, what is the point of full flats in business?

here (http://www.fly-the-planet.com/community/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=888). For those interested in "revolutionary" crew rests, cockpits and galleys...;)

And AF does.

It is just that Alitalia has no first class. Since AF has first class and full-flats, what is the point of full flats in business?

Competition. First class is much more expensive than business class. So, if someone wants a fully flat bed but is willing to only pay for J, they'll just take . . . another carrier . . . like me! :eek:

AF is a non-innovative company (pdv Product, not finance). These cabins show that management is not prepared to invest in the customer experience. This is standard AF practice. Fortunately, AF management are also not interested in customer satisfaction either. They have yield management and highly focused corporate discounting to keep things going. The pathetic attempt at rebranding 'La Premiere' is a perfect example of AF management style. Unfortunately the dysfunctionment is beginning to be felt by the cusomer. Last week I was upgraded to P from J (where many had been upgraded from Y) and I must say the experience was very underwhelming - even quite shocking. It is one thing to be lean and mean, but quite another to be lean and mean and bad. Ah well, they have been here before...

To me the new corporate strategy moving AF from a first class airline to an intercontinental EasyJet is a hit or miss.

It has been a long time since I have stopped comparing AF with SQ and others Asian or Middle-East airlines in terms of service.

They were indeed very leading at one time in terms of financial strategy (coverage and so on) but the tide has more than turned now.

Let's get forward in 5 years to see the results on the product strategy.

They

Competition. First class is much more expensive than business class. So, if someone wants a fully flat bed but is willing to only pay for J, they'll just take . . . another carrier . . . like me! :eek:

But flat beds cost. A business class without a flat bed can be made cheaper than a business class with a flat bed.

Wonder how the AF J prices compare against QF J.

What a poor show! I think Air France has only ever been luke warm on the A380 at best.

What a poor show! I think Air France has only ever been luke warm on the A380 at best.

I think actually they are quite keen on it. Their new business model of stripped down, high density air travel suits the A380 rather well. The idea that AF would equip their aircraft in the same manner as, say, QF or SQ or EK, is bonkers. Just like in a zombie film, Michael O'Leary (evil zombie King) has taken possession of AF senior management so that they wander around like automata stuffing more seats into planes and cutting costs. Well it works. AF is in much better shape than competitors. Or, at least, less awful. But watch for elimination of First Class and reduction in number of J seats.

According to a recent press release, there will be no premium voyageur onboard the A380:
The Premium Voyageur seat will be progressively introduced on all Air France long-haul flights operated by Boeing 777, Airbus A340 and A330 aircraft.

http://corporate.airfrance.com/en/news/front-page-news/alaune-detail/article/premium-voyageur-premiers-vols-dans-quelques-jours/index.html?no_cache=1,


This might mean that we will have an AF A380 more like SQ (without suites) that QF

... AF is in much better shape than competitors. Or, at least, less awful. But watch for elimination of First Class and reduction in number of J seats.

Is it? LH (arguably AF's most direct competitor) seems pretty strong to me, even in this economy and, if anything, it is upgrading its product. Yes, BA might be in worse shape but they have made other mistakes. I won't compare AF to either the US or the Middle Eastern carriers as indeed they operate in different environments.

According to a recent press release, there will be no premium voyageur onboard the A380:
The Premium Voyageur seat will be progressively introduced on all Air France long-haul flights operated by Boeing 777, Airbus A340 and A330 aircraft.

http://corporate.airfrance.com/en/news/front-page-news/alaune-detail/article/premium-voyageur-premiers-vols-dans-quelques-jours/index.html?no_cache=1,


This might mean that we will have an AF A380 more like SQ (without suites) that QF

You're reading too much into the release. I can assure you that there *will* be premium voyageur on the A380s, just not on the first couple of aircraft. I want to say it's from aircraft 5 IIRC.