Air France Frequence Plus - New Prem V annoucenent

Too late to post this ? It was just announced today..

http://corporate.airfrance.com/en/news/front-page-news/alaune-detail/article/itop-resa-2009ibrdecouvrir-le-siege-premium-voyageur/index.html?no_cache=1

Thanks for the post. I think it looks an attractive product. Whether or not I use Premium Voyageur will depend on price. I have tried some dummy bookings for CDG-NYC, but the fares have been a bit steep for my liking in that class on AF ...

I jut tried to book some online and that does not work :( next callin AF they say no seats available from NYC to CDG Oct 31 to Nov 5th either its sold really well or the booking system does not work.

Well to me this looks like a most interesting innovation, they must get credit if it is as nice as it looks, and for all the effort of introducing it system-wide. Have not yet been in AF Y nor other carriers Y either for a long time TATL, but for US West Coast pax especially, facing 11 hour flights, if this is a real step up from Y it is definitely worth some premium, and you'd still certainly be paying a lot less than for J, a major factor for those of us who have to pay our own way. It does look as though they've put a lot of thought into it, and covered all the possible bases to move it to the top of the heap for this category -- if I'm not mistaken they are the only European carrier to offer an alternative now with this grade of service, without having to use one of the carriers that go thru LHR -- and THAT is worth something, too.

what fare class will this book into? I ask in terms of earning miles or even bonus miles.

I saw the seats today and was impressed. Much better than any other Y+ product I have seen (walked past) on any other carrier.

The seats are so good (big) in fact they are loosing 40 Y seats to replace with 21 of these. Consequently I feel AF are shooting themselves in the foot with this product. There is already dilution from affaires to Y cabin, this will only further encourage that amongst cost conscious companies. Furthermore this trend is already putting pressure on the eco cabin and this will only squeeze it more leaving more empty J seats I imagine.

Looks quite attractive to me! I swear by the SAS Economy Extra product to Tokyo, but would definitely be willing to try this, especially since they hopefully start going to the US West Coast soon. Will follow all reports by early flyers here with great interest!

The seats are so good (big) in fact they are loosing 40 Y seats to replace with 21 of these. Consequently I feel AF are shooting themselves in the foot with this product. There is already dilution from affaires to Y cabin, this will only further encourage that amongst cost conscious companies. Furthermore this trend is already putting pressure on the eco cabin and this will only squeeze it more leaving more empty J seats I imagine.

They are promoting it as "low cost business class".

In this article (http://www.latribune.fr/entreprises/services/transport-logistique/20090923trib000425390/air-france-lance-une-classe-affaires-bon-marche.html) (in French)


"Cette classe a été conçue avant la crise. Nous souhaitions initialement inciter une partie de la clientèle +éco+ à monter en gamme", a assuré le directeur général d'Air France-KLM, Pierre-Henri Gourgeon. "Elle arrive à point pour offrir une alternative aux clients qui ne veulent plus ou ne peuvent plus voyager en classe affaires", a-t-il ajouté.


Basically, they wanted to offer a new product for their usual eco customers, but with the timing of the launch, it's suited for clients who can't or don't want to fly in business class any longer.

same miles as Z-class?

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 programme Flying Blue. A trip in the Premium Voyageur cabin enables passengers to earn Miles more quickly: a full fare ticket in Premium Voyageur (modifiable, refundable etc.) will earn customers 25% more Miles than with a full-fare economy ticket.

Premium Voyageur classes of serivce are W / S / A / E ... A and E being the awards for Elite plus and non-Elites respectively, if I am not mistaken.

Consequently in Affaires, the awards are M for Elite Plus and still O for non-Elites.

In Voyageur, the award for Elites is now R and still X for non-Elites.

Please feel free to correct my mistakes !


what fare class will this book into? I ask in terms of earning miles or even bonus miles.

same miles as Z-class?

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 programme Flying Blue. A trip in the Premium Voyageur cabin enables passengers to earn Miles more quickly: a full fare ticket in Premium Voyageur (modifiable, refundable etc.) will earn customers 25% more Miles than with a full-fare economy ticket.

Full-fare Premium Voyageur indeed offer 125% like Z, but 'discounted' PV buckets give you 100% like K, B, Y.