Originally Posted by
alesfo
Of this I am not sure. I think it is a big part of AF selling point as a premium airline. Moreover, AF first class while pricey used to sell quite well. If there is demand and they can operate the B773s with a full P cabin, I don't see why they should stop. They have 19 planes with P (according to Wikipedia France), and I don't see them reconfiguring them or retiring them any time soon.
But I guess that all will depend on how much demand for travel there will be in 6-12 months from now. If anything, I'd imagine that the demand for business and luxury travel would suffer less than for economy.
I already made some comments here:
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/32407365-post2891.html
Regarding your points. There is no way that longhaul air travel will reach pre-covid levels in the next 12 months. Maybe AF will restore most of its flights, but loads will be less.
P is a big marketing part in AF advertising. Whether it is successful is another question. It might be in America where national airlines have a mediocre F product, if any. At the other end of the spectrum, AF premium image is poor in Asia. Unreliable-airline perception and the mix of old and up-to-date J seats are damaging. Over half of AF P seats were antique and did not help either. Other Asian airlines have excellent F too (CX, SQ, NH, JL, KE, OZ,..). Furthermore, it is unclear whether advertising a great F will boost Y or J travel. I do understand that some posters here would be upset if AF removes P, but AF should take a rational business approach to the decision, not wishful thinking.
It is likely that the future of P is not an urgent matter for AF. AF will wait to reach a decision. With the removal of A380s, one waiting position would be to temporarily halt offering F and the huge cost involved. There will be plenty of overcapacity in the coming months (possibly years), so no need to spend on retrofit.The 4 P seats could fly empty or be used for opup of some J pax, but with J service.