San Gottardo

... such as the stale plastic-wrapped chunks of cheese in the AF lounge or the one white wine on the on-board Premiere wine list ...

... where you can stare at your empty glass all the way from the coast of Normandy till top of descent over Cape Cod without anyone collecting it or offering a refill ...

... where reducing chat time in the galley is paramount to modern slavery and brutal exploitation and passengers will understand that ...

There is some room for improvement, especially on the ground. And I have high hopes that AF really wants to get the new Premiere very right.

l'agentsecret

Just posted the complete press kit of the new P suite in a separate thread "The new ''La Premiere'' suite, more cabanon than residence..."
Beside the pictures of the new seat and description of the cabin, the kit also answers some of your questions with regards to service improvements.

Zembla

Thanks a lot!

Here are my 5 cents of this first impression. First of all, I think the concept is quite original. Secondly, I think its quite clever: privacy for those who want privacy, openness for those who prefer openness (as I do). It actually is a concept I was hoping for. And thirdly, it's arguably not breathing lavish luxury as the products of some rivals do. Perhaps it's a bit bland in choice of colours. But thankfully it's not bling, and I think it's quite stylish and tasteful in a modest way. I'd be interested to see if and how the middle seats can be connected or separated. In any case, I'll be delighted to try it out one day.

Now...since many will undoubtedly compare it to the new EY product, and some may even use EY as the benchmark, I'm bracing for impact...

Zembla

ps. Since this is the third thread on the subject a consolidation may be necessary. I suspect we'll get parallel discussions on the subject.

orbitmic

Thanks! Whoever you are ("secret", I know! ) you are a great asset to this forum as always! ^

olivedel

My only concern would be the general look and feel of the whole 4-seat cabin, especially how they will handle the 2 middle suites (can the bed be merged, for example).
I would have liked a mattress also over the seat, while in bed mode.
I'll report on the forum after trying the seat physically tomorrow.

Woot Woot Woot... PULL UP!

Zembla

Hmm yeah, I do like the mattress on the current seat...please report on as many details as you can think off.

orbitmic

My comments... There are things I really like and things I don't.

Like:

- I agree that the new tableware looks really nice, although I do not like the glasses.
- I love the Crevette designed objects, and notably the La Crevette bedside table.
- I like the confirmation of caviar
- I actually like the colours as they stand - they look classy and understated, but I am genuinely worried that with the amount of fabric and such light colours, things will look dirty quite quickly.
- I like the improvement to the duvet and pillow, using the Sofitel products is a good idea although they could have gone one step further and used an adaptation of the mybed mattress too!
- The automatic shades, while now largely standard for much of the competition look nice as does the individual mood lighting.

Don't like:

- I'm still not convinced by the curtains concept. It looks great on the press kit, but something tells me - rightly or wrongly - that the reality won't be nearly as glamourous. Curtains between cabins don't work well (they are "living" creatures, don't fall as they should, let the light through when they don't close properly, etc), and I have no reason to think that the suite curtains will be any more reliable. I'm also not entirely sure how the mobile privacy wall (the "cloison") works in that framework. It seems to go up but to what height, from where, and on which area remains a mystery to me.
- I'm not clear from the description whether AF have finally learnt their lesson and are handing detachable Bose headsets, or if they insist on using those "fixed" headsets, which is a recipe for disaster when one is out of order (let's face it, a frequent issue with airlines headsets) and you are thus left with no choice but using a poor Y headset in a separate jack.
- I don't like the glasses. Why can't AF use proper wine glasses and flutes when other airlines can??
- Is the new pyjama Givenchy? Or is it "non-branded"? As for the choice of Givenchy more generally I reserve judgement. It has a glorious history if we go back to HG's own designs and the Audrey Hepburn times, but in recent years it has felt a bit dated. Let's see and hope to be impressed.
- I dislike the fact that as for J, P will be different in the 77Ws and the 380s. Unlike J, I really cannot understand because we are speaking of such low numbers that surely retrofitting the whole fleet would be possible and desirable? I do think that AF underestimate the reputational cost of having products of different qualities across its fleet (different products of equivalent quality would be acceptable but this is simply not the case here).

Finally, this is a bit OT compared to the substance which is what we care about, but I don't really like the press kit itself. I think that AF always have a way of speaking too much rather than letting facts speak for themselves. This particular kit is no exception and while the descriptions are a pleasure to read, I think that AF is losing a specific communication battle when it misses on the opportunity to offer a synthetic and striking image of the new product that the customer (or intermediaries) can take home. If I was asked to describe the EY new product in one sentence I could, and the same for the P experience on EK, SQ, CX, and more. If asked to do the same about the new AF P, I would be at a loss and wouldn't be too sure what sentence to use.

ajs123

Thanks for sharing the presentation! My first impression was that the suite looks very tasty and with understated elegance (not so sure about luxury). I like the emphasis on French (designers, cutlery, etc) - KL has been doing it quite effectively not just with the new WBC. And the fact that new wine glasses have stems again is a big plus.
It's interesting that the kit emphasizes that the suite's size is 3 square meters. THough that pales in comparison with EY's Residence which is short of 11 sqm. But AF's lamp besides the seat/bed is unique for sure!

DLGrkItalNY

The suite is gorgeous. A perfect balance of elegance, privacy and simplicity.

AF is not Etihad. It is AF.

Zembla

Here we go already... If you insist comparing it to EY, better compare it to their standard new P product "the apartment" at 3.6 sqm. But even then it's comparing apples and pears imho.

+1 ^

ajs123

I certainly do not insist on comparing apples and oranges. Bu the kit mentions the size of the suite several times, so AF thinks it's important to communicate that.

carnarvon

Who needs more than one white.

And for rosé, they should mix white and red.

It looks like you are very demanding.

Don't they make it clear that they are first and foremost on board for security purposes? The chat must be about security procedures. You do not want to compromise the flight safety do you?

olivedel

From an off-the-records conversation I had yesterday with Frederic Gagey, they are thinking about the revamping of A380s (at least) but they prefer not to announce anything before getting the official confirmation with a roll-out calendar. I will ask the question in the interview today.

ANstar

Looks like the same hardware Oman Air have in their business class??