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New Air France Airbus A330 Cabin Bound For Asia

Air France’s A330s are flying to Asia from their hub in Paris. These A330s feature an all-new cabin that comes as part of Air France’s product upgrades. Overall, the new A330 cabin gives Air France a better chance at competing for premium passengers in the saturated European market.

India is a growing aviation market. After the collapse of Jet Airways, Air France and KLM have to compete with other foreign carriers for traffic to and from India. Since some former Jet Airways passengers are trying to decide which carrier they will switch to, it seems that airlines are starting to upgrade their offerings in an attempt to woo premium passengers.

Business class

Air France’s refreshed A330-200s have 36 business class seats. In the old configuration, Air France offered 40 business class seats. The new cabin is arranged in a 2-2-2 configuration. Each seat is lie-flat but window seats lack direct aisle access.

Air France, however, did something a little strange with their A330s. While other airlines offer reverse herringbone seats on their A330s, Air France’s new business class seats angle towards each other. This means that the foot cubbies are adjacent to each other. If you’re seated next to a stranger, this could be a little awkward and you might end up accidentally coming in contact with your seatmate’s legs when fully reclined.

Premium economy

Air France’s premium economy offerings on the A330-200 include 21 seats in a 2-3-2 configuration.

Each seat offers 130° of recline. With 40 inches of pitch, the legroom in premium economy is better than that of U.S. domestic first class. Each seat offers personal entertainment screens and power access.

Economy

Save for high-density low-cost carriers, A330s seat economy class passengers in a 2-4-2 configuration. Compared to 3-3-3 (or even 3-4-3) on some widebody 777s and A350s, the A330 has some of the more comfortable economy class products. Air France has 167 seats in economy class on the refreshed A330-200. This marks an increase of 20 economy seats compared to the old A330s.

Thankfully, Air France has retained seatback screens for economy class passengers. This will ensure you can access entertainment onboard.

WiFi

Along with new A330 cabins, Air France is also offering passengers WiFi options onboard. These come in three different packages.

To closer align with their transatlantic partner, Delta Air Lines, Air France is offering free inflight messaging. If you want to do some work, you can pay €5 for WiFi for the entire flight on medium-haul trips. On long-hauls, WiFi comes at €8 per hour or €18 for the entire flight. If you want high-speed access that allows for streaming and downloading, that is available for the entire flight at €30.

Overall

Refreshed A330-200s also fly to other points in the U.S. and Africa. However, these new cabins give additional options to passengers traveling to or from India.

Because not all of Air France’s A330-200s have been refurbished, you should check your seatmap before booking. If your seatmap shows six rows of business class, your plane is a refreshed A330-200. If there are seven rows of business class, you’re flying on an older A330-200.

Source: Simple Flying

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