Air France reopens "La Première," full service for first class passengers

There are three operators in Europe that offer the first-class cabin: British Airways, Lufthansa e Air France. In this special ranking, carriers from the old continent beat those made in the U.S. by 3 to zero. Why? Delta, United and American do not offer this type of cabin on intercontinental flights, while they call First what is effectively business class on domestic flights.

First Class in Air France is simply called "La Première" and before the pandemic was offered on A380s and 777/300s. Today the transalpine airline's giant of the skies has been retired. AF was one of the first to park its double-decker aircraft forever and the 4 first class seats found on a portion of the 777s are very rare commodities, very difficult to book and also very expensive.

Première's service, on land and on board, is unanimously recognized as among the best in the world, perhaps the only European airline to To be able to battle with Emirates and Asian carriers.

Even in this special ranking, the pandemic hit hard, Etihad has grounded its A380s and with them the "Residence," which is the three-room apartment that could be rented to fly in a real private apartment. The same thing did Thai Airways with its 747s and its Royal Silk.

That's why today's announcement can only please all aviation enthusiasts and all those who dream, sooner or later, of this experience.

The Premiere Lounge in Paris

Dedicated exclusively to first-class passengers, it had been closed for more than a year (the A380s were grounded). The few passengers did not expect such a quick reopening by the French/Dutch carrier, which also took advantage of the forced closure to modernize it: it now offers even more elegant spaces and more privacy.

This is also a tentative sign of recovery. British Airways' Concorde Room is still closed, as is the the Emirates lounge in Dubai. While Lufthansa had reopened the lounge for first-class passengers this summer only to lower the shutters again.

The lounge is all new, starting with the bar area. Needless to say, France's finest wines and champagnes are offered in this Parisian café. Now thanks to the new decor everything is even more elegant and exclusive.

There is a chandelier in the room, a kind of light screen that bisects the room, thus giving more tranquility and privacy to visitors.

In addition to this, more dividers were inserted between the various seats and sofas, evidently to meet the increased demand for social distancing, but also and especially to meet the demands of an increasingly demanding clientele.

How to book (with points) an Air France first class ticket

The few carriers that offer First Class are very jealous of their seats that is why it is very difficult to book these tickets with points. Air France is among the most rigid and thrifty among all airlines.

As we have already explained, these seats are not available to Skyteam partners. Goodbye, then, to the possibility of book this ticket with Alitalia miles. To obtain it, it is not enough to be a member of the Flying Blue loyalty program, but you must be at least Gold in the Air France/KLM frequent flyer.

It is also important to know that there are no discounts or promotional rates. A ticket to fly from Paris to New York costs no less than 220k FB points, over 300k Membership Rewards points + tax.

In cash, the price of the cheapest ticket departing from the French capital's stopover is (almost) never less than 7 to 8 thousand euros. Let's say that on balance, it pays to try to book it-maybe with some imaginative itinerary-with departure from Portugal or Sweden, definitely not from Paris. However, if you are lucky enough to be able to afford it, it is one of those experiences you will never forget in your lifetime.

Needless to say, if you are aiming for this prize card, the first things you need to do are: have the right card in your wallet and start collect Membership Rewards points.

• first class
• the premiere