Air France

Air France is the flag carrier of France and a founding member of the SkyTeam alliance, alongside Delta, Korean Air and Aeroméxico. It anchors the long-haul and European partnership with KLM under the Air France-KLM group, and runs one of the larger combined networks out of Europe across the Americas, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

Its operation now centres on Paris-Charles de Gaulle. Air France closed its Orly base in March 2026 and folded domestic and overseas-territory flying back into CDG, so connections route through a single Paris hub. Flying Air France tends to mean a French-inflected service with a clear cabin hierarchy: a broad short-haul network feeding long-haul widebodies, with the premium products improving steadily as the fleet is retrofitted. For a transfer passenger, the strength is reach into West Africa, the French overseas territories and the wider SkyTeam map.

The configurations we publish cover both ends of the operation. Short-haul sits on the A320 family and the newer A220-300, the type now replacing the older A318, A319 and A320-200 narrowbodies. These are single-aisle, all-economy cabins in 3-3 with a flexible front section sold as business on European routes rather than a separate seat.

Long-haul is where the cabin classes open up. The A330-200, 787-9, A350-900 and the two 777 variants carry the full multi-cabin treatment: economy, the Premium cabin (premium economy), and business. The 777-300ER is the only type we publish that also carries La Première, Air France's first class. Business is moving to a 1-2-1 reverse-herringbone suite with a privacy door as the A350s and retrofitted 777-300ERs come through, while older widebody business layouts are still being phased out. Treat the published layout for each tail as the guide to which generation you're booking.

Short-haul is functional. The A220 and A320-family cabins are slim-line economy seats in 3-3, with the European business product being a blocked middle seat and a better meal rather than a wider chair. Comfortable enough for a few hours; nothing more is promised.

Long-haul is where the experience separates. Economy on the widebodies is a standard 3-3-3 or 3-4-3 with seatback screens and, increasingly, wi-fi. The Premium cabin is a fixed-shell recliner with noticeably more pitch and width, a sensible middle step on overnight sectors. The newer business suite gives direct aisle access, a sliding door and proper lie-flat bedding; older business seats still in service are angled or staggered rather than suite-style, so the tail you draw matters. La Première, on select 777-300ERs, is a small, curtained first cabin with full suites and table service. Dining carries a French accent across the premium cabins.

On the narrowbodies, the exit rows and the row just behind the forward galley divider give the most legroom; the back rows sit close to the rear galleys and lavatories and see more traffic. If the front section is sold as European business, the value is the empty middle seat, not the seat itself, so a standard economy row further forward can be the calmer choice.

On the widebodies, the bulkhead and exit rows in economy and Premium trade extra legroom for fixed armrests and no underseat stowage in front; light packers gain, gadget users lose. Couples do best in the 2-seat window pairs on the 777s and A350; solo travellers in business want a true window suite away from the aisle. Avoid the last rows of any cabin, which back onto galleys and lavatories, and the seats immediately beside a mid-cabin galley. Check the published layout for your tail before choosing, since the same aircraft type can carry an old or a retrofitted cabin.