Here is Air France's new Airbus A350 business class seat

By David Flynn, May 1 2019
Here is Air France's new Airbus A350 business class seat

With its all-new Airbus A350 business class seat, Air France hopes to please every passenger.

Want to sit right up against the window and enjoy the view through as many as three large windows? Done. Prefer to be closer to the aisle? Also done.

If you're set for the middle seat, how about being right next to your partner in forward-facing seats...

... and for solo travellers, about as far away from the other passenger as they can get, with seats which angle away from one another?

The unique layout of Air France's newest business class adopts the same 'mix and match' approach as seen in United Airlines' latest Polaris business class.

And that's no accident: for its Airbus A350s, Air France has chosen the same 'Optima' seat which forms the foundation of United's Polaris platform.

Air France's A350s will have 34 business class seats, with first flights tentatively scheduled for September.

Note that the images shown here are of the Optima seat in its dressed-up catalogue form – the Air France version will undoubtedly receive a chic redesign.

David

David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.

Etihad - Etihad Guest

01 May 2019

Total posts 1

C'est si bon! Vive Air France.

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

16 Jan 2018

Total posts 124

It looks like UA’s Polaris or am I mistaken? Kinda funny that they talk about it in a way as if AF is the first airline to do the staggered lay out.

Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards

08 Jul 2014

Total posts 58

"And that's no accident: for its Airbus A350s, Air France has chosen the same 'Optima' seat which forms the foundation of United's Polaris platform."
United apparently has exclusive rights to the platform in the North American market, but given its combination of density and all-aisle access, it isn't surprising that other airlines are adopting it.

05 Sep 2014

Total posts 14

If you had read the article you'd see this: "And that's no accident: for its Airbus A350s, Air France has chosen the same 'Optima' seat which forms the foundation of United's Polaris platform."

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

21 Jan 2014

Total posts 321

Looks like a clever way to get all of those seats in a restricted space but the middle section looks crowded, maybe once you are seated you wouldn’t notice so much.

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

06 Oct 2016

Total posts 162

Never flown them (in United) but elbow room in the centre does look compromised

Etihad - Etihad Guest

10 Apr 2019

Total posts 2

I don't like the aisle-facing seats, But if you can jag a middle seat together or a window seat that would be fine.

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

02 Jul 2011

Total posts 1378

Assume the angle on the aisle seats enables a denser configuration than say the Vantage XL that QF uses

KLM - Flying Blue

05 Feb 2019

Total posts 38

I think this new Business Class seat is a good improvement

Singapore Airlines - KrisFlyer

27 Feb 2015

Total posts 19

I think the old AF A380 biz is the worst A380 biz i have been in.

Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards

22 Apr 2013

Total posts 143

Looks like 3 different fabric/seat covering types? Eg: hero image (chocolate brown with arched quilted stitching. 1st image (light colour with pattern and parallel stitching. 3rd image (cream colour with wide, straight lined quilted stitching).

24 Oct 2010

Total posts 2559

Those are all promo shots, they in no way reflect how Air France's version of the seat will look.

Bravo, parallel in/out/in/out weds wrong way around, peer at your neighbor, 1st generation herringbone. That must just about exhaust all the available permutations. Yawn.

CX

05 Jun 2012

Total posts 127

"The unique layout of Air France's newest business class adopts the same 'mix and match' approach as seen in United Airlines' latest Polaris business class"


So - NOT unique, then...


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