Skip to main content

Air France renames “Premium Economy” to “Premium” to reflect upmarket offerings

Air France renames its Premium Economy cabin

Premium cuisine on Air France
Air France

To emphasize its upscale amenities, Air France will rename “Premium Economy” seating to “Premium”. The name change demonstrates the carrier’s luxurious yet affordable cabin option, which offers a curated experience, from comfy seats to Michelin-starred menus.

Air France Premium: Enjoy the best of France at 35,000 feet

Champagne on Air France
Air France

Air France’s renewed Premium cabins offer a high-end experience all around. Whether sampling French wine, enjoying a Michelin-starred recipe, or viewing a 4K resolution screen, passengers can unwind and enjoy in the sky.

Recommended Videos

On select Boeing 777 and Airbus A350 aircraft, the Premium Cabin offers a new seat that reclines up to 124 degrees, with a wider base for enhanced comfort. A new herringbone fabric improves softness. By the end of 2025, nearly 80% of the airline’s planes will have recliner seats.

Every seat has a 13.3-inch 4K-quality Ultra HD touchscreen, with more than 1,500 hours of on-demand entertainment, emphasizing French offerings. Passengers can connect to the screen via Bluetooth and use their devices as a remote control or browse the catalog. USB ports allow a quick charge-up and available WiFi ensures a reliable connection.

The surroundings have a refreshed appearance, including new shades of Air France’s signature color, navy blue, and sky blue, which is unique to the Premium cabin. Additionally, red accents highlight the cushions, blankets, headrests, and more.

France has a reputation for fine cuisine, and Air France brings that to the skies. Upon boarding, travelers receive a glass of champagne (depending on flight schedule), and full meal service designed by the country’s best chefs. 

The “French-style” meal service includes snacks, a starter, an option of two hot dishes, dessert and cheese, all served with stainless steel utensils on eco-friendly tableware. For the menu, Air France turned to Michelin-starred Chef Frédéric Simonin. Since November 2023, he’s been designing meals for the airline, and regularly updates the recipes

Passengers can pick from delicious chicken with prune sauce, peas, red onion compote and asparagus tips, or try Trofie pasta bake with porcini mushrooms and asparagus (available on flights from Paris, Pointe à Pitre, Fort de France, Cayenne and Réunion). 

To bring his recipes to the air, Frédéric Simonin worked with renowned in-flight catering service Servair. The menu uses local, fresh, and seasonal produce, along with 100% French meat, milk products, eggs, and poultry. Seafood comes from sustainable fisheries.

For dessert, options include crunchy vanilla puffs, Paris-Brest and chocolate fondant. Those on flights over nine hours enjoy ice cream between meals, with two flavors available: vanilla or milk chocolate with caramelized almonds. The ice cream bars are traditionally made in southern France. 

There’s also a wide selection of beverages, whether hot or cold or with or without alcohol. A new menu of French wines and beers are on offer, besides champagne. In spring 2025, Air France’s Head Sommelier, Xavier Thuizat, will debut a redesigned French wine, spirits, and champagne list. 

Mark Reif
Mark Reif is a writer from Stowe, Vermont. During the winter, he works as a snowboard coach and rides more than 100 days. The…
New Delta and the PGA Tour partnership offers these SkyMiles perks
New Delta and PGA Tour partnership offersp perks to SkyMiles members
delta pga tour pgatour logo

Delta Air Lines announced a multi-year partnership with the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions this week. The agreement gives Delta SkyMiles members a series of bespoke experiences via the SkyMiles Experiences platform, including access to TPC Network golf courses like TPC Sawgrass. The platform also allows members to purchase once-in-a-lifetime experiences with bid or buy-now options.
Comments from Delta and the PGA Tour

Delta CEO Ed Bastian said: “Delta and the PGA TOUR are two global organizations focused on best-in-class performance, a spirit of continuous improvement, and the power of the experience economy. Our partnership with Jay and his team will give customers incredible opportunities to experience the PGA TOUR in new ways while furthering our mission of better connecting the world.” 

Read more
Air India debuts this new service for Economy passengers
Air India debuts ZipAhead servic
air india zipahead boeing 787 8 dreamliner

Air India has begun its “ZipAhead” paid service, which provides priority check-in and priority baggage handling to Economy passengers on routes within India. Travelers can buy “ZipAhead” up to 75 minutes before takeoff via the Air India website, airport ticketing offices (ATO), mobile app, and customer contact center.
ZipAhead caters to travelers on the go

“ZipAhead” is for timely travelers who aren’t eligible for other priority services, easing their trips through airports and on-ground touchpoints. Those who choose the service can check-in at the airline’s dedicated Premium Economy check-in counters, and receive priority baggage handling. As of now, the service is available at six Indian airports, including Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Bengalaru, and Kolkata. 

Read more
Air India upgrades its service to this Asian country
Air India upgrades its Japan service and expands codeshare
air india tokyo codeshare ana image  2

Air India has announced a significant upgrade to nonstop services between India and Japan. Starting March 31, 2025, the airline will operate four weekly flights between Delhi and Tokyo’s Haneda Airport (HND). That replaces the current route to Narita International Airport (NRT), and will give travelers more direct access to Tokyo.

In addition, Air India has expanded its codeshare agreement with its Star Alliance Partner, All Nippon Airways (ANA). The agreement will help Air India customers seamless connections from Tokyo Haneda to six additional Japanese destinations. 
Easier access to Tokyo, more connections through Japan
Tokyo, Japan Clay Banks via Unsplash

Read more