Air France joins BA in relaxing IFE restrictions

Air France passengers can now enjoy in-flight entertainment from the moment they arrive at their seats until they disembark on select long-haul flights.

The relaxation of rules, which follows in the footsteps of British Airways, means passengers no longer have to wait until the seatbelts sign is turned off after take-off.

The airline introduced the measure on Monday.

Nineteen Air France aircraft, including all the carrier's A380s, are so far equipped with the system, which will be gradually implemented across the entire Air France long-haul fleet.

Last year, BA obtained permission from the Civil Aviation Authority for its long-haul passengers to be allowed to watch their IFE screens "from the second they reach their seat to the moment they arrive at their destination".

BA had required passengers to wait until after take-off and announcements have been carried out before the IFE system can be used, and turned off the system 15-20 minutes before landing.

But, from December 1, the carrier became the first UK airline to relax these restrictions on all long-haul flights, following nine months of negotiations with the CAA.

Certain restrictions, however, have remained in place for Club World and First passengers, and those sitting in exit row and bulk head seats.

airfrance.co.uk

Graham Smith

Air France and KLM to Offer Wi-Fi

Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines have installed Wi-Fi on board two Boeing 777-300 planes and will conduct a trial phase throughout the rest of 2013.
Passengers flying either the Paris-New York route on Air France or the Amsterdam-Panama route on KLM, can now send text messages and emails, and surf the Internet during their flight. An in-flight website offers a range of free services, including live television news and sports channels, relevant airline and destination information.
 During the pilot phase, hourly and full-flight fees will be offered. It will be 10.95 euros per hour or 19.95 euros for the full flight, applicable for all classes. Travellers can pay for their Internet access by credit card.
Mobile phone usage (for text and data) will be billed to the phone users according to their own roaming agreements. Wireless service — whether the on-board portal or satellite Internet — will commence once the flight has reached 20,000 feet, shortly after take-off.

Etihad and Air France Strengthen Ties

 Strategic partners Etihad Airways and Air France have announced a number of new codeshare destinations in Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe for 2013.
The expansion of codeshare services follows last October’s agreement between the respective national carriers to foster closer commercial ties, build an expanded global network, and deliver unrivalled travel options for customers.
Now placing its EY flight code on Air France flights between Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Oslo and Stockholm, Etihad Airways expects to build on the existing joint codeshare routes from Paris-CDG to Bordeaux, Copenhagen, Madrid, Nice and Toulouse.
Subject to further regulatory approvals, Etihad also expects to be able to place its EY code soon on Air France flights between Paris-CDG, Lisbon and Marseilles. The UAE flag carrier flies twice daily between Abu Dhabi and Paris. Air France is placing its AF code on Etihad Airways’ daily flights from Abu Dhabi to the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, and to two cities in Australia – Melbourne and Sydney.
 The French carrier expects to be able to place its AF code shortly on Etihad services between Singapore and Brisbane (Australia). Furthermore and subject to regulatory approvals, Air France foresees placing its AF code on routes between Abu Dhabi and Kathmandu (Nepal).
 The airline already places its AF code on Etihad’s operated flights between Paris-CDG and Abu Dhabi, and onwards to Colombo (Sri Lanka), Mahé (Seychelles) and Male (Maldives).

Air France Launches Digital Press Offer

Air France has launched its new “AF Press” app, offering its French travel saver card users (customers travelling on a Travel Saver fare) equipped with an iPad, the opportunity to download free of charge a selection of magazines and newspapers onto their tablets.
Each year, Air France offers its customers access to several million newspapers and magazines around the world, available in its lounges, boarding areas and onboard its cabins at the front of the aircraft.
The “AF Press” app completes this paper press offering by enabling customers to download their preferred publications up to 24 hours before their flight, until the time of departure, and read them before, during and after their trip.
 The new Air France app will be gradually supplemented with French and international publications. It will be extended throughout the year to all the company’s customers equipped with a personal screen, smartphone or iOS, Android or Windows 8.
Moreover, the Air France Magazine and Air France Madame publications are available for download free of charge, with or without a flight reservation, by all “AF Press” users. Air France has been investing in digital innovation for many years in an aim to offer its customers even more services available on smartphone and tablet.
The digital press offer is already accessible on iPads, available for customers to use in the La Première lounge and the Business lounges in Halls L and M at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport.

Air France Updates Menus

Air France is bringing a breath of fresh air with new dishes on its a la carte menus, available as an alternative to the menu of the day (free of charge) offered in Premium Economy and Economy cabins on most long-haul flights departing Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly.
Since 1 April, customers have been able to enjoy brand new ‘Ocean’, ‘Tradition’, ‘Bio’ (organic) and ‘Une Sélection LENÔTRE’ menus.
With the ‘Tradition’ and ‘Une Sélection LENÔTRE’ menus, specially created for Air France by the renowned Maison Lenôtre, customers can enjoy a genuine French fine-dining experience.
 Among the new dishes proposed, the Tradition menu features a foie gras terrine, gingerbread, dried fig chutney and baby spinach, followed by veal with blanquette cream sauce, glazed pearl onions with thyme, mushrooms and Basmati rice, and the Une Sélection LENÔTRE menu features marinated sautéed shrimp, pan-seared scallops with Dugléré orange sauce, vegetable risotto, carrots, sugar snap peas, celeriac, and a strawberry entremets.
 The Ocean and Bio menus offer delicate flavours and fresh produce with salmon dumplings, blini and cabbage with horseradish, baby spinach, Alaskan hake fish with lemon and butter, mashed potatoes with tomato and ratatouille or sautéed shrimp, sautéed radishes and mango with olive oil, Julienned carrots and zucchini with honey and soy sauce.
 The Air France a la carte menus, available at a price varying between €12 and €28, can be ordered online on the airfrance.com website at the time of booking, or in the View/Modify my bookings section, and at Air France call centres and ticket offices up to 24 hours before departure. On departure from the French Overseas Departments; Fort-de-France, Pointe-à-Pitre, Cayenne and Réunion, three menus are available; Italia, Ocean and Tradition, which will be renewed for winter 2013.

New Air France Economy Offer

Air France has launched its new Economy Class offer, which is a new fare available to 58 destinations on the short and medium-haul network. Customers have the choice between the all-inclusive Classic product and the MiNi product, which is a simplified product that does not earn Flying Blue miles and is aimed at customers travelling without checked baggage, at fares starting at 49 euros, including tax. Air France is targeting the 60% of customers who are looking for the best possible fares and the 40% of short and medium-haul customers travelling without checked baggage.

Air France Extends Seasonal CT Flight

Air France will resume flights to Cape Town, with three flights per week between 25 October and 12 May, 2013. This offers passengers an additional six weeks to the previous year’s schedule. Passengers can fly direct from Cape Town to Paris Charles de Gaulle in Air France's 309-seater Boeing 777-200, which features 35 of the airline's new full sleep Business Class seats, which are more than two metres long and 61cm wide, 24 seats in the Premium Economy cabin and 250 seats in Economy. Flights from Cape Town will depart at 19h35, arriving in Paris at 05h55. Services will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Air France-KLM offers passengers 24 weekly flights from Johannesburg and Cape Town to Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam-Schiphol.

iPads for Air France Pilots

 Air France has started to equip its 4,100 pilots with iPads, which they will use outside the cockpit instead of their laptops. Boeing 777 pilots started receiving these iPads back in June, and the roll-out should be completed by mid-2013. With the iPad, pilots have access to an electronic version of all their personal aircraft documentation, of which they previously had a paper version at home.
They will be able to download the manuals of their choice anywhere in the world and be automatically informed of their updates. Pilots will also be able to access airport maps. These dedicated applications will be available for download at the ‘Pilot Store’ specially developed by Air France.
 The use of iPads will facilitate communication processes by giving pilots the ability to electronically draft and dispatch regular reports, such as the Air Safety Report, Captain’s Report and Security Report, at the end of the flight. Pilots will also be able to access the Air France intranet website for specific services and to send and receive emails. Beginning 2013, Air France pilots will also be able to use the iPad to complete training courses, review aircraft systems and complete self-service briefings.
 Air France is also working towards the implementation of Electronic Flight Bags in the cockpit for its pilots, which will lead to greater convenience and efficiency while reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

Air France Summer Schedule

In terms of Air France’s summer schedule, from 25 March to 28 October, the airline has plans to launch a new route to Port Gentil in Gabon and will be resuming service to Abuja, Nigeria, previously operated by KLM.

Air France will continue to increase capacity to Abidjan, Lomé, Malabo and N'Djamena. To these last two destinations, the daily flights operated by Airbus A319 Dedicate will be replaced by three weekly flights by Airbus A330.

On the medium-haul network, 14 new international destinations will be offered from Toulouse, including Tunis, Casablanca and Marrakech. Air France is also changing capacity to Mauritius by replacing the B747 with the B777-300. The airline is suspending services to Mahé on a code-share basis with Air Seychelles, as Air Seychelles has suspended operations to Paris-CDG.

Air France Launches Personalised Customer Service

Air France is now offering all its customers a new array of personalised services at its main connecting hub, Paris-Charles de Gaulle.

Passengers can benefit from services that include accompaniment by an Air France agent throughout their time at the airport via the priority access route for: Departures, from arrival at the airport to the door of their plane; Flight connections; Arrivals, from the door of their plane until they exit the terminal.

A variety of “a la carte” options are also available: Transfers between the airport and Paris by chauffeured car, minibus or motorcycle; Reserving a hotel room for a few hours to get refreshed or have breakfast before going into the city; Eventually, luggage collection or delivery to an address in the Paris area.

Personalised airport assistance starts at 200 euros, plus taxes, for accompaniment of up to four passengers per agent. Flying Blue members also can earn 400 bonus miles with every purchase.

Air France Unveils Top Chef For Business Cabin

For the next six months, Chef Joel Robuchon will serve as the first of Air France’s ambassadors of the art of French gastronomy, as the airline plans to offer exceptional dishes in Business Class, on long-haul flights departing from Paris-Charles de Gaulle.

 Business Class passengers can look forward to some of Robuchon’s signature dishes, including Basque shrimp and turmeric-scented pasta with lemon grass; chicken breast in green curry sauce, poppy seed rice, carrots and shiitake mushrooms; and crayfish pasta with Nantua sauce. One of the four hot meal choices offered on board, will be renewed every 10 days.

 Robuchon has 27 Michelin stars and is at the head of more than 20 establishments, from gourmet restaurants to gastronomic workshops, featuring innovative concepts in which exquisite food melds easily with a lively and friendly atmosphere.