- Title: Air France renews first-class suite in battle for high-rollers
- Date: 18th March 2025
- Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (MARCH 18, 2025) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF NEW FIRST CLASS CABIN FOR AIR FRANCE VARIOUS OF AIR FRANCE-KLM CEO BEN SMITH PRESENTING NEW CABIN (SOUNDBITE) (English) AIR FRANCE-KLM CEO BEN SMITH SAYING: "Paris is a great market, Paris is a leisure market, it's a business market, it's a luxury market. The brand Air France has a history of having a luxury component to
- Embargoed:
- Keywords: Air France KLM aeronautics airline industry airplane
- Location: PARIS AND ROISSY-EN-FRANCE, FRANCE
- City: PARIS AND ROISSY-EN-FRANCE, FRANCE
- Country: France
- Topics: Company News Markets,Europe,Economic Events
- Reuters ID: LVA001965318032025RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Air France on Tuesday (March 18) unveiled a new first-class suite as it expands efforts to lure wealthy travelers from business jets and lend a 'French touch' to the tussle for premium revenue.
The CEO of parent Air France-KLM, Ben Smith, told Reuters the unspecified investment aimed to place Air France at the top of the European league in airline luxury, signaling a battle with British Airways and Lufthansa.
The air travel industry is locked in a battle for high fare-paying customers as it recovers from the pandemic but is split over the value of investing in first class, with many carriers focusing on steady improvements in business-class seating.
Smith declined to say how much the investment in the new seats would cost, but the airline says its first-class service is already profitable, in part because the price of the ticket has risen in recent years.
An average first class one-way Paris-New York ticket costs around 10,000 euros in May, according to the Air France website.
Smith also said Air France-KLM was in talks to take a stake in Spanish airline Air Europa and was looking to boost its existing holding in Scandinavian carrier SAS to a majority.
In talks with smaller airlines, the company wants "a clear path" to majority ownership, he said.
That has been a struggle to date with Air Europa. In August last year, British Airways-owner IAG abandoned a plan for a full takeover of the airline after hefty regulatory scrutiny from the European antitrust watchdog.
Smith said Air France-KLM was also still interested in the privatisation of Portuguese flag carrier TAP, but was waiting on further guidance from the Portuguese government.
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