First look: Air France regional jets to get new seats, cabin makeover

03.06.2024 - 13:19 / thepointsguy.com

Air France is giving some of the smallest jets in its fleet a big makeover.

Last week, the French carrier unveiled all-new seats for the fleet of Embraer E190 regional jets operated by its regional subsidiary, Hop — and TPG was there for a sneak peek.

Most U.S. travelers who fly with Air France are more familiar with the Paris-based carrier's fleet of long-haul jets, from the Boeing 777 and 787 Dreamliner to Airbus A330 and A350.

But like carriers in the U.S., Air France's regional subsidiaries also fly smaller jets to locations in Europe and North Africa — so you could certainly end up on one of these aircraft if you're connecting to another destination beyond Paris or plan on doing some city-hopping during a European trip.

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The brand-new seats made by French manufacturer Expliseat were displayed last week at the Aircraft Interiors Expo 2024 in Hamburg, Germany.

With navy-blue coverings, the new seats sport Air France logos on the headrests — which are adjustable vertically and have adjustable wings.

Related: The ultimate guide to earning and redeeming with Air France-KLM Flying Blue

Around back, there's a full-sized tray table that will fit a laptop, and a separate dual cupholder that folds down. The cupholder tray doubles as a personal device holder. It has a nonslip surface, so you can easily fit a phone next to a beverage cup, or prop up a tablet by using the hollow space behind the headrest to hold the device steady.

The seatback has slots for USB-A and USB-C charging ports, a literature pocket — and a coat hook on each seat.

The 110 new seats on each Air France E190 can recline up to 3 inches.

This seat replacement is part of a larger interior overhaul planned for regional jets, including a fresh color palette that more closely matches Air France's fleet of Airbus A220 aircraft. This is all part of an effort to standardize the airline's service across its short- and medium-haul network, the company said in a statement.

Starting in January 2025, Air France will also begin blocking one seat in each of the first few rows in what will serve as the designated business-class cabin — which means those travelers will have a row to themselves, since the jet will be arranged in a 2-2 configuration (in Europe, airlines frequently don't have premium seats up front, but will block the middle seat of rows arranged in a 3-3 configuration for higher-priced tickets).

The first retrofitted Air France E190 is expected to be in service by this fall.

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