Along side British Airways and Lufthansa, Air France is the third giant of European legacy airlines. Operating flights to every corner of the world, except Australia and New Zealand, the fleet is quite varied and interesting to analyse. So that’s exactly what we’ll do in this post, we’ll take a closer look at the Air France Fleet in 2024.
The Air France Fleet in 2024
Air France operates both an extremely extensive European network, reaching virtually all countries on the continent, and an also significant long range network.
The historic and decommissioned fleet featured some of the most iconic planes in aviation history, such as the Concorde, Airbus A380 and Boeing 747. However nowadays the entire Air France fleet features only twin engine jets, both in the long and short range fleets.
As I’ve done for many other airlines, I’ll analyse the fleet splitting the long and short range planes.
Which planes does Air France use for its short haul services?
The Short And Medium Range Fleet
AF operates an all Airbus short and medium range fleet on its European flights. Clearly the planes in this division of the fleet are all narrow body planes. At the moment the french flag carrier operates:
- 5 Airbus A318-100
- 12 Airbus A319-100
- 37 Airbus A320-200
- 3 Airbus A321-100
- 11 Airbus A321-200
- 32 Airbus A220-300
Interesting fact, Air France also flies the tiny Airbus A318, the smallest of the A320 family. This aircraft type is quite rare as it hasn’t grown to become a favourite for many airlines.
Which planes does Air France use for its long haul services?
Long Range Wide Body AF Fleet
The AF long range fleet is among the most modern and youngest out there. The airline has phased out its A380s, replacing them with extremely fuel efficient Airbus A350s. These new planes will become the backbone of the Air France fleet in the coming months and years as the airline receives its orders for the type.
The long range fleet operates planes from both Boeing and Airbus, differently from the short range European fleet. At the moment the carrier operates:
- 15 Airbus A330-200
- 10 Boeing 787-9
- 16 Boeing 777-200
- 43 Boeing 777-300
- 27 Airbus A350-900
The All New Business Class Cabins
Air France currently has a few different Business Class layouts on its wide body jets. However the most interesting and noteworthy one is without a doubt the newest product it is installing on its Boeing 777-300ERs.
Compared to the previous version it features an all redesigned seat offering each passenger significantly more privacy. Each seat has direct aisle access and isolates itself with a door. This feature aligns the AF product with what is becoming the norm in premium cabins across the board.
However you won’t find this new cabin design on all planes. As mentioned only a selection of Boeing 777-300ERs currently feature the newest Air France J cabins. As of April 2024 they are:
| Registration | Age | Aircraft Type |
|---|---|---|
| F-GSQE | 19,5 | Boeing 777-300ER |
| F-GZNU | 8 | Boeing 777-300ER |
| F-GZNH | 13,4 | Boeing 777-300ER |
| F-GZNP | 9 | Boeing 777-300ER |
| F-GZNT | 8 | Boeing 777-300ER |
| F-GZNJ | 13 | Boeing 777-300ER |
| F-GZNS | 8,1 | Boeing 777-300ER |
| F-GZNK | 13 | Boeing 777-300ER |
| F-GZNI | 13,1 | Boeing 777-300ER |
| F-GZNQ | 9 | Boeing 777-300ER |
| F-GZNR | 8,5 | Boeing 777-300ER |
| F-GZNU | 8 | Boeing 777-300ER |
And how can you recognise upon booking I hear you ask? Well first of all Air France makes a point of making you know they have these planes on the route you are looking at. However to be sure you can look at the seat map and verify that it features: 48 Business Class Seats, 48 Premium Economy and 273 Economy Class.
Where Does Air France Fly The New Business Class?
There are however some routes that are regularly served by planes with the new business class, or that are more likely than others to be. Those regularly served by these retrofitted 777-300ERs are:
- Seoul (ICN)
- Bangkok (BKK)
- Tokyo (HND)
- Johannesburg (JNB)
- Dakar (DSS)
- Shanghai (PVG)
- Rio de Janeiro (GIG)
- Toronto (YYZ)
More sporadically and occasionally though they are also to be found serving these other destinations:
- Sao Paulo (GRU)
- Havana (HAV)
- Osaka (KIX)
- Boston (BOS)
- Montreal (YUL)
For these destinations it is more down to luck than anything else to hitch a ride on the new AF business class. I should be flying in this new AF cabin later this year on the Paris to Seoul flight, and I’ll make sure to share my experience on that trip.
