Air France Private La Premiere Suites Paris Airport (CDG): Next-Level Luxury

Air France recently launched its new La Premiere first class, and I was lucky enough to be on the inaugural flight (again, full disclosure — I traveled as a guest of Air France on this flight). This is an incredible product, which should be installed on at least 20 Boeing 777-300ERs by the end of 2026.

While the Air France La Premiere inflight experience is great, the single thing that most differentiates Air France from the competition is its ground service, which I rank as the best in the world. It’s truly more in line with what you’d expect in private aviation than commercial aviation, where you’re escorted every step of the way.

Anyway, in 2024, Air France added a new element to its La Premiere ground experience at Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG), in the form of private suites in the La Premiere Lounge, which are available at an extra cost. During my trip, I had the chance to tour this facility, so I want to cover the details in the post.

What are Air France’s private La Premiere suites Paris?

Air France’s private La Premiere suites at Paris Charles de Gaulle are intended to take the ground experience to the next level. This service is for those who value privacy above all else, who might otherwise fly private, and where money is no object.

Think of this as basically being Air France’s equivalent to PS, the private airport facility in Los Angeles (LAX) and Atlanta (ATL). I’d consider the standard La Premiere ground experience to be like PS’ “The Salon” service, while I’d consider the upgraded La Premiere ground experience to be like PS’ “Private Suite” service.

The idea is that for an extra fee, La Premiere passengers can pay for an even more exclusive check-in facility, including a private check-in room, and then a private three-room suite and terrace within the La Premiere Lounge, with dedicated butler service.

The price for this additional service starts at €800 for a visit of up to three hours, and that’s on top of Air France already having the world’s highest first class fares.

What’s the Air France La Premiere private suite experience like?

During my recent flight on Air France, they showed me the private suite facilities, since I hadn’t seen them before. Let’s take a look at what the experience is like.

If you’re originating in Paris, all Air France first class passengers can use the La Premiere check-in area, which is located in Terminal 2E, at gate 17.

Normally, first class passengers are checked in at a gorgeous facility with plenty of seating, and they’re even offered a drink while they wait.

For those who reserve one of the private suites, the check-in process is even more exclusive. There are two private rooms, so you can stay in one of those while check-in formalities are taking place, including having a personal attendant who takes care of you during that time.

Once check-in is completed, all passengers have the same departure experience. They’re escorted down a hall, then brought down a level in an elevator, and that’s where security formalities take place, at a private checkpoint.

Once check-in is complete, you’re driven to the La Premiere Lounge.

Standard first class passengers can then hang out in the beautiful lounge, which features a restaurant with catering from Alain Ducasse, a Sisley spa, and more.

However, if you reserve the private suite experience, you’ll immediately be escorted to a different area. There are three individual suites, and they’re located in a massive area that’s to the side of the lounge, accessible from a door next to the bar.

This area is huge. This space used to be offices for Air France, and then it was converted into this new space.

There are three private suites, each spanning roughly 500 square feet (45 square meters) of interior space, including a private living room, bedroom, and bathroom, plus an outdoor terrace. The suites are all named after areas of Paris — Champs-Élysées, Montmartre, and Vendôme.

I’ve gotta say, these suites are mighty snazzy, and I love the design. I took a look at the Vendôme private suite, which is also the accessible suite (so the shower setup is different than in the other two).

The living area has a loveseat (hi, winged seahorse!), a chair, and a dining table that can accommodate three people.

There’s also a TV, with doors to both the bedroom and bathroom on each side of it.

The room boasts a minibar, coffee machine, and tea kettle, though again, the lounge features butler service, so they’ll bring you whatever you want.

When guests arrive, there’s also a bottle of champagne on ice, plus some sweet treats, and a huge tea selection from Palais des Thés.

The bedroom then has a bed, plus a wall-mounted TV. I love the historical Air France art.

The bathroom is accessible from either the bedroom or living room. The bathroom has a sink, toilet, and shower (since this suite is accessible, the shower is a little more open, while the other two suites have walk-in showers). Toiletries are from Sisley, so it doesn’t get more luxurious than that.

Last but not least, each suite has a private terrace with plenty of furniture, though admittedly this is a bit of a seasonal amenity, since Paris doesn’t have great outdoor whether for much of the year.

Those in the private suite get access to exactly the same menu as those in the main part of the lounge. Airport dining honestly doesn’t get much better than that.

You can find the La Premiere Lounge menu below (the focus is on quality rather than quantity).

The butler service in the private suites is as hands on or hands off as you want. For most people, the idea is that they want to be left alone, so if you want anything, you just pick up the phone, and they’ll take care of whatever you need.

Khan is one of the people in charge of providing service in this new facility. He has been at the La Premiere Lounge since the first time I flew La Premiere (which was on an A380, over a decade ago), and he’s incredibly professional, as I’ve been served by him in the lounge a couple of times in the past. So if you book one of these suites, odds are decent that you’ll be taken care of by him.

Then when it’s actually time for the flight to depart, the departures experience is the same for everyone. You’ll be driven to your aircraft by car, and can board directly via an elevator and jet bridge.

This is a niche offering akin to private aviation

To understand the intent of these suites, you have to consider how Air France is trying to position its La Premiere product overall. Air France is pricing its first class in a different league than almost any other airline — on average, it’s the most expensive first class product in the world, by a long shot.

To be clear, I don’t think La Premiere offers “value,” in the sense that the average premium traveler should pay twice as much to fly Air France as Emirates, for example (okay, admittedly they only compete in one market). Instead, I think Air France is going after the super rich, where money is no object, and where the thing they value most is a seamless and convenient experience:

• Air France has just four first class seats per plane, and only a limited number of planes have first class, flying to high yield destinations
• Paris is obviously a very popular destination for well-off people (among others), and there’s an incredible amount of wealth flying to Paris from Los Angeles, New York, Singapore, Tokyo, etc.
• Air France’s fundamental value proposition is similar to private aviation — the idea is to offer as seamless and customized of a journey as possible, and that’s more evident with the ground experience than anything

That brings us to these private suites in the La Premiere Lounge. When they were first announced, I was a bit confused. After all, most people flying in La Premiere are traveling point-to-point, with Paris as their origin or destination.

Given the pricing and value people place on nonstop flights, it’s not like a bedroom is that useful for most people. For that matter, most people connecting have short connections, since people spending $10K+ on tickets don’t typically want to spend unnecessary time in transit.

That really gets at the intent of this product, which is to offer an elevated level of privacy for people who value that, regardless of the cost, whether they’re celebrities, business executives, etc. Maybe they don’t want to be seen in public. Maybe they need a good place to conduct a virtual business meeting. That’s the kind of people this is targeted at.

If you’re just splurging on La Premiere as a special experience, the lounge is already incredible, and I’d argue there’s not much need for this. You can still enjoy the amazing Alain Ducasse dining, the Sisley spa, etc.

Now, I suppose if you’re pretty well off and you’re celebrating something special, maybe this is worth a splurge. But the market here is clearly for people who don’t really care how much extra the experience costs, because it’s still cheaper than flying private on a long haul flight.

Bottom line

Air France’s La Premiere Lounge already offers the best first class ground experience that you’ll find anywhere in the world, with a seamless experience, great dining, excellent spa treatments, and more.

Now the airline offers an even more exclusive level of service, with its private suites. For an extra fee, first class passengers can be checked in at a private facility, and can then get a private suite in the lounge, with a living room, bedroom, bathroom, and terrace. Then there’s attentive butler service, so that you can enjoy everything from a cocktail to a full meal in your suite.

What do you make of the Air France La Premiere private suites Paris?