Review: Air France Business Class Airbus A220 (CDG-VIE)

To kick off the return portion our royal visit to Versailles, I flew Air France’s Airbus A220-300 business class on the 1hr30min flight from Paris (CDG) to Vienna (VIE).

Intra-Europe business class is rarely much to get excited about, given that it’s just economy with a blocked middle seat and better service. That being said, Air France’s short haul business class on the A220 is about as good as it gets.

The A220 is a pleasure to fly, and the 2-3 layout makes it a comfortable ride, whether in business or economy. On top of that, the plane has power outlets and Wi-Fi, and I also like Air France’s short haul catering and friendly service.

How I booked my Air France business class ticket

I booked my Air France business class flight from Paris to Vienna on the same ticket as my Air France La Premiere first class flight from Miami to Paris (since Flying Blue allows free stopovers on award tickets). I booked the following for 236,000 Flying Blue miles plus $302.10 in taxes & fees:

2/15 AF99 Miami to Paris departing 7:50PM arriving 10:45AM (+1 day)
2/19 AF1738 Paris to Vienna departing 3:30PM arriving 5:25PM

While Flying Blue miles are easy to come by (thanks to the program partnering with major transferable points currencies), as you can see, first class awards aren’t exactly a bargain, given the mileage requirements. On top of that, Flying Blue greatly restricts these awards — they’re only available to Flying Blue Platinum members.

Air France business class lounge & boarding

My Air France flight was departing from Terminal 2F. I know some people don’t like Charles de Gaulle Airport, but as an aviation geek, I absolutely adore the architecture (and the airport’s famous chime!). The departures experience for business class passengers and elite members is pleasant, with a dedicated security lane.

I also finally had the chance to visit Air France’s Terminal 2F lounge. While I won’t be reviewing it in detail this time (it was simply too crowded, and I like to review lounges when they’re quieter), this is a way above average regional lounge, if you ask me.

The architecture and design are stunning, the food and drink selection is substantial, there’s even a spa with complimentary treatments (if you can get an appointment), and the shower suites are plentiful and luxurious. Air France really is a cut above the competition in so many ways.

After some time in the lounge, I headed to the gate, as my flight was departing from gate F34, with boarding scheduled for 3PM, 30 minutes before departure. This area of the terminal has such cool, retro design, yet is also horribly lacking when it comes to available seating.

Boarding started right on schedule, with SkyPriority passengers being invited to board first (business class passengers and SkyTeam Elite Plus passengers).

Air France A220 business class cabin & seats

At the forward door, I was greeted by the friendly lead flight attendant. I was happy to be onboard an Airbus A220, one of my favorite commercial aircraft. Air France’s A220-300s are configured with 148 seats, spread across 30 rows, in a 2-3 configuration.

The A220 is just so much better than other narrow body jets when it comes to passenger comfort. In economy, the 2-3 configuration means that only 20% of seats are middle seats (compared to 33% of seats on other jets). Meanwhile in business class, there are still two seats blocked per row, so those seated on the left side get both a window and an aisle seat.

Anyway, the size of business class can change with every flight on these jets, by simply moving the curtain and divider. On this flight, there were five rows of business class, for a total capacity of 14 passengers (since the first row only has seats on the right, and not on the left).

Air France’s A220 seats have 30″ of pitch, 18″ of width, and 3″ of recline. I assigned myself seat 5F, the window seat on the right side, in the last row. As mentioned above, on the right side of the cabin, the center seat is blocked, while on the left side of the cabin, the aisle seat is blocked. So if traveling alone, the ideal situation is to select a seat on the left, so that you’re guaranteed an aisle and a window.

As far as seat features go, this is one of the more amenity-rich narrow body seats you’ll find, which isn’t saying a whole lot. There’s a personal device holder on the seat back, plus USB-A and USB-C outlets, with 60W charging.

The seat back also has a cupholder, which is a handy feature, for situations where you have a drink, but don’t want to use a tray.

Speaking of the tray, it was totally standard and rectangular.

The A220 has modern overhead consoles, with reading lights and individual air nozzles.

There wasn’t much in the way of amenities at seats, though packaged refreshing towels were passed out during boarding.

The product certainly isn’t anything to get excited about, but when you combine the comforts of the A220 with the charging ports and Wi-Fi (more on that below), I’d argue that this is about as good as intra-Europe business class gets. The exception of course is Turkish Airlines, plus a very limited number of jets from Luxair and Bulgaria Air. I’m also a fan of Aegean’s regional business class.

Air France business class entertainment & Wi-Fi

Air France doesn’t offer any seat back or streaming entertainment on its A220, but the airline does offer Wi-Fi. On this flight, Wi-Fi options were as follows:

• There was a complimentary messaging pass, which doesn’t allow sending pictures, videos, or audio
• There was a €12 surfing pass, which allows web surfing, but doesn’t allow streaming of content
• There was a €22 streaming pass, offering the best speeds and fewest limitations

That pricing is definitely on the steep side, given the short flight length. Fortunately since I was connecting from La Premiere (even though it was a few days earlier), Wi-Fi was actually free. That was a pleasant surprise, as I wasn’t expecting that.

Best of all, keep in mind that Air France is soon introducing Starlink Wi-Fi, so that there will be high speed connectivity for all passengers on a complimentary basis.

Air France A220 departure from Paris

This flight was packed, with nearly all seats occupied (though I had a set of three seats to myself). Boarding wrapped up by 3:25PM, at which point the first officer made his welcome aboard announcement, and informed us of our imminent departure.

At 3:30PM the main cabin door closed, with the only empty business class seat being the one across from me. Around this time, the first officer was back on the PA to announce that we’d be delayed by around 10 minutes, to wait for bags to finish being loaded.

That ended up taking a little bit longer than planned, and we ended up pushing back at 3:50PM. At this point, the safety demonstration was performed — there was an audio track with the instructions, and then a manual demonstration in the aisle.

At 3:55PM we began our quick taxi to the departure runway.

Then at 4:05PM we were cleared for takeoff on runway 26R.

We had a powerful takeoff, and a smooth climb out.

Interestingly, the seatbelt sign stayed on for over 15 minutes, which is unusually long on a European carrier, when the ride is smooth.

Air France business class snack & service

As soon as we leveled off, the lead flight attendant passed through the business class cabin with the snack service. I think Air France has the best intra-Europe catering of any major European carrier, and this flight was no exception.

There was no choice of snack on this flight, but rather everyone got the same. This included a lentil, fig, chestnut, and kumquat salad, with butternut squash and orange cream. Then there was a selection of cheese, a bread roll, and a Paris-Brest for dessert.

I appreciate how Air France gives a little menu cards with snacks, so you actually know what you’re getting (many other airlines don’t). Furthermore, as someone who doesn’t eat pork, I like how Air France typically focuses on snacks that most people can eat, as it’s so common to see airlines just give a plate of pork as a snack (which excludes me, plus those who adhere to two major religions).

The flight attendant offered a round of drinks with the snacks, and I ordered a Coke Zero and a sparkling water.

The flight attendant was friendly and attentive, and she made several passes throughout the cabin during the flight. A little later on, I ordered a cup of coffee.

Air France A220 business class lavatory

Another benefit of the A220 is that the lavatory tends to be quite spacious, especially compared to what you’d find on the 737 or A320. While the lavatory wasn’t particularly clean during my visit at the end of the flight, it was a good size.

Air France A220 arrival in Vienna

I spent much of the flight just gazing out the window, as flying over the Alps never gets old. What breathtaking views.

Soon enough, the sun began to set. At 5:10PM, the first officer was back on the PA to announce that we’d be landing in around 25 minutes, at 5:35PM. The seatbelt sign was turned on 10 minutes after that.

As expected, we touched down in Vienna at 5:35PM.

From there we had a five minute taxi to our arrival stand, where we parked next to a Lauda Airbus A320. We arrived at a remote stand, so we had to take a bus to the terminal.

From there I headed into the city for the night, where I’d be staying at the Park Hyatt Vienna, prior to flying Austrian’s 787 business class back to the United States the following day.

Bottom line

Europe is probably the most disappointing region of the world when it comes to the quality of short haul business class. That being said, Air France offers one of the best experiences in the region on its A220s. The plane is a pleasure to fly in general, and on top of that, Air France has power ports, Wi-Fi, good food, and friendly service. I’d pick this over the mainline regional business class offered by any IAG or Lufthansa Group carrier.

What’s your take on Air France’s A220 business class?