Air France Premium Economy Seat Not Worth the Money, Consumers Claim

Consumers claim that an Air France Premium Economy seat is negligibly larger than the airline’s economy seating, and that the airline employed deceptive marketing and advertising to upcharge for the negligible difference.

On international flights, many consumers’ top priority is room and comfort. These flights are often 10-20 hours long, meaning that consumers need to be as comfortable as possible during the trip. Consumers also look for flights which will make sleeping and relaxing easy.

To market to these consumers, who wanted increased comfort but did not want to pay for a business or first class ticket, Air France developed their Premium Economy cabin with seats offering “40% more space” than economy seats.

“Since 2009, the Premium Economy cabin has been offering customers a new more comfortable way of travelling for business or pleasure at affordable prices, in a separate cabin. The seat offers 40% more space than Economy Class and has won over, close to, 2.5 million customers since its launch,” according to Air France’s promotional materials.

Air France planes contain four separate cabins: first, business, premium economy, and economy. The premium economy cabin contains 28 seats in a 2-4-2 layout. The Air France Premium Economy seat is 19 inches wide and has 38 inches of pitch, referring to the space between the seat and the seat in front of it. For reference, the economy seat is 17 inches wide and has 32 inches of pitch.

However, some consumers claim that the extra size–two inches in width and six inches in pitch–is negligible and does not justify the additional cost. Other consumers argue that the Air France Premium Economy seat is far more uncomfortable than traditional economy seating. Additionally, some consumers report no reclining available, a stark contrast to the full reclining seats often found in business class cabins.

“I would nearly consider Air France’s premium-economy seat less comfortable than an economy seat,” one reviewer states. “I found the seat to be genuinely not comfortable, even though we paid a significant premium over regular economy. In the future, I’d rather save the money (or miles) and go in economy or pay just a bit extra (at least in miles) to snag a lie-flat business-class seat and all the perks that come with that.”

Other consumers claim that the 40 percent extra room promised in an Air France Premium Economy seat marketing was a false number. However, these consumer argue that by advertising their seats as having 40 percent more space than Economy seats, Air France entered into a de facto contract with its customers that they would receive that additional space. By failing to deliver on those claims, they argue, Air France Premium Economy seat sizes allegedly violate that contract.

If you purchased a ticket for an Air France Premium Economy seat, or upgraded to one of the seats, on an intercontinental flight within the last two years, you may qualify for legal action. An Air France Premium Economy seat lawsuit or class action lawsuit may be able to recover compensation for the price of an Air France Premium Economy seat as well as damages.  

Join a Free Air France Premium Economy Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you purchased an Air France Premium Economy ticket or upgraded to Premium Economy while traveling on an intercontinental flight in the last two years, you may qualify to join this Air France lawsuit or class action lawsuit investigation.

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