- During the Skytrax World Airline Awards ceremony held in London last Friday, Air France received numerous accolades for the quality of its services.
- On this occasion, its La Première cabin, launched in spring 2025, was named the world’s best first class.
For the sixth consecutive year, Air France has been voted the best airline in Western Europe. The airline has also, for the first time, received the award for the world’s best first class, a recognition that highlights its new La Première suite, launched in 2025. It has also been honoured for the best dining experience in a first-class lounge and for the best amenity kit offered on board this cabin. Air France also continues to climb the global rankings, moving up one place compared with 2025, from eighth to seventh position.
“From the very start of the new La Première cabin project, we set ourselves a goal: to offer the best first class in the world. An exceptional and entirely new product, true to our heritage and our unique vision of the French art of travel. It took three years of work to design these suites, which feature five windows for the first time and in which every detail has been conceived to offer our customers an experience worthy of a private jet. From arrival at the airport to the final destination, Air France’s La Première is, without a doubt, our ultimate expression of travel, and it is a source of great pride for all our teams that Skytrax has recognised it today with this award. “I would like to thank all the teams who have worked on this project and who bring this handcrafted product to life every day, as well as our customers, who can now enjoy this cabin at more destinations and on board more aircraft,” said Benjamin Smith, CEO of Air France-KLM and Chairman of Air France.
Air France La Première: 70 years of excellence to become the best in the world
To celebrate this prestigious accolade, the result of a vote by travellers from around the world, Air France is presenting a special documentary dedicated to La Première.
Featuring Benjamin Smith, this documentary, which runs for around 35 minutes, offers an immersive look at the airline’s most exclusive travel experience. From arrival at Paris-Charles de Gaulle and the entirely private tour of the airport, to settling into the new La Première suite on board a Boeing 777-300ER, the documentary showcases every stage of the journey and reveals the attention paid to even the smallest details.
The La Première teams and the cabin crew dedicated to this exceptional class of travel share their impressions and anecdotes, whilst showcasing the expertise that has always defined the excellence of this service. Their accounts are enriched by testimonies from French chef Alain Ducasse, who oversees the menu at the La Première lounge at Paris-Charles de Gaulle, and Isabelle d’Ornano, founder of Sisley, a pioneering French brand in phytocosmetology. Two exceptional partners in this travel experience and iconic figures of French luxury.
The documentary also opens the doors to Air France’s archives to trace the journey from the creation of its first first-class service, 70 years ago, to the present day. From the seats of the 1940s to the service launched in the 1950s aboard the ‘Parisien Spécial’ Super Constellation, via the lounges of the Boeing 707 and the iconic red seats of the Boeing 747, these valuable archives bear witness to decades of innovation and elegance. Haute couture uniforms, historic menus and tableware complete this journey through Air France’s heritage.
About the SKYTRAX WORLD AIRLINE AWARDS
Skytrax is an international air transport rating agency which has organised the World Airline Awards – known as the ‘Oscars of aviation’ – since 1999. The winners are selected based on the world’s largest passenger satisfaction survey of airline passengers. The survey, conducted online between September 2025 and August 2026, gathered votes from travellers of over 100 nationalities. In total, 24.8 million valid responses were taken into account to compile the rankings.
Source: AIR FRANCE-KLM Press Office for SPAIN AND PORTUGAL