Best Ways to Book Air France Business Class with Points and Miles

France has always been a major tourism destination for U.S. citizens, largely for its reputation as a stronghold of art and culture. In particular, the country is believed to have the finest culinary tradition in the world. So, it’s no surprise that Air France, the country’s national airline, provides a refined experience and excellent in-flight dining. In fact, Air France had the seventh-best business-class product in the airline industry, according to a 2024 Skytrax ranking. When flying long-haul in Air France business class, you can expect lie-flat seats, a private desk and dining table, a high-definition entertainment screen, an elegant amenity kit, exquisite meals designed by Michelin-star chefs and more.

However, if you’re looking to book Air France business-class seats with cash, it’s going to come at a high price. Luckily, you also have the option to book Air France business class with points or miles, which means you could experience this excellent product at a very low out-of-pocket cost.

In this article, we’re going to look at some of the best frequent flyer programs through which to book Air France business-class awards. We’ll consider the rates that these programs charge, as well as each program’s transfer partners. We’ll also discuss the amenities you can expect when flying in Air France business class.

What to Expect in Air France Business Class

The different amenities and seat configurations you’ll experience in Air France business class depend on whether you’re flying short-haul, medium-haul or long-haul and the type of aircraft you’re flying on.

Air France operates its long-haul flights using Airbus A330, Airbus A350, Boeing 777 and Boeing 787 aircraft.

Business-class seats on these aircraft provide superior comfort and privacy. Each seat has been ergonomically designed for optimal lumbar support. They’re also quite spacious at ~21 inches wide and recline into a fully-flat bed with a length of ~78 inches. Many of the newer seats are equipped with a sliding door, offering maximum privacy. You can even use a “Do Not Disturb” sign to ensure that flight attendants don’t interrupt you. All business-class passengers on these aircraft (excluding Airbus A330 aircraft) will have direct access to the center lane.

Many long-haul business-class seats are equipped with 4K high-definition entertainment screens and an extensive selection of over 350 movies, songs and podcasts. You’ll also have access to Air France’s in-flight Wi-Fi, which allows you to send messages and surf the internet. Many seats also will have a USB-A port, USB-C port, computer plug and integrated wireless charger to ensure that all of your devices stay charged.

Long-haul business-class seats also have a large cocktail table, which will come in handy when enjoying your in-flight meals. Air France’s in-flight business-class catering was ranked seventh-best in the airline industry by Skytrax.

On long-haul daytime flights, you’ll receive a five-course French meal: aperitif and amuse-bouche, starter, main course, cheese and dessert. When flying out of Paris, Singapore, Canada, the United States, the Caribbean or Reunion Island, you’ll enjoy a menu created by Michelin-star French chefs, including your choice of four different hot entrees (meat, poultry, fish or vegetarian). Your main course will be accompanied by your selection from Air France’s wine list, which was created by master sommelier Xavier Thuizat. All drinks will be served in glassware and meals will be served on elegant porcelain.

On some flights, there will also be a self-service buffet near the front of the cabin. So, if you’re feeling hungry at any point during your flight, you can simply walk up and grab a snack.

All business-class passengers on Air France long-haul flights will receive slippers and an amenity kit, which contains comfortable socks, a pen, a sleep mask, toothpaste and a toothbrush, ear plugs, Clarins moisturizing gel and Clarins radiance-boosting lotion. All of this is encased in an embroidered fabric pouch that’s worth saving.

Air France also offers business class on its short-haul and medium-haul flights, which are operated using Airbus A220, Airbus A318, Airbus A319, Airbus A320, Airbus A321, Embraer 170 and Embraer 190 aircraft. On these short-haul flights, the business-class cabin isn’t nearly as luxurious as on long-haul flights. Nonetheless, you’ll still receive some nice amenities.

Business-class cabins on these flights are at the front of the aircraft, ensuring that you’re the first to board and the first to leave. All Airbus A319, A320 and A321 aircraft feature comfortable leather seats. And the seat next to you will always be empty (except on Embraer aircraft) ensuring that you’ll have plenty of space to stretch out.

Passengers in business class on short-haul flights will receive a gourmet box, which will contain a double sandwich and a dessert or pastry. Business-class passengers on medium-haul flights will receive a delicious cold snack at breakfast with bread and hot pastries. At lunch or dinner, you’ll receive a cold meal designed by renowned chef Michel Roth as well as cheese, dessert and warm bread. All of these meals include your choice of hot drinks, juices, soft drinks, wines and spirits.

Regardless of your aircraft type and whether you’re flying on short-haul, medium-haul or long-haul, business-class passengers (unless you have a Light fare ticket) will have access to Air France Business lounges where available. And, at airports without Air France Business lounges, you’ll be able to visit partner lounges through Air France’s SkyTeam Alliance network.

Finally, all Air France business-class passengers will have access to SkyPriority, which includes baggage check-in and drop-off in dedicated areas, priority security line and immigration clearance, a dedicated line at ticket offices and transfer desks, priority boarding and priority baggage delivery.

Best Programs Through Which to Book Air France Business Class

Because Air France is a member of SkyTeam Alliance, there are several SkyTeam frequent flyer programs through which you can book Air France business-class award flights. Air France also has several non-SkyTeam partners that allow you to book Air France business-class awards through their frequent flyer programs.

In the following sections, we’ll look at some of the best programs through which to book Air France business-class awards, taking into consideration the rates they charge as well as their transfer partners.

Air France-KLM Flying Blue

In many cases, the best frequent flyer program through which to book Air France business-class awards is Air France’s own Flying Blue program, which is also the frequent flyer program of Dutch airline KLM.

Earning miles with the Flying Blue program is very easy, as this program is a 1:1 transfer partner of every major U.S. credit card rewards program, including American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Brex, Capital One Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards and Wells Fargo Rewards. So, if you have a rewards credit card from any major U.S. issuer, you should be able to transfer your points to Flying Blue.

You can find the most widespread Air France business-class award availability through the Flying Blue program. Unfortunately, this program started using a dynamic pricing model for most of its awards years ago, which means that award prices are going to closely mirror cash prices in most cases. However, Flying Blue does still offer some award flights at “saver levels,” which means their prices are fixed and they may offer outsized value.

If you want to maximize the value of your points or miles, the best way to do so is by redeeming them for these saver awards. And, the best way to find saver awards is to leave your travel dates blank when searching for award flights through the Air France or KLM website.

Leaving the dates blank and then clicking the “Search flights” button will trigger the calendar view. Calendar view allows you to see the full month of flights, and on which dates the saver awards are available.

For example, using this technique, we found a round-trip Air France business-class award itinerary between New York (JFK) and Paris (CDG) for 120,000 miles and about $707 in taxes and fees.

If you were to book the exact same flights on the same dates through the Air France website, it would cost you about $2,887.

So, factoring in the $707 in taxes and fees that you’d have to pay for the award flight, this redemption would give you a value of about 1.8 cents per mile, which is decent.

Redeeming Flying Blue miles at saver levels is going to be your best for maximizing the value of your miles. Otherwise, you can expect to get a value of around 1 cent per mile on all Flying Blue redemptions.

In many cases, Flying Blue saver awards may be the best available rate for Air France business-class awards through any frequent flyer program that allows transfers from credit card rewards programs.

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Another program through which you can book Air France business-class award flights at reasonable rates is Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. Unfortunately, finding Air France business-class award availability on transatlantic routes is nearly impossible through this program.

However, if you want to book a short-haul Air France business-class flight, you can often do so through the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club program at a favorable rate.

For instance, we found an Air France business-class award itinerary between Amsterdam (AMS) and Paris (CDG) for 16,000 Virgin points plus about 151 euros (about $169) in taxes and fees.

If you were to book the same flights on the same dates through the Air France website, it would cost you about $503.

Thus, considering the taxes and fees you’d have to pay for the award flight, this redemption would give you a value of about 2.1 cents per point, which is decent.

So, unfortunately, if you’re looking for a transatlantic Air France business-class award, you almost certainly won’t be able to find one through the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club program. However, this program is good for finding short-haul Air France business-class awards at favorable rates.

Plus, the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club program is a 1:1 transfer partner of most of the major U.S. credit card rewards programs, including American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards and Wells Fargo Rewards. This makes Virgin points very easy to earn for U.S. consumers.

Other Frequent Flyer Programs

There are other frequent flyer programs that allow you to book Air France business-class award flights. However, these other programs either don’t offer favorable pricing or they don’t allow transfers from credit card rewards programs.

You can book Air France business-class awards through the Delta SkyMiles program. However, the SkyMiles program uses a dynamic pricing model for all partner award flights, meaning that you won’t be able to find much more than 1 cent per mile in value on these awards. Air France business-class award availability also seems to be scarce through the SkyMiles program, which can make searching for these awards through SkyMiles a time-consuming process.

The Japan Airlines JAL Mileage Bank program prices Air France business-class awards according to a fixed award chart. So, you could potentially get great value per JAL mile by redeeming for these kinds of awards. Unfortunately, the JAL Mileage Plan program is not a transfer partner of any of the major U.S. credit card rewards programs. To make matters worse, this program doesn’t allow you to book Air France award flights online, so you need to call the Japan Airlines customer service phone line. Due to the difficulty of earning JAL miles and booking Air France award flights through this program, this probably isn’t the best program through which to book your Air France business-class award.

The Bottom Line

Overall, Air France offers an excellent business-class product with a focus on in-flight dining, which is unsurprising for the national airline of a country with one of the finest culinary traditions in the world. Air France business-class seats on long-haul flights turn into large lie-flat beds and are equipped with 4K high-definition entertainment monitors, ensuring that your journey will be relaxing and restful. Plus, you’ll receive an amenity kit containing luxurious self-care products. For all of these reasons and more, Air France’s business class was ranked as the seventh-best in the airline industry by Skytrax.

If you want to save money by booking Air France business class with points or miles instead of cash, the best frequent flyer program through which to do so is usually Air France’s own Flying Blue program (which it shares with KLM). This program offers more Air France business-class award availability than any other frequent flyer program. And, if you’re able to find these awards at saver levels, you can often get good value per mile on these redemptions.

Finding Air France business-class awards at favorable rates through other frequent flyer programs can be tough, especially on transatlantic routes. However, if you’re looking for a good deal on a short-haul Air France business-class award, the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is a good place to look.