Air France wins World’s Best First Class

For the sixth consecutive year, Air France was named the Best Airline in Western Europe. The airline also won the World’s Best First Class Airline award for the first time, recognizing its new La Première suite, unveiled in 2025. Air France also received awards for Best First Class Airline Lounge Dining and Best First Class Airline Comfort Amenities. Air France is also continuing to climb the global rankings, moving up one place compared to 2025, from 8th to 7th place.

Benjamin Smith, CEO of Air France-KLM and Chair of the Air France Board of Directors, said: 

“From the very beginning of the new La Première cabin project, we set ourselves one clear objective: to offer the world’s best First Class experience. This is an exceptional and entirely new product, rooted in our heritage and reflecting our unique vision of the French art of travel. It took three years to design these suites, which feature five windows for the very first time. Every detail has been carefully considered to offer our customers an experience worthy of a private jet. From the time they arrive at the airport through to their destination, Air France’s La Première is undoubtedly our highest expression of travel, and it is a great source of pride for all our teams to see it recognized by Skytrax today. I would like to thank all the teams who worked on this project and who bring this exceptional product to life every day, as well as our customers, who can now experience this cabin to more destinations and on more aircraft.”

“Air France La Première: 70 Years of Excellence to Become the World’s Best First class”

To celebrate this prestigious award, the result of votes from travelers around the world, Air France has produced a special documentary dedicated to La Première.

Presented by Benjamin Smith, this nearly 35-minute film takes viewers behind the scenes of the airline’s most exclusive travel experience. From arrival at Paris-Charles de Gaulle and a fully private airport journey to settling into the new La Première suite aboard a Boeing 777-300ER, the documentary reveals every stage of the experience and the meticulous attention to detail behind it.

La Première teams and dedicated cabin crew share their insights and anecdotes, while revealing the expertise and craftsmanship that have long defined the excellence of this service. Their stories are complemented by the insights of renowned French chef Alain Ducasse, who has created the dining menu for the La Première Lounge at Paris-Charles de Gaulle, and Isabelle d’Ornano, founder of Sisley, the pioneering French phytocosmetics brand. Both are exceptional partners in this travel experience and iconic figures of French luxury.

The documentary also opens the doors to the Air France archives, tracing the journey from the creation of the airline’s first First Class service 70 years ago to the present day. From 1940s seats to the service introduced in the 1950s aboard the “Parisien Spécial” Super Constellation, from the lounge area on the

Boeing 707 to the iconic red seats of the Boeing 747, these precious archives bear witness to decades of innovation and elegance. Haute couture uniforms, historic menus and tableware complete this journey through Air France’s heritage.

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