Air France Continues its Push Into the Premium Market With a New Mattress Pad For Business Class Passengers On Long-Haul Flights

Air France has made no secret of the fact that it views itself as a premium, upmarket airline, and unlike some other flag carriers out there, Air France isn’t just relying on its dying reputation and legacy to make those sort of lofty claims.

In the last few years, Air France has been making real investments to improve the passenger experience, introducing high-end premium cabins, new seats, and an improved ground experience across its network that have already borne fruit and making the airline a real standout amongst European carriers.

For its long-haul Business Class experience (which is the most lucrative cabin for full-service airlines), Air France is now moving on to refining the smaller details that can make a good product not only good but great.

This week, Air France announced it had teamed up with the luxury French hotel brand Sofitel to create a new mattress pad for long-haul Business Class passengers that will be progressively rolled out across the airline’s fleet over the coming months.

A mattress pad (or lack thereof) probably isn’t a deal breaker for the vast majority of Business Class passengers, but when an airline like Air France has invested in installing new suites on its Boeing 777-300 and Airbus A350 aircraft, it makes sense to bring the experience up to the level of the wold’s best airlines.

At the same time, a mattress pad can improve comfort levels on some of the airline’s older planes… a small investment for a potentially big return in customer satisfaction.

The mattress pad has been created as a collaboration with Sofitel through its MY BED top-of-the-line bedding collection and, as you can see from the photos, has various cutouts that might not make much sense.

That’s because a universal mattress pad has been created to fit seats across the Air France fleet, which might have seatbelts and other features that the pad has to adapt to.

Placed on the passenger’s seat when boarding, the mattress pad has a fitted end that fits securely over the headrest, meaning it won’t slip around during the flight and also means that the mattress pad can be used from takeoff to touchdown.

The mattress pad should start appearing on Air France flights in July 2025, although it might take a few months for every flight to get the additional bedding provided.

Once fully rolled out, the mattress pad will become a feature of every long-haul Air France flight in Business Class, no matter what time of day the flight takes off. Unlike some other airlines, however, don’t expect the flight attendants to fit the mattress pad for you or do a turndown service – this still isn’t First Class.

“We are delighted to join forces with the expertise of Sofitel MY BED, an exceptional partner, to continue making Business cabin travel a true haven of well-being in the sky,” explained Fabien Pelous, the airline’s senior vice president of customer experience.

“The introduction of a new mattress pad will further enhance the comfort offered on board, ensuring even more restful nights before arrival at destination, as well as greater relaxation during daytime flights,” Pelous continued.

Along with the mattress pad, passengers will also find a pillow, blanket, and slippers waiting for them at the seat – running the risk of creating a mountain of bedding that passengers then have to try to make room for.

Earlier this year, Air France announced that it had been working with master perfumer Francis Kurkdjian, the creator of the TikTok-famous fragrance Baccarat Rouge 540, to concoct a signature scent for the airline.

Two years in the making, the scent has top notes of musk combined with mimosa, which Air France says adds a “sunny, natural vibrancy” to the scent.

Hidden in the depths of the scent are hints of jasmine and rose, which are designed to take “travelers on a real olfactory journey, capturing a specific moment in time.”

The scent has been called AF001, which is a reference to the airline’s 1970s heyday and the Concorde supersonic flights that used to whisk jet setters from Paris to New York in just three and a half hours.