Air France has revealed the new cabin designs that are to be installed on its entire fleet of Embraer 190s operated by its regional subsidiary HOP! Unveiled at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, Germany, on May 28, 2024, the first of the retrofitted aircraft featuring the new interior will enter service in the autumn of 2024.
The refurbishment program forms just one part of a wider program to upmarket and standardize its product offering across its short and medium-haul route networks, according to the carrier.
With redesigned cabin interiors, each of the 21 Embraer 190s will be equipped with 110 new seats arranged in a 2-2 configuration. Each seat will be upholstered in leather and feature ergonomic foam padding for “enhanced comfort and sustainability”, according to an Air France statement.
The seat, which can recline up to three inches, will have a wide 46 cm seat pan, a tray table, optimized storage space, comfortable removable armrests, and a coat hook. The seat headrest is height-adjustable with adjustable wings.
Positioned at the customer’s eye level, the seats also feature a retractable holder with a ribbed, non-slip surface to securely accommodate a smartphone or tablet integrated into the backrest of each seat. Each seat has USB A and C ports, allowing customers to recharge their personal devices, including laptops. There is also a double cup holder for added convenience.
Meanwhile, business class customers will be seated at the front of the aircraft with a new mobile curtain divider between that cabin and the rest of the plane while from January 2025, each business class passenger will have an empty seat next to them.
Like the carrier’s Airbus A220 fleet, the cabin of the Embraer 190 will feature Air France’s signature colors of shades of blue, with “a strong presence of white providing light and contrast, and touches of red, embodying the airline’s excellence and know-how”.
Each seat will feature a symmetrical stitching pattern accentuated in the center with grey embroidery thread, creating an upholstered effect to maximize comfort. The headrest will also be embroidered with the company’s trademark accent, which also adorns the rear cabin walls of the aircraft. The airline adds that “The carpet revisits the traditional ornamental herringbone pattern, symbolizing the emblematic Haussmann-inspired world of Parisian apartments”.
For the new seating designs, Air France teamed up with French manufacturer Expliseat, working in conjunction with Andrea Mocellin, a designer well-versed in the high-end travel market segment. Made of carbon fiber and titanium, the seat structure is described as “ultra-light, sturdy, and incorporates recycled components and as little plastic as possible”.
Air France advises that each new seat is 30% lighter than those currently in service which helps to reduce the overall weight of the aircraft to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Custom-designed in line with the company’s specifications, the new seats are being manufactured in Angers, France. The refurbishment program for the Embraer 190s will then begin at the HOP! maintenance site in Clermont-Ferrand after the summer 2024 peak has passed.