Air France Unveils Luxury La Première Suite Experience on Cannes Beach

Walking past the Hôtel Martinez, one might think they are passing a film set. After all, there will be first class service planted in the sand.

But it’s Air France that will be making waves, recreating its new La Première experience on the beach.

There will be a 14-foot-long, fully immersive mock-up of the plane’s first class suite for guests to experience the luxury bubble. In the air, the suite comes with a reclining sofa bed and five windows. On the ground, it’s a great background for a selfie.

“The weight of the La Première cabin recreated on our beach is about one ton. You can imagine that is not that easy to install on the sand,” said Air France director of client experience Fabien Pelous. “It’s a technical feat to install something like this directly on the beach. It’s about allowing people to physically step into the experience.”

The airline has recently redesigned its lounges in Los Angeles and San Francisco, with New York slated soon. Each will have dedicated La Première areas. There’s also a private lounge in Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport, a luxury space that made its screen debut on an episode of “Emily in Paris.” That lounge offers a private entrance, security area and car service for an “end-to-end luxury experience.”

“It’s definitely part of our moving upmarket strategy,” Pelous said. Other moves include enlisting Simon Porte Jacquemus as its first designer to create loungewear and pajamas for its first-class La Première passengers.

The installation also coincides with the airline’s launch of an L.A. to Nice direct flight that will only take place during the film festival.

“We created this special flight because we have a lot of direct demand, especially from Los Angeles,” Pelous said. “It’s also a way to make a bridge between Los Angeles, an important city of cinema, and Cannes during the festival.”

To play in the plane, guests can reserve for lunch complete with a ticket to test the seat. They’ll also have access to the sunbeds and an adaptation of a La Première lounge with its new colors and atmosphere. The bar will feature the same wines available in La Première.

Private dinners will be held throughout the festival, courtesy of Michelin chef Emmanuel Renaut, who has put his signature on the La Première in flight menus.

The airline has long been a partner of the festival. Pelous said that there are a lot of synergies between the two industries, adding: “We are a fantastic movie theater with 38,000 screens in the sky every day.”