Air France orchestra chases Lufthansa for business class

The German airline led the way in nurturing an excellent staff orchestra and flying it around the world to new destinations.

Now Air France has set off in pursuit with a film of Stravinsky’s Firebird made with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and conducted by one of its own pilots, Daniel Harding.

The feature film was shot in a hangar at the Paris Charles-de-Gaulle airport, with some stray luggage visible at the periphery.

It’s a decent performance, only slightly pretentious in concept and execution. Airlines are presently in an all-out campaign to upgrade their image in order to attract business-class and first-class passengers.

Harding is music director of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and a part-time Air France pilot.