Air France Will Launch Two New Routes For Summer 2016

– Air France will be enhancing its flight schedule for summer 2016 with two additional routes. Starting from June 2016, Air France will begin service from New York to Paris-Orly, in addition to the four daily frequencies to Paris Charles de Gaulle. Beginning in April 2016, Air France will operate three weekly flights from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport.

A daily service from New York-JFK to Paris-Orly

The daily New York-JFK to Paris-Orly service will be operated by Boeing 777-200, equipped with 309 seats – 35 in Business, 24 in Premium Economy and 250 in Economy.

This route is part of the transatlantic joint venture with Delta and offers customers the possibility of arriving at Paris’ second busiest airport. It also enables passengers to easily connect with Air France’s domestic network on arrival at Paris-Orly.

Flight schedule (in local time)

AF37: Leaves New York-JFK at 18:05, arrives at Paris-Orly at 7:05 the following day;

AF32: Leaves Paris-Orly at 11:00, arrives at New York-JFK at 13:10.

Three weekly services from Paris-Charles de Gaulle to Tehran

Air France is supporting the resumption of commercial exchange with Iran and will serve Tehran from Paris-Charles de Gaulle three times a week (on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday) starting in April 2016.

This route shows Air France’s eagerness to expand in a country with buoyant growth – the European Union is Iran’s fourth most important economic partner.

Flight schedule (in local time)

AF738: Leaves Paris-Charles de Gaulle at 10:30, arrives in Tehran at 18:40;
AF755: Leaves Tehran at 7:15, arrives at Paris-Charles de Gaulle at 10:55.

"With these new route launches, Air France is showing that it is ready to seize all possible profitable development and growth opportunities", said Frédéric Gagey, Chairman and CEO of Air France.

Background of the New York – Paris Route

The route was launched on July 1, 1946, by DC-4. The flight lasted 23 hours 45 minutes and carried 33 passengers on board.

In 1960, Air France served New York from Paris-Orly by Boeing 707 in 8 hours 15 minutes.

In 1970, JFK airport welcomed Air France’s Boeing 747, then the Concorde (1977), a romance that lasted more than 25 years. In 2009, New York was the first to welcome the A380.

Background of the Paris – Tehran Route

On April 29, 1946, Air France launched a scheduled route Paris – Marseille – Tunis – Benghazi - Cairo – Beirut – Baghdad - Tehran, with a flight every two weeks.

The non-stop Paris-Tehran route was suspended in October 2008.

About Air France

Air France, a global airline of French inspiration, with high standards and a caring attitude, turns the flight into a moment of real pleasure on all its daily operations in France, Europe and worldwide.

Since 2004, Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines have formed a global air transport giant with a strong European base. The Group also offers cargo transport and aeronautical maintenance solutions.

Air France-KLM is the leading Group in terms of international traffic on departure from Europe. In 2015, it offers its customers access to a network covering 316 destinations in 115 countries thanks to its four brands Air France, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Transavia and HOP! Air France. With a fleet of 546 aircraft in operation and 87.4 million passengers carried in 2014, Air France-KLM operates up to 2,200 daily flights from its hubs at Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam-Schiphol.

Its Flying Blue frequent flyer programme is one of the leaders in Europe with over 25 million members.

Air France-KLM and its partners Delta Air Lines and Alitalia operate the biggest trans-Atlantic joint-venture with over 250 daily flights.

Air France-KLM is also a member of the SkyTeam alliance which has 20 member airlines, offering customers access to a global network of over 16,320 daily flights to 1,052 destinations in 177 countries.