Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the
flag carrier of
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
headquartered in
Tremblay-en-France
Tremblay-en-France (; ) is a commune in the north-eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris.
More than one-quarter of Charles de Gaulle Airport lies within the territory of the commune of Tremblay-en-France, in p ...
. It is a subsidiary of the
Air France–KLM
Air France–KLM S.A., also known as Air France–KLM Group, is a Franco-Dutch airline holding company incorporated under French law with its headquarters at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Tremblay-en-France, near Paris. The group has offices in ...
Group and a founding member of the
SkyTeam
SkyTeam is one of the world's three major airline alliances. Founded in June 2000, SkyTeam was the last of the three alliances to be formed, the first two being Star Alliance and Oneworld, respectively. Its annual passenger count is 630 million ...
global airline alliance. , Air France serves 36 destinations in France and operates worldwide scheduled passenger and cargo services to 175 destinations in 78 countries (93 including
overseas departments and territories of France
Overseas France (french: France d'outre-mer) consists of 13 French-administered territories outside Europe, mostly the remains of the French colonial empire that chose to remain a part of the French state under various statuses after decolon ...
) and also carried 46,803,000 passengers in 2019. The airline's global
hub is at
Charles de Gaulle Airport
Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (french: Aéroport de Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle, ), also known as Roissy Airport or simply Paris CDG, is the principal airport serving the French capital, Paris ( and its metropolitan area), and the largest intern ...
with
Orly Airport as the primary domestic hub. Air France's
corporate headquarters
Corporate headquarters is the part of a corporate structure that deals with important tasks such as strategic planning, corporate communications, taxes, law, books of record, marketing, finance, human resources, and information technology. Corpor ...
, previously in
Montparnasse, Paris, are located on the grounds of
Charles de Gaulle Airport
Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (french: Aéroport de Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle, ), also known as Roissy Airport or simply Paris CDG, is the principal airport serving the French capital, Paris ( and its metropolitan area), and the largest intern ...
, north of Paris.
Air France was formed on 7 October 1933 from a merger of
Air Orient,
Air Union
Air Union was a French airline established January 1, 1923, as the result of a merger between the airlines ''Compagnie des Messageries Aériennes'' and '' Compagnie des Grands Express Aériens''. Air Union was merged with four other French airli ...
,
Compagnie Générale Aéropostale,
Compagnie Internationale de Navigation Aérienne
CFRNA ("The French-Romanian Company for Air Transport"; french: Compagnie franco-roumaine de navigation aérienne; ro, Compania franco-română de navigație aeriană) was a French–Romanian airline, founded on 1 January 1920. Its name changed ...
(CIDNA), and
Société Générale de Transport Aérien (SGTA). During the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
, from 1950 until 1990, it was one of the three main
Allied
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
scheduled airlines operating in Germany at
West Berlin
West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...
's
Tempelhof and
Tegel
Tegel () is a locality (''Ortsteil'') in the Berlin borough of Reinickendorf on the shore of Lake Tegel. The Tegel locality, the second largest in area (after Köpenick) of the 96 Berlin districts, also includes the neighbourhood of ''Saatwinkel'' ...
airports. In 1990, it acquired the operations of French domestic carrier
Air Inter and international rival UTA –
Union de Transports Aériens. It served as France's primary national
flag carrier for seven decades prior to its 2003
merger
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...
with
KLM
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, legally ''Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V.'' (literal translation: Royal Aviation Company Plc.), is the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands. KLM is headquartered in Amstelveen, with its hub at nearby Amste ...
.
In 2018, Air France and its
regional subsidiary
Hop
A hop is a type of jump.
Hop or hops may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Hop'' (film), a 2011 film
* Hop! Channel, an Israeli TV channel
* ''House of Payne'', or ''HOP'', an American sitcom
* Lindy Hop, a swing dance of the 1920s and ...
carried 51.4 million passengers. Air France operates a mixed fleet of
Airbus
Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European Multinational corporation, multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace manufacturer, aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft througho ...
and
Boeing
The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...
widebody
A wide-body aircraft, also known as a twin-aisle aircraft, is an airliner with a fuselage wide enough to accommodate two passenger aisles with seven or more seats abreast. The typical fuselage diameter is . In the typical wide-body economy cabin ...
jets on long-haul routes, and uses
Airbus A320 family
The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus.
The A320 was launched in March 1984, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France.
The first member of the famil ...
aircraft on short-haul routes. Air France introduced the
A380
The Airbus A380 is a large wide-body airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and only full-length double-deck jet airliner.
Airbus studies started in 1988, and the project was annou ...
on 20 November 2009 with service to New York City's JFK Airport from Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport. Air France Hop (formerly HOP!) operates the majority of its regional domestic and European scheduled services with a fleet of
regional jet aircraft.
History
Formation and early years
Air France was formed on 7 October 1933, from a merger of
Air Orient,
Air Union
Air Union was a French airline established January 1, 1923, as the result of a merger between the airlines ''Compagnie des Messageries Aériennes'' and '' Compagnie des Grands Express Aériens''. Air Union was merged with four other French airli ...
,
Compagnie Générale Aéropostale,
Compagnie Internationale de Navigation Aérienne
CFRNA ("The French-Romanian Company for Air Transport"; french: Compagnie franco-roumaine de navigation aérienne; ro, Compania franco-română de navigație aeriană) was a French–Romanian airline, founded on 1 January 1920. Its name changed ...
(CIDNA) and
Société Générale des Transports Aériens (SGTA). Of these airlines, SGTA was the first commercial airline company in France, having been founded as Lignes Aériennes Farman in 1919. The constituent members of Air France had already built extensive networks across Europe, to
French colonies in North Africa and farther afield. During World War II, Air France moved its operations to
Casablanca
Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...
(Morocco).
In 1936, Air France added French-built twin engine
Potez 62 aircraft to its fleet featuring a two compartment cabin that could accommodate 14 to 16 passengers. A high wing monoplane, it had a wooden fuselage with composite coating while the wings were fabric covered with a metal leading edge. Equipped with Hispano-Suiza V-engines, they were used on routes in Europe, South America and the Far East. Although cruising at only 175 miles per hour, the Potez 62 was a robust and reliable workhorse for Air France and remained in service until the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
with one used by the
Free French Air Force.
![Douglas C-47A F-BAXP AF RWY 06](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Douglas_C-47A_F-BAXP_AF_RWY_06.07.52_edited-2.jpg)
On 26 June 1945 all of France's
air transport
Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...
companies were
nationalised
Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...
. On 29 December 1945, a decree of the
French Government
The Government of France ( French: ''Gouvernement français''), officially the Government of the French Republic (''Gouvernement de la République française'' ), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister, who ...
granted Air France the management of the entire French air transport network. Air France appointed its first
flight attendant
A flight attendant, also known as steward/stewardess or air host/air hostess, is a member of the aircrew aboard commercial flights, many business jets and some government aircraft. Collectively called cabin crew, flight attendants are prima ...
s in 1946. The same year the airline opened its first air terminal at
Les Invalides
The Hôtel des Invalides ( en, "house of invalids"), commonly called Les Invalides (), is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as ...
in central Paris. It was linked to
Paris Le Bourget Airport
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
, Air France's first operations and engineering base, by coach. At that time the network covered 160,000 km, claimed to be the longest in the world.
Société Nationale Air France was set up on 1 January 1946.
European schedules were initially operated by a fleet of
Douglas DC-3
The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner
manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II.
It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...
aircraft. On 1 July 1946, Air France started direct flights between Paris and New York via refuelling stops at
Shannon and
Gander.
Douglas DC-4
The Douglas DC-4 is an American four-engined (piston), propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Military versions of the plane, the C-54 and R5D, served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s ...
piston
A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, reciprocating pumps, gas compressors, hydraulic cylinders and pneumatic cylinders, among other similar mechanisms. It is the moving component that is contained by a cylinder and is made gas-tig ...
-engine
airliner
An airliner is a type of aircraft for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an ...
s covered the route in just under 20 hours.
In September 1947 Air France's network stretched east from New York, Fort de France and Buenos Aires to Shanghai.
![Lockheed L1049 F-BGNG Air France LAP 08](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Lockheed_L1049_F-BGNG_Air_France_LAP_08.04.55_edited-2.jpg)
By 1948 Air France operated 130 aircraft, one of the largest fleets in the world.
Between 1947 and 1965 the airline operated
Lockheed Constellations on passenger and cargo services worldwide. In 1946 and 1948, respectively, the French government authorised the creation of two private airlines:
Transports Aériens Internationaux – later
Transports Aériens Intercontinentaux
Transports Aériens Intercontinentaux was a private French airline, based at Orly Airport, Paris. In 1963, it was merged with Union Aéromaritime de Transport on 1 October 1963 to form UTA French Airlines.
Operations
In the early 1950s its ro ...
– (TAI) and SATI. In 1949 the latter became part of
Union Aéromaritime de Transport (UAT), a private French international airline.
Compagnie Nationale Air France was created by
act of parliament
Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...
on 16 June 1948. Initially, the government held 70%. In subsequent years the
French state
Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...
's direct and indirect shareholdings reached almost 100%. In mid-2002 the state held 54%.
On 4 August 1948
Max Hymans
Max Hymans (March 2, 1900 in Paris – March 7, 1961 in Saint-Cloud), was a notable leftist French politician, member of the resistance, and director of Air France from 1948 to 1961.
Biography
Max Hymans was born is Paris on the March ...
was appointed the president. During his 13-year
tenure he would implement modernisation practices centred on the introduction of
jet aircraft
A jet aircraft (or simply jet) is an aircraft (nearly always a fixed-wing aircraft) propelled by jet engines.
Whereas the engines in propeller-powered aircraft generally achieve their maximum efficiency at much lower speeds and altitudes, je ...
. In 1949 the company became a co-founder of
Société Internationale de Télécommunications Aéronautiques (SITA), an airline telecommunications services company.
Jet age reorganisation
![Lockheed Constellation, Air France](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Air_France%2C_Sud-Est_SE-161_Languedoc.jpg)
In 1952 Air France moved its operations and engineering base to the new
Orly Airport South terminal. By then the network covered 250,000 km.
Air France entered the jet age in August 1953, flying the original, short-lived
de Havilland Comet
The de Havilland DH.106 Comet was the world's first commercial jet airliner. Developed and manufactured by de Havilland in the United Kingdom, the Comet 1 prototype first flew in 1949. It featured an aerodynamically clean design with four d ...
series 1A Paris-Rome-Beirut.
In the mid-1950s it also operated the
Vickers Viscount
The Vickers Viscount is a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner.
The Visc ...
turboprop, with twelve entering service between May 1953 and August 1954 on the European routes. On 26 September 1953 the government instructed Air France to share long-distance routes with new private airlines. This was followed by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport's imposition of an
accord
Accord may refer to:
Businesses and products
* Honda Accord, a car manufactured by the Honda Motor Company
* Accord (cigarette), a brand of Rothmans, Benson & Hedges
* Accord (company), a former public services provider in south England
* Accord H ...
on Air France,
Aigle Azur
Aigle Azur was a French airline based and headquartered at Paris Orly Airport. The airline operated scheduled flights from France to 21 destinations across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, with a fleet of Airbus A320 family and A330 aircraft ...
,
TAI
Tai or TAI may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*Tai (comics) a fictional Marvel Comics supervillain
*Tai Fraiser, a fictional character in the 1995 film ''Clueless''
*Tai Kamiya, a fictional character in ''Digimon''
Businesses and organisations ...
and
UAT, under which some routes to Africa, Asia and the Pacific region were transferred to private carriers.
On 23 February 1960, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport transferred Air France's domestic monopoly to Air Inter. To compensate for the loss of its domestic network Air France was given a stake in Air Inter. The following day Air France was instructed to share African routes with
Air Afrique and
UAT.
The airline started uninterrupted
jet
Jet, Jets, or The Jet(s) may refer to:
Aerospace
* Jet aircraft, an aircraft propelled by jet engines
** Jet airliner
** Jet engine
** Jet fuel
* Jet Airways, an Indian airline
* Wind Jet (ICAO: JET), an Italian airline
* Journey to Enceladus a ...
operations in 1960 with the
Sud Aviation Caravelle
The Sud Aviation SE 210 Caravelle is a French jet airliner produced by Sud Aviation.
It was developed by SNCASE in the early 1950s and made its maiden flight on 27 May 1955.
It included some de Havilland designs and components developed for t ...
and the
Boeing 707
The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20, ...
;
jet airliners cut travel times in half and improved comfort.
Air France later became an early
Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022.
After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...
operator and eventually had one of the world's largest
Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022.
After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...
fleets.
![Air France Caravelle Gilliand](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Air_France_Caravelle_Gilliand.jpg)
On 1 February 1963 the government formalised division of routes between Air France and its
private sector
The private sector is the part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government.
Employment
The ...
rivals. Air France was to withdraw services to West Africa (except
Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
), Central Africa (except
Burundi
Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...
and
Rwanda
Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...
), Southern Africa (including
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
),
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
in North Africa,
Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
and
Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...
in the Middle East, Sri Lanka (then known as
Ceylon
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
) in South Asia, Indonesia,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
and Singapore in Southeast Asia, Australia,
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
as well as
New Caledonia
)
, anthem = ""
, image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg
, map_alt = Location of New Caledonia
, map_caption = Location of New Caledonia
, mapsize = 290px
, subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...
and
Tahiti
Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...
. These routes were allocated to the new
Union de Transports Aériens (UTA), a new private airline resulting from the merger of TAI and UAT. UTA also got exclusive rights between Japan,
New Caledonia
)
, anthem = ""
, image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg
, map_alt = Location of New Caledonia
, map_caption = Location of New Caledonia
, mapsize = 290px
, subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...
and
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, South Africa and
Réunion
Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island ...
island in the Indian Ocean, as well as Los Angeles and Tahiti.
In 1974 Air France began shifting the bulk of operations to the new Charles de Gaulle Airport north of Paris. By the early 1980s, only
Corsica
Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...
, Martinique,
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the ...
, most services to
French Guiana
French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...
, Réunion, the
Maghreb
The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...
region, Eastern Europe (except the
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
), Southern Europe (except
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
and Italy), and one daily service to New York (JFK) remained at Orly. In 1974, Air France also became the world's first operator of the
Airbus A300 twin-engine
widebody
A wide-body aircraft, also known as a twin-aisle aircraft, is an airliner with a fuselage wide enough to accommodate two passenger aisles with seven or more seats abreast. The typical fuselage diameter is . In the typical wide-body economy cabin ...
plane,
Airbus Industrie's first commercial airliner for which it was a launch customer.
Concorde service and rivalry
![Air France Concorde Jonsson](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Air_France_Concorde_Jonsson.jpg)
On 21 January 1976, Air France operated its inaugural
supersonic
Supersonic speed is the speed of an object that exceeds the speed of sound ( Mach 1). For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C (68 °F) at sea level, this speed is approximately . Speeds greater than five times ...
transport (SST) service on the Paris (Charles de Gaulle) to
Rio
Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil.
Rio or Río may also refer to:
Geography Brazil
* Rio de Janeiro
* Rio do Sul, a ...
(via
Dakar
Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...
) route with
Anglo-French BAC-Aérospatiale Concorde F-BVFA. Supersonic services from Paris (CDG) to
Washington Dulles International Airport
Washington Dulles International Airport , typically referred to as Dulles International Airport, Dulles Airport, Washington Dulles, or simply Dulles ( ), is an international airport in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Eastern United States, loc ...
began on 24 May 1976, also with F-BVFA. Service to
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
(JFK) – the only remaining Concorde service until its end – commenced on 22 November 1977. Paris to New York was flown in 3 hours 23 minutes, at about twice the
speed of sound
The speed of sound is the distance travelled per unit of time by a sound wave as it propagates through an elastic medium. At , the speed of sound in air is about , or one kilometre in or one mile in . It depends strongly on temperature as w ...
. Approval for flights to the United States was initially withheld due to noise protests. Eventually, services to
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
via Washington, D.C. were started. Air France became one of only two airlines –
British Airways
British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a populati ...
being the other – to regularly operate supersonic services, and continued daily transatlantic Concorde service until late May 2003.
By 1983, Air France's
golden jubilee
A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations.
Bangladesh
In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali ''"সু ...
, the workforce numbered more than 34,000, its fleet about 100
jet aircraft
A jet aircraft (or simply jet) is an aircraft (nearly always a fixed-wing aircraft) propelled by jet engines.
Whereas the engines in propeller-powered aircraft generally achieve their maximum efficiency at much lower speeds and altitudes, je ...
(including 33
Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022.
After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...
s) and its 634,400 km network served 150 destinations in 73 countries. This made Air France the fourth-largest scheduled passenger airline in the world, as well as the second-largest scheduled freight carrier.
Air France also codeshared with regional French airlines,
TAT being the most prominent. TAT would later operate several regional international routes on behalf of Air France.
In 1983 Air France began passenger flights to
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
, being the first European airline to do so.
In 1986 the government relaxed its policy of dividing traffic rights for scheduled services between Air France, Air Inter and UTA, without route overlaps between them. The decision opened some of Air France's most lucrative routes on which it had enjoyed a government-sanctioned monopoly since 1963 and which were within its exclusive sphere of influence, to rival airlines, notably UTA. The changes enabled UTA to launch scheduled services to new destinations within Air France's sphere, in competition with that airline.
![Air France Boeing 747-100 Gilliand](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Air_France_Boeing_747-100_Gilliand.jpg)
Paris-San Francisco became the first route UTA served in competition with Air France non-stop from Paris. Air France responded by extending some non-stop Paris-Los Angeles services to
Papeete
Papeete (Tahitian language, Tahitian: ''Papeete'', pronounced ) is the capital city of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of the France, French Republic in the Pacific Ocean. The Communes of France, commune of Papeete is located on the isl ...
, Tahiti, which competed with UTA on Los Angeles-Papeete. UTA's ability to secure traffic rights outside its traditional sphere in competition with Air France was the result of a campaign to
lobby
Lobby may refer to:
* Lobby (room), an entranceway or foyer in a building
* Lobbying, the action or the group used to influence a viewpoint to politicians
:* Lobbying in the United States, specific to the United States
* Lobby (food), a thick stew ...
the government to enable it to grow faster, becoming more dynamic and more
profitable. This infuriated Air France.
In 1987 Air France together with
Lufthansa
Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...
,
Iberia
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
and
SAS
SAS or Sas may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''SAS'' (novel series), a French book series by Gérard de Villiers
* ''Shimmer and Shine'', an American animated children's television series
* Southern All Stars, a Japanese rock ba ...
founded
Amadeus
Amadeus may refer to:
*Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), prolific and influential composer of classical music
*Amadeus (name), a given name and people with the name
* ''Amadeus'' (play), 1979 stage play by Peter Shaffer
* ''Amadeus'' (film), ...
, an IT company (also known as a
GDS) that would enable travel agencies to sell the founders and other airlines' products from a single system.
In 1988, Air France was a launch customer for the
fly-by-wire
Fly-by-wire (FBW) is a system that replaces the conventional manual flight controls of an aircraft with an electronic interface. The movements of flight controls are converted to electronic signals transmitted by wires, and flight control co ...
(FBW) A320
narrowbody
A narrow-body aircraft or single-aisle aircraft is an airliner arranged along a single aisle, permitting up to 6-abreast seating in a cabin less than in width.
In contrast, a wide-body aircraft is a larger airliner usually configured with mult ...
twin, along with Air Inter and
British Caledonian. It became the first airline to take delivery of the
A320
The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus.
The A320 was launched in March 1984, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France.
The first member of the famil ...
in March 1988, and along with Air Inter became the first airlines to introduce Airbus A320 service on short-haul routes.
Acquisitions and privatisation
![Air Inter Dassault Mercure 100 Alain Durand](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Air_Inter_Dassault_Mercure_100_Alain_Durand.jpg)
On 12 January 1990, the operations of government-owned Air France, semi-public Air Inter and wholly private
Union de Transports Aériens (UTA) were merged into an enlarged Air France.
Air France's acquisition of UTA and Air Inter was part of an early 1990s government plan to create a unified,
national air carrier with the
economies of scale
In microeconomics, economies of scale are the cost advantages that enterprises obtain due to their scale of operation, and are typically measured by the amount of output produced per unit of time. A decrease in cost per unit of output enables ...
and global reach to counter potential threats from the
liberalisation
Liberalization or liberalisation (British English) is a broad term that refers to the practice of making laws, systems, or opinions less severe, usually in the sense of eliminating certain government regulations or restrictions. The term is used m ...
of the EU's internal air transport market.
On 25 July 1994, a new holding company, Groupe Air France, was set up by decree. Groupe Air France became operational on 1 September 1994. It acquired the Air France group's majority shareholdings in Air France and Air Inter (subsequently renamed Air Inter Europe). On 31 August 1994,
Stephen Wolf
Stephen M. Wolf (born 1941, California) assumed his current position as chairman of R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company in March 2004. He has been the managing partner of Alpilles, LLC, since April 1, 2003. In April 2009 he became chairman of Trilan ...
, a former
United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois. CEO, was appointed adviser to the Air France group's chairman
Christian Blanc
Christian Blanc (born 17 May 1942) is a French politician and businessman. A former prefect, Blanc also worked as head of the RATP (1989-1992), Air France (1993-1997) and Merrill Lynch France (2000-2002).
Blanc was elected to the National Ass ...
. Wolf was credited with the introduction of Air France's
hub and spoke
A hub is the central part of a wheel that connects the axle to the wheel itself.
Hub, The Hub, or hubs may refer to:
Geography Pakistan
* Hub Tehsil, Balochistan, an administrative division
** Hub, Balochistan, capital city of the tehsil
* Hub ...
operation at Paris Charles de Gaulle. (Wolf resigned in 1996 to take over as CEO at
US Airways
US Airways (formerly USAir) was a major United States airline that operated from 1937 until its merger with American Airlines in 2015. It was originally founded in History of aviation in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called ...
.)
In 1997, Air France Europe was absorbed into Air France. On 19 February 1999, French Prime Minister
Lionel Jospin's
Plural Left
The Gauche Plurielle (French for ''Plural Left'') was a left-wing coalition in France, composed of the Socialist Party (''Parti socialiste'' or PS), the French Communist Party (''Parti communiste français'' or PCF), the Greens, the Left Radi ...
government approved Air France's partial
privatisation
Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...
. Its
shares
In financial markets, a share is a unit of equity ownership in the capital stock of a corporation, and can refer to units of mutual funds, limited partnerships, and real estate investment trusts. Share capital refers to all of the shares of an ...
were listed on the Paris
stock exchange
A stock exchange, securities exchange, or bourse is an exchange where stockbrokers and traders can buy and sell securities, such as shares of stock, bonds and other financial instruments. Stock exchanges may also provide facilities for th ...
on 22 February 1999. In June 1999, Air France and
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...
formed a bilateral
transatlantic
Transatlantic, Trans-Atlantic or TransAtlantic may refer to:
Film
* Transatlantic Pictures, a film production company from 1948 to 1950
* Transatlantic Enterprises, an American production company in the late 1970s
* ''Transatlantic'' (1931 film), ...
partnership
A partnership is an arrangement where parties, known as business partners, agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments o ...
. On 22 June 2000, this expanded into the
SkyTeam
SkyTeam is one of the world's three major airline alliances. Founded in June 2000, SkyTeam was the last of the three alliances to be formed, the first two being Star Alliance and Oneworld, respectively. Its annual passenger count is 630 million ...
global
airline alliance
An airline alliance is an aviation industry arrangement between two or more airlines agreeing to cooperate on a substantial level. Alliances may provide marketing branding to facilitate travelers making inter-airline codeshare connections within c ...
.
Air France–KLM merger
![Air France & KLM vertical stabilizers](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Air_France_%26_KLM_vertical_stabilizers.jpg)
On 30 September 2003, Air France and
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
-based
KLM
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, legally ''Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V.'' (literal translation: Royal Aviation Company Plc.), is the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands. KLM is headquartered in Amstelveen, with its hub at nearby Amste ...
Royal Dutch Airlines announced the merger of the two airlines, the new company to be known as Air France–KLM. The merger became reality on 5 May 2004. At that point former Air France shareholders owned 81% of the new firm (44% owned by the French state, 37% by private shareholders), former KLM shareholders the rest. The decision of the
Jean-Pierre Raffarin
Jean-Pierre Raffarin (; born 3 August 1948) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 6 May 2002 to 31 May 2005.
He resigned after France's rejection of the referendum on the European Union draft constitution. Howeve ...
government to reduce the French state's shareholding in the former Air France group from 54.4% to 44% of the newly created Air France–KLM Group effectively privatised the new airline. In December 2004 the state sold 18.4% of its equity in Air France–KLM. The state's shareholding in Air France–KLM subsequently fell to just under 20%.
Air France–KLM became the largest airline in the world in terms of operating
revenue
In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of goods and services related to the primary operations of the business.
Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some companies receive reven ...
s, and third-largest (largest in Europe) in passenger kilometres.
Although owned by a single company, Air France and KLM continued to fly under their own
brand names. Air France–KLM remained part of the SkyTeam alliance, which then included
Aeroflot
PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (russian: ПАО "Аэрофло́т — Росси́йские авиали́нии", ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; russian: Аэрофлот, , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. The ...
,
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...
,
Aeroméxico,
Korean Air,
Czech Airlines
Czech Airlines j.s.c. (abbreviation: ČSA, cz, České Aerolinie, a.s.) is the flag carrier of the Czech Republic. Its head office is located in the Vokovice area of Prague's 6th district and its hub is Václav Havel Airport Prague. The compa ...
,
Alitalia,
Northwest Airlines,
China Southern Airlines,
Air Europa,
Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines, simply known as Continental, was a major United States airline founded in 1934 and eventually headquartered in Houston, Texas. It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers.
Continental started o ...
, Garuda Indonesia, Vietnam Airlines and Saudi Arabian Airlines. As of March 2004, the group employed 71,654 people. As of March 2007, the group employed 102,422 personnel.
Open Skies venture
On 17 October 2007, the creation of a profit and revenue-sharing transatlantic joint venture between Air France-KLM and Delta Air Lines was announced during a press conference at Air France-KLM's headquarters. The venture became effective on 29 March 2008. It aimed to exploit transatlantic opportunities to capture a major share of long-haul business traffic from London Heathrow Airport, which opened to unrestricted competition on that day as a result of the "Open Skies" Treaty, pact between the EU and US. It was envisaged that Air France and Delta Air Lines, Delta would begin nine daily round trips between London-Heathrow and destinations in the US, including a daily London (Heathrow) to Los Angeles service by Air France. Once the new Air France-Delta venture received United States antitrust law, antitrust immunity, it was to be extended to the other two transatlantic SkyTeam partners, enabling all four partners to codeshare flights as well as to share revenue and profit.
The new transatlantic joint venture marks the Air France-KLM Group's second major expansion in the London market, following the launch of CityJet-operated short-haul services from London City Airport that have been aimed at business travellers in the City of London, City's financial services industry.
However, the daily London (Heathrow) to Los Angeles service was not as successful as hoped, and was discontinued in November 2008.
2010s
On 12 January 2012, Air France-KLM announced a three-year transformation plan, called Transform 2015, to restore profitability. The plan was to restore competitiveness through cost-cutting, restructuring the short- and medium-haul operations and rapidly reducing debt. The main objective of this plan was to turn Air France-KLM back into a world player by 2015. Air France had been losing 700 million euros a year. As the financial results of 2011 demonstrated, the long-haul operations, also subject to increasing competition, would not be able to offset these losses. On 22 February 2012, Air France released its plan for the summer schedule. Because of the uncertain economic environment, Air France-KLM set a limit of 1.4% maximum increase in capacity from 25 March 2012 – 28 October 2012.
On 21 June 2012, Air France-KLM had announced its decision to cut just under 10% of the total 53,000 workforce (about 5,000 jobs) by the end of 2013 in an attempt to restore profitability. The airline expected to lose 1,700 jobs through natural turnover and the rest by voluntary redundancies. As of August 2012, the Transform 2015 plan was accepted by ground staff and pilot unions but rejected by cabin crew unions.
![Air France - Boeing 777-228ER - F-GSPO (Quintin Soloviev)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/Air_France_-_Boeing_777-228ER_-_F-GSPO_%28Quintin_Soloviev%29.jpg)
At the beginning of July 2012, it was announced that Air France-KLM found partners for the new African start-up airline Air France, which was co-founded by six countries in Central Africa to replace the former
Air Afrique. But several problems and two partners, who decided to back out, delayed the implementation of the project. Following its launch, Air France announced it would commence operations in 2013.
In September 2013, Air France introduced a brand new Economy product along with an improved Premium Economy seat and service. It is expected that the new improvements would be fitted on aircraft from June 2014 onwards.
In October 2013, Air France-KLM announced it was writing off the 25% stake in Alitalia, as it was hesitant the struggling carrier would obtain the 300 million euros in financing. The group has denied Alitalia of additional funds as it is currently struggling to restructure itself to profitability with the Transform 2015 plan.
In December 2013, Air France announced that Cityjet no longer meets the short haul needs of the group and is in the process of closing a deal with German firm Intro Aviation by the end of Q1 of 2014.
In 2014, the airline was targeted by a negative publicity campaign, spearheaded by PETA, for being the only major airline that permits the transport of primates for research.
In 2022, the airline announced it would stop transporting nonhuman primates.
On 4 February 2014, the new business product was unveiled, featuring a fully flat bed from Zodiac Aerospace. The seat was fitted on Boeing 777 aircraft from June 2014 onwards. In September 2014, Air France announced it would sell a 3 percent stake in travel technology company Amadeus IT Group for $438 million.
Late in 2015, Air France faced a financial crisis, which was exacerbated by a pilot's strike against the airline. The airline answered the strike by announcing it would cut some 2,900 jobs. In December 2015, Air France announced the retirement of its last Boeing 747-400 with a special scenic flight on 14 January 2016. The airline operated the 747 in several variants since 1970.
In January 2017, Air France received its first Boeing 787–9. In November, CityJet no longer operated on Air France flights and the affected destinations were served by Air France and HOP! from then on.
In July 2017, Air France-KLM entered into a multi-airline strategic partnership with
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...
, China Eastern Airlines and Virgin Atlantic, solidifying the existing ties between the carriers. Under the agreement Delta and China Eastern would each buy 10% of Air France-KLM, while Air France-KLM would buy 31% of Virgin Atlantic. In December 2019, the purchase of Virgin Atlantic was cancelled.
Air France announced it would terminate services to Iran from September 2018, explaining the concern that the route to Iran is no longer commercially viable due to the redefined United States sanctions against Iran, US sanctions.
Corporate affairs and identity
Head office
Air France's head office is located in the Roissypôle complex on the grounds of
Charles de Gaulle Airport
Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (french: Aéroport de Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle, ), also known as Roissy Airport or simply Paris CDG, is the principal airport serving the French capital, Paris ( and its metropolitan area), and the largest intern ...
and in the commune of
Tremblay-en-France
Tremblay-en-France (; ) is a commune in the north-eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris.
More than one-quarter of Charles de Gaulle Airport lies within the territory of the commune of Tremblay-en-France, in p ...
, Seine-Saint-Denis, near the city of Paris.
[AIR FRANCE HEAD QUARTERS – Roissypôle]
" Groupement d'Etudes et de Méthodes d'Ordonnancement (GEMO). Retrieved on 20 September 2009. Wil S. Hylton of ''The New York Times'' described the facility as "a huge white box that squats near the runways at Charles de Gaulle Airport."
The complex was completed in December 1995. The French firm Groupement d'Etudes et de Méthodes d'Ordonnancement (GEMO) managed the project. The architect was Valode & Pistre and the design consultants were Sechaud-Boyssut and Trouvin. The project cost 137,000,000 euros
(less than 700 million French franc, francs). The runways of the airport are visible from the building. The Air France Operations Control Centre (''OCC'', French: Centre de Contrôle des Opérations, ''CCO''), which coordinates Air France flights worldwide, is situated at the AF head office.
For about 30 years prior to December 1995, Air France's headquarters were located in a tower adjacent to the Gare Montparnasse rail station in the
Montparnasse area and the 15th arrondissement of Paris. By 1991 two bids for the purchase of the Square Max Hymans building had been made. By 1992 the complex was sold to (MGEN) for 1.6 billion French franc, francs. By that year Air France had planned to move its head office to Roissypôle, taking of space inside the hotel, office, and shopping complex on the grounds of Charles de Gaulle Airport. After Air France moved to Tremblay-en-France, the ownership of the former head office complex was transferred.
On a previous occasion the head office was at ''2 rue marbeuf'' in the 8th arrondissement of Paris.
Foreign offices
Air France's United States offices are in the 125 West 55th Street building in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Air France first signed a lease to occupy the building in 1991.
[Air France leases 29,500 sf at Avenue of the Americas Plaza]
." ''Real Estate Weekly''. 10 July 1991. Retrieved on 24 February 2011. The site also formerly housed the New York City ticket office for Air France.
Air France-KLM's head office for the United Kingdom and Ireland operations, which includes facilities for Air France and
KLM
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, legally ''Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V.'' (literal translation: Royal Aviation Company Plc.), is the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands. KLM is headquartered in Amstelveen, with its hub at nearby Amste ...
, is located in Plesman House in Hatton Cross. The facility's inauguration was on 6 July 2006. Air France moved the office from Hounslow to Hatton.
Crew base
Air France Cité PN, located at Charles de Gaulle Airport, acts as the airline's crew base. The building, developed by Valode & Pistre, opened in February 2006. The first phase consisted of of space and 4,300 parking spaces. The building is connected to the Air France head office.
Vaccination centre
Air France operates the Air France Vaccinations Centre in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. The centre distributes vaccines for international travel. Since 2001 the centre was the only French vaccination centre certified International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001. In 2005 the centre moved from the Aérogare des Invalides to its current location.
[B. H.]
Twingo travaillaient à la chaîne La station Simplon ne rouvrira qu'en novembre Le centre de vaccinations d'Air France déménage
" ''Le Parisien''. 10 August 2005. Retrieved on 5 May 2010. "Le centre de vaccinations internationales d'Air France quittera samedi le terminal de la compagnie aux Invalides (VII e ) pour emménager à deux pas, au... 148, Rue de l'Université (Paris), rue de l'Université (Paris VII e )."
Aérogare des Invalides
The Aérogare des Invalides in the 7th arrondissement of Paris houses the Agence Air France Invalides and the Air France Museum. Until 2005 the building hosted the Air France Vaccinations Centre.
On 28 August 1959 Air France opened a ticket and information agency in the former air terminal in Invalides, targeting transit passengers and customers from offices and companies in the Invalides area.
Subsidiaries and franchises
The subsidiaries of Air France include:
* Air France Consulting
** Quali-audit
* BlueLink (Air France), BlueLink
* Air France Hop (Formerly called HOP!)
* Servair
* Société de construction et de réparation de matériel aéronautique (CRMA)
* Sodexi
Air France and Dutch affiliate Transavia formed Transavia France, a low-cost joint venture in May 2007, based at Orly Airport.
Air Corsica, CityJet and Air France Hop all operate flights on behalf of Air France, either as subsidiaries or as franchisees.
As of January 2019, Air France was investigating how it could shut down its low-cost subsidiary Joon and absorb its employees and aircraft into the parent company.
Air France Asie and Air France Cargo Asie
Owing to the Foreign relations of Taiwan, disputed status of Taiwan, Air France could not operate flights to the island under its own name. In 1993, its subsidiary, Air Charter International, Air Charter, began operating flights between Paris and Taipei via Hong Kong, but after Air Charter ceased operations in 1998, a subsidiary called Air France Asie was established. The airline was one of a number of airline subsidiaries flying under the "Asia" name with the purpose of flying to Taiwan, which included Japan Asia Airways (a Japan Airlines subsidiary), KLM Asia, British Asia Airways, Swissair#Swissair Asia, Swissair Asia, and Australia Asia Airlines (a Qantas subsidiary).
The livery of Air France Asie differed from that of Air France by having blue and white stripes on the tailfin, rather than blue, white and red ones, representing the Flag of France, French Tricolour. Air France Asie used two Airbus A340-200 aircraft, F-GLZD and F-GLZE, and two Boeing 747-428Ms, F-GISA and F-GISC. Similarly, Air France Cargo Asie used a 747–200 Combi (for passengers and freight), F-GCBH) or the all-cargo (F-GCBL, F-GPAN and F-GBOX). Air France Asie ceased operations in 2004 while Air France Cargo Asie ceased operations in 2007.
Outsourcing
In 2010 Air France migrated from an internally managed Passenger service system (Alpha3) that manages reservation, inventory and pricing to an external system (Altéa) managed by
Amadeus
Amadeus may refer to:
*Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), prolific and influential composer of classical music
*Amadeus (name), a given name and people with the name
* ''Amadeus'' (play), 1979 stage play by Peter Shaffer
* ''Amadeus'' (film), ...
. In rail ventures, Air France and Veolia are looking into jointly operating high-speed rail services in Europe. Routes have become available to operators in accordance with European rail liberalisation on 1 January 2010.
Livery
Air France's present livery is a "Eurowhite" scheme, comprising a white fuselage with the blue Air France title and design. The tail is white with a series of parallel red and blue lines across the tail at an angle, and a small European flag at the top. The engines have the old Air France (and formerly Air Orient) logo painted on, however that has only happened on recent aircraft. This livery has been in use since the late 1970s. Prior to the "Eurowhite" livery, Air France aircraft had a bare-metal underside, extending up to a blue cheat-line that ran across the cabin windows. Above the cheat-line the fuselage was again white, with Air France titles and a French flag. The tail was white with two thick blue lines, which tapered from the rear of the tail and met at point towards the front bottom. This basic livery, with minor variations, would appear on all post-war Air France aircraft until the late 1970s.
In January 2009, to coincide with Air France's new logo, a new livery was unveiled. Air France rolled out its new livery on 11 February 2009. The 2009 livery saw the tail slightly changed; there are now 3 blue bars running down instead of 4 previously. The bars also now curve at the bottom, reflecting the design of the logo. In 2017, Air France received their first Boeing 787 with a revised livery which included larger Air France titles. In 2019, Air France revised the livery with the arrival of the Airbus A350, with blue winglets featuring the ''hippocampe ailé''. This coincided with reintroducing practice of naming each of their aircraft, with the name written under the front cabin windows, the first A350-900 was named after the city of ''Toulouse''.
File:Sud SE-210 Caravelle III, Air France AN0818829.jpg, Air France Sud Aviation Caravelle
The Sud Aviation SE 210 Caravelle is a French jet airliner produced by Sud Aviation.
It was developed by SNCASE in the early 1950s and made its maiden flight on 27 May 1955.
It included some de Havilland designs and components developed for t ...
in the oldest Livery
File:Airbus A310-304, Air France AN1114716.jpg, Air France Airbus A310 in the 1976 Livery
File:Air France Boeing 777-300ER.jpg, Air France Boeing 777 in the 2009 Livery
File:Air France, F-HRBC, Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner (39933535874).jpg, Air France Boeing 787 in the 2017 revised livery
File:Air france airbus a350 f-htya.jpg, Air France Airbus A350 in the 2019 revised livery
Marketing
In the 1950s and 1960s graphic designer Jean Carlu produced promotional posters for Air France.
The new official song played before and after Air France flights (during boarding and after landing) is 'The World Can Be Yours' by Telepopmusik. Air France has used different popular music groups for its marketing and on-board ambience, ranging from The Chemical Brothers in 1999 to Telepopmusik in 2010.
Air France launched a new ad campaign in 2015 designed by BETC and directed by We Are From LA, focusing on French culture. Along with the ad campaign and print ads, Air France also introduced a similarly themed safety video. The music is a customised version of Glass Candy's song ''Warm in the Winter''.
Uniforms
Air France uniforms denote the ranks for the flight attendants. Two silver sleeve stripes denote a Chief Purser. One silver sleeve stripe denote a Purser. Flight attendants do not have any sleeve stripes. The female cabin crew uniforms feature the stripes on the breast pocket rather than the sleeve for their male counterparts. Air France's current uniforms were created by French fashion designer Christian Lacroix.
Branding
Upon its formation, Air France adopted the seahorse logo of its predecessor Air Orient, known as the ''hippocampe ailé'' (sometimes derisively called "la crevette" – or shrimp – by its employees), as its insignia. Prior to the Air France-KLM merger, the ''hippocampe ailé'' was used on the nose section of aircraft next to the Groupe Air France title; after the merger, the Air France-KLM logo was substituted at the nose area, and the ''hippocampe ailé'' was relocated to engine nacelles. The acronym "AF" has also featured prominently on the airline's flag and its signage. On 7 January 2009, Air France officially changed its logo to a red stripe.
Destinations
![Air France A350-900](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Air_France_A350-900.jpg)
As of 2019, Air France flies to 36 domestic destinations and 175 international destinations in 93 countries ''(including Overseas departments and territories of France)'' across 6 continents, including 14 in the United States. This includes Air France Cargo services and destinations served by franchisees Air Corsica, CityJet and Air France HOP. Most of Air France's international flights operate from Paris-Charles de Gaulle. Air France also has a strong presence at Paris-Orly, Lyon-Saint-Exupéry, Marseilles Provence, Toulouse Blagnac, Nice Côte d'Azur and Bordeaux-Merignac airports.
Hub information
*
Charles de Gaulle Airport
Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (french: Aéroport de Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle, ), also known as Roissy Airport or simply Paris CDG, is the principal airport serving the French capital, Paris ( and its metropolitan area), and the largest intern ...
: Air France's intercontinental and biggest hub, with 335 daily departures. It is also a hub for Air France's subsidiary Air France HOP.
*
Orly Airport: Air France's second biggest hub serving 40 destinations around the world, it is also a hub for Air France's subsidiaries Air France HOP and Transavia France. Long-haul flights are mainly operated to destinations in French overseas departments.
* Lyon–Saint-Exupéry Airport: Air France's third biggest hub serving 37 destinations in France and Europe, also a hub for Air France's subsidiary Air France HOP.
* Marseille Provence Airport: This is Air France's newest hub as part of its offensive in the French regions. It serves 30 destinations in France, Europe and Africa.
* Nantes Atlantique Airport Air France flies to 11 destinations from Nantes
* Nice Côte d'Azur Airport: Air France flies to four destinations from Nice.
* Toulouse–Blagnac Airport: Air France flies to 14 destinations from Toulouse.
Codeshare agreements
Air France Codeshare agreement, codeshares with the following airlines:
*
Aeroflot
PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (russian: ПАО "Аэрофло́т — Росси́йские авиали́нии", ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; russian: Аэрофлот, , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. The ...
* Aerolíneas Argentinas
*
Aeroméxico
* Air Antilles
* Air Astana
* Air Austral
* Air Burkina
* Air Corsica
*
Air Europa
* Air France Hop
* Air Malta
* Air Mauritius
* Air Serbia
* Air Seychelles
* Air Tahiti Nui
* airBaltic
* Aircalin
* Austrian Airlines
* Azerbaijan Airlines
* Belavia
* Bulgaria Air
* China Eastern Airlines
*
China Southern Airlines
* CityJet
* Copa Airlines
* Copa Airlines Colombia
* Croatia Airlines
*
Czech Airlines
Czech Airlines j.s.c. (abbreviation: ČSA, cz, České Aerolinie, a.s.) is the flag carrier of the Czech Republic. Its head office is located in the Vokovice area of Prague's 6th district and its hub is Václav Havel Airport Prague. The compa ...
*
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...
* Etihad Airways
* Finnair
* Garuda Indonesia
* Gol Transportes Aéreos
* Georgian Airways
* IndiGo
* ITA Airways
* Japan Airlines
* Kenya Airways
*
KLM
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, legally ''Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V.'' (literal translation: Royal Aviation Company Plc.), is the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands. KLM is headquartered in Amstelveen, with its hub at nearby Amste ...
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Korean Air
* LATAM Brasil
* Luxair
* Middle East Airlines
* Qantas
* Saudia
* Singapore Airlines
* Sky Express (Greece), Sky Express
* Swiss International Air Lines
* TAAG Angola Airlines
* TAROM
* Ukraine International Airlines
* Vietnam Airlines
* Virgin Atlantic
* WestJet
* Widerøe
* Winair
Interline agreements
Air France have Interlining, Interline agreements with the following airlines:
* Pakistan International Airlines
Fleet
Widebody fleet
On 16 September 2011, Air France-KLM announced orders for 50 Airbus A350s and Boeing 787s with 60 options, to be operated by both Air France and KLM. Air France-KLM has a commitment for 37 Boeing 787s, 25 directly and 12 leased, of which 16 are earmarked for Air France to replace some A340-300s, subsequent A340s would be replaced by Airbus A350s from 2019. The first Boeing 787–9 entered into service with KLM in 2015 and with Air France in early 2017.
Air France-KLM has 28 A350s on firm order.
In June 2019 the group announced a revision of the original order with Air France becoming the sole operator of the Airbus A350, with KLM only operating Boeing 787s, including six originally earmarked for Air France. The first Airbus A350-900 ''(named Toulouse'') was delivered to Air France on 27 September 2019.
Narrowbody fleet
Air France operates a fleet of all four variants of the Airbus A320 family, Airbus A320 ceo family aircraft with a total of 114 jets. In July 2019 a first order was announced as part of replacing its narrowbody fleet. The smaller Airbus A318 and A319 fleet will be replaced by 60 Airbus A220-300s starting in 2021. Air France would have to cut emission by half by 2024 for flights within mainland France as part of conditions of a €7 billion state support from France. As a result, Air France plans to place more Airbus A220 onto its domestic network.
Concorde
![Concorde F-BVFA](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Concorde_F-BVFA.JPG)
The five Air France Concordes were retired on 31 May 2003, as a result of insufficient demand following the Air France Flight 4590, 25 July 2000 crash of AF Concorde F-BTSC, at Gonesse (near Charles de Gaulle Airport), as well as higher fuel and maintenance costs. British Airways flew its last Concorde service on 24 October 2003. Concorde F-BVFA was transferred to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at
Washington Dulles International Airport
Washington Dulles International Airport , typically referred to as Dulles International Airport, Dulles Airport, Washington Dulles, or simply Dulles ( ), is an international airport in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Eastern United States, loc ...
. F-BVFB was given to the Sinsheim Auto & Technik Museum in Germany, F-BTSD to the Paris, Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace at Le Bourget Airport in Paris, while F-BVFC returned to its place of manufacture in Toulouse, at the Airbus factory. F-BVFF is the only example to remain at Charles de Gaulle Airport.
Boeing 747
The airline started operating the 747 on 3 June 1970, when a 747–100 was put into service that was delivered 20 March that year.
["Orders and Deliveries: Boeing 747."](_blank)
''The Boeing Company''. Retrieved: 1 March 2018. It would go on to operate the −200, −300 and −400 variants. In January 2016, Air France finally retired its last Boeing 747–400. They were replaced by Airbus A380s and Boeing 777-300ERs. Freighter versions were replaced by Boeing 777Fs.
Cabins
![AF LEspace Premiere 777 cabin](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/AF_LEspace_Premiere_777_cabin.jpg)
Air France offers a mix of three and four cabin configurations for international long haul routes, featuring La Première (select aircraft), Business, Premium Economy and Economy. Personal screens with audio video on demand is available in all cabins on all long-haul aircraft. European short-haul and medium-haul flights feature a three cabin configuration with Business, Premium Economy, and Economy.
La Première
La Première is Air France's long-haul First class travel, first class product. It is available on selected Boeing 777-300ERs.
The Première cabin features wood and leather seats which recline 180°, forming two-metric system, metre long beds. Each seat features a 10.4" touchscreen personal screen with interactive gaming and audio video on demand, a privacy divider, automassage feature, reading light, storage drawer, noise-cancelling headphones, personal telephone, and laptop power ports. Each passenger is also provided with a personalised coat service, pure merino wool blanket, a "boudoir-style" cushion, and a travel kit featuring Biologique Recherche facial and body care products to moisturize and refresh the skin. Turndown service includes a mattress, a duvet, hypoallergenic feather pillow, sleepwear, a dust bag for shoes, and a pair of slippers À la carte on-demand meal services feature entrées created by Chef Guy Martin. Private lounge access is offered worldwide featuring a chauffeured car to the aircraft. La Première is not available on Airbus A330s, A350s, and Boeing 777s where Business is the highest cabin class. Four-class 777-300ER configurations are equipped with four seats. Air France is also planning to offer La Première on selected new Airbus A350-900s, which could be delivered as early as 2023.
Business
Business, Air France's long-haul business class product, is available on all long haul aircraft. Business features angled lie-flat seats which recline to two metres in length. Each seat includes a 10.4" touchscreen TV monitor with interactive gaming and AVOD, reading light, personal telephone, and laptop power ports. Meal service features three-course meals and a cheese service, or an express menu served shortly after takeoff.
The current business class product features Zodiac Aerospace Cirrus seats is designed by Mark Collins of Design Investment, specialized in the world of high-end transportation and by the design and branding agency, Brandimage. Initially debuting on Boeing 777s in June 2014, they were retrofitted onto all other aircraft types except for the Boeing 747–400, Airbus A380s, and Airbus A340-300 as they were to be retired from the fleet by 2016, 2019, and 2020 respectively. A total of 2,102 seats would be installed. The new cabin features a 1-2-1 layout as opposed to a 2-3-2 layout previously used on 777s or the 2-2-2 seat configuration of the Airbus A330s. The new 16-inch (41 cm) screen offers a unique onboard navigation experience similar to a tablet. With a completely redesigned user interface and available in 12 languages (French, English, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, German, Italian, Dutch, Russian and Arabic), choosing an entertainment program from over 1,000 hours of entertainment. The seat converts into a fully flat bed with 180 degrees recline, and features a touchscreen remote control, USB port, universal electrical outlet, new noise cancelling headphones, privacy screen, an Air France signature padded headboard, ample storage space, adjustable headrest, and a duvet with XXL feather down pillow.
Premium Economy
![AIR FRANCE PREMIUM ECONOMY CLASS SEAT BOEING 777-200ER](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/AIR_FRANCE_PREMIUM_ECONOMY_CLASS_SEAT_BOEING_777-200ER.jpg)
Premium Economy is featured on all long-haul flights. This cabin made its debut on Boeing 777s and Airbus A330s beginning in late 2009 and early 2010. The seats were also installed on Airbus A340-300s between late 2009 and early 2010 and the Airbus A380s in late 2010 and early 2011. It is a dedicated cabin section with a Airline seat#Seating layout, 2-4-2 (2-3-2 on the long haul Airbus fleet and 3-3-3 for Alize on the 777-300 serving Indian Ocean and Caribbean routes) configuration with 38″ pitch (36″ for long-haul Alize seats), 123° reclining fixed-shell seats, including an adjustable headrest, a 10.4″ touchscreen, personal reading lamp, universal power ports, and an adjustable leg rest (40% more space, compared to Voyageur seats; the seats are 20% wider and offer 20% more legroom). This cabin contains 32 seats on Boeing 777-300ERs, 24 on Boeing 777–200ERs and Airbus A350-900s, and 21 on Airbus A330-200s and Boeing 787-9s. Passengers receive double baggage allowance, priority airport services, lounge access (for a fee), and extra frequent flier mileage. On board, business-class amenities include Sennheiser noise-cancelling headphones, an amenity kit (featuring socks, eye mask, toothbrush & toothpaste, and earplugs), improved blankets, and an enhanced meal service with second hot meal, candies, and ice cream, all served with real glass and metal cutlery. A new improved Premium Economy seat using the same shell was introduced from June 2014 on the Boeing 777 aircraft, featuring better cushioning and improved foot rest, adding comfort to the passenger.
Economy
![Air France A380-800 F-HPJA Voyageur](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Air_France_A380-800_F-HPJA_Voyageur.jpg)
Air France's economy class long-haul product features seats that recline up to 118°. The current long-haul Economy seat, which debuted on the Boeing 777-300ER, includes winged headrests, a personal telephone, and a touchscreen TV monitor with AVOD Interactive Entertainment System which have been installed on all of Air France's long-haul fleet. On long-haul flights, a menu is presented with a choice of two meals. Short- and medium-haul Economy services are operated by Airbus A320 family aircraft with different seating arrangements. Air France is one of the few airlines who features winged headrests on short-to-medium-haul aircraft in both classes. On short-haul flights, a snack is served, while on medium-haul flights, a three-course cold meal is served. Free alcoholic beverages are available on all flights, including champagne. On most aircraft, Air France offers extra-legroom seats in economy called Seat Plus. These seats are located in the economy-class exit rows and other rows depending on the aircraft type, offering at least 4" more seat pitch(36" versus the usual 32" in standard economy seats). Seat Plus prices vary by flight time, but it is free to elites and passengers with a full-fare economy ticket.
Air France has introduced a brand-new economy long-haul product which features a new slimline seat providing up to an inch more legroom, wider table, universal electrical sockets, retractable armrests, winged leather headrests, more storage space, high-definition 10-inch screens featuring the latest in-flight entertainment with a USB port, a headphones holder, and newly designed pillows featuring different patterns of the Air France logo. The seats would be installed along with the new La Première, Business, and Premium Economy seats from June 2014 till summer 2016 on the Boeing 777 aircraft, the core of the fleet. All other aircraft would be retrofitted except the Airbus A340-300s, Airbus A380-800s, and Boeing 747-400s as all three types would be retired by 2020.
Services
In-flight catering
![Affaires-Klasse Vorspeise](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Affaires-Klasse_Vorspeise.jpg)
For La Première, Air France's first class menu is designed by Guy Martin, chef of Le Grand Vefour, a Michelin guide, Michelin three-star restaurant in Paris. Menu items include Hors d'œuvre, hors d'oeuvres, entrées, bread basket, and cheeses, along with a dessert cart including pastries, petit fours, and tartlets. On long-haul flights, Air France also serves complimentary champagne and drinks to passengers in all classes.
In-flight entertainment
Air France offers Audio Video on Demand (AVOD) in all cabins on all long haul aircraft. The in flight entertainment system features multiple channels of video, audio, music, and games. ''Air France Magazine'', the airline's in-flight publication, is included at each seat, and ''Air France Madame'', a fashion luxury magazine with a feminine perspective, is included in La Première and Business cabins and lounges. On all flights, all films may be watched in English, Spanish, and French. Selected films on all flights are also available in Chinese, Japanese, Hindi, and Korean. The airline offers Berlitz International language courses via the in-flight entertainment system.
On 29 May 2013, KLM and Air France launched a pilot to test inflight Wi-Fi. Both airlines have equipped one Boeing 777-300ER of each of their fleets with Wi-Fi. Using the inflight Wi-Fi, passengers can stay online using their Wi-Fi enabled smartphones, laptops, or tablets. Wireless service would commence once the flight has reached 20,000 feet.
Le Salon
![Air france SAlon 1ere 3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Air_france_SAlon_1ere_3.jpg)
Air France lounges are known as Le Salon, and are open to La Première, Business, and Premium Economy passengers, as well as Flying Blue Gold, Flying Blue Platinum, SkyTeam Elite and Elite Plus members. Worldwide, there are 530 Air France and Skyteam lounges in 300 international airports on every continent except Antarctica.
Flying Blue
Flying Blue, the frequent flyer program of Air France-KLM, awards members points based on miles travelled and class of service. Membership into the program is free. The program is divided into standard (Explorer), Elite (Silver) and Elite Plus (Gold and Platinum) statuses. Explorer is the basic level which is attained upon entry into the program. Elite status is attained by accruing a certain number of miles within one calendar year. Elite Silver, Elite Plus Gold, and Elite Plus Platinum cards have added benefits. An invitation-only card called Club 2000 is attributed to some VIPs, celebrities and politicians. Officially, it provides the same benefits as Platinum status but numerous sources confirm it almost guarantees upgrade to Business or La Première. Flying Blue succeeded Air France's previous frequent flyer program, Fréquence Plus, which operated until the Air France-KLM merger in 2003.
In popular culture
*Air France is the official airline of the Cannes Film Festival.
*Air France "''flight 273''" is the plane that ''"Chat Noir"'' in "''Magic Kaito 1412''" episode 18: ''Golden Eye (Part 2): Kid vs Chat Noir Showdown'', uses to escape.
Anniversary jet
On 14 November 2008, Air France released the first picture of an Airbus A320 that had been repainted in the full 1946 paint scheme to celebrate the airline's 75th anniversary. This heritage aircraft was planned to fly under the special colours until early 2010. In 2013 the aircraft was withdrawn from use for scrapping.
Incidents and accidents
Air France has been involved in a number of major accidents and incidents. The airline's deadliest accident occurred on 1 June 2009, when Air France Flight 447, an Airbus A330-203, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean with 228 fatalities. Another notable crash in Air France's records occurred on July 25, 2000, when Air France Flight 4590, a Concorde, caught fire immediately after take-off due to metal debris on the runway damaging a tire, which produced debris that struck a fuel tank on the underside of the wing, catching fire.
The fire started to disintegrate the aircraft's left wing and the plane started to list to its side. This caused the aircraft to crash into a hotel on the outskirts of Gonesse, France. All 109 passengers and crew inside Flight 4590, as well as three people inside the hotel died.
See also
* Dirigisme
* List of airlines of France
* List of airports in France
* List of companies of France
* Transport in France
*Transport in France#Air Travel, Air transport in France
References
Further reading
Air France corporate history* [http://news.airwise.com/story/view/1192611010.html Airwise, 17 October 2007 – Air France And Delta Set Transatlantic Venture]
FT.com/Business Life, The Monday Interview, 30 September 2007 – Pilot who found the right trajectory* [http://www.asiatraveltips.com/travelnews2001/18June2001AirFrance.htm ASIATravelTips.com, 18 June 2001 – Air France confirms major A380 order]
M.R. Golder, The Changing Nature of French Dirigisme – A Case Study of Air France, St. Edmunds Hall, Oxford. Thesis submitted at Trinity College, 1997* [http://aviation-safety.net/dFatabase/dblist.php?sorteer=datekey_desc&kind=%&cat=%&page=1&field=Operatorkey&var=6679 Record of Air France accidents/incidents at the ASN Aviation Safety Database]
External links
*
"Wings Over Four Continents" ''Popular Mechanics'', December 1935pp. 866–868 on massive route expansion of Air France including trans-Atlantic route
{{authority control
Airlines of France
French brands
Airlines established in 1933
Association of European Airlines members
Air France–KLM
SkyTeam
Companies based in Île-de-France
Multinational companies headquartered in France
French companies established in 1933
Former seaplane operators