Washington: new destination for the Air France A380
Wednesday 1, December 2010
Starting 6 June 2011, the Air France A380 will operate a daily service between Paris and Washington DC.
Flight schedules (local time):
- AF028 : Paris-Charles de Gaulle 10:40 - Washington 13:00
- AF 039 : Washington 16:25 - Paris-Charles de Gaulle 05:45 (+1)
Flight bookings and ticket sales will open on 30 November 2010.
The National capital of the United States will thus become the 2nd U.S. destination served by the airline’s super jumbo, after New York, launched one year ago.
In June 2010, Air France will thus operate the A380 to 5 destinations out of Paris-Charles de Gaulle : New York-JFK, Johannesburg, Tokyo, Montreal and Washington.
With the A380, Air France can rationalize its frequencies on these busy routes by combining two flights which leave at similar times while offering the same seat capacity at a 20% reduction in operating costs. The main deck of the A380 boasts equivalent capacity of a Boeing 777-200 and the upper deck that of an Airbus A340-300.
Air France’s A380 is currently equipped with 538 seats, divided between three classes: La Première (First), with 9 seats on the main deck, Business, comprising 80 seats on the upper deck, and Voyageur (Economy), with 449 seats divided between the two decks. Starting next summer 2011, the A380s will be progressively equipped with Premium Voyageur, situated between the Business and Voyageur cabins, offering 9 seats in Première, 80 in Business, 38 in Premium Voyageur and 389 in Voyageur.
“With Washington, three of the five destinations served by Air France’s A380 during summer 2011 will be in North America. This effectively illustrates the airline’s investment in the North trans-Atlantic network. The A380, highly appreciated by our customers, will strengthen our assets on one of the world’s most competitive markets”, said Patrick Roux, Senior Vice President Americas.
The A380 is the most environmentally-friendly aircraft – with less than 75g of CO2 produced per passenger kilometre – and the quietest aircraft in its category. The roomier cabin offers increased comfort and space. On board this super jumbo, Air France has innovated with special lighting ambiences that change depending on the various stages of the flight, special areas geared towards relaxation and conviviality and the brand new in-flight entertainment system, featuring larger video screens.
Air France has been serving Washington since 1964 and currently connects Paris to the American capital twice daily. In the United States, Air France and KLM operate 186 weekly flights between Paris, Amsterdam and 13 destinations served with their own aircraft and crew in the U.S. These routes are operated within the framework of the trans-Atlantic joint venture signed in May 2009 between AIR FRANCE KLM and Delta. Under the terms of this agreement, the partners jointly operate their trans-Atlantic routes, therebv sharing revenues and costs. With nearly 250 daily trans-Atlantic flights, the joint venture, which welcomed Alitalia in July 2010, offers customers access to 300 destinations beyond the 26 North American gateways and 200 destinations beyond the 33 European gateways throughout Europe, Asia and Latin America.
Plan your trips with the help of great resources
More and more travellers think that researching and planning a European city break is half the fun and they're not interested in pre-arranged trips or escorted tours. Self-guided tours offer a lot of advantages but require some guidance and good resources.
Top 10 most environmentally pure countries
With the recent wild fires, disrupting flights and increasing air pollution, environmental quality is a growing factor in attracting tourists.
Top 15 most spectacular hotel rooftop views
The hotel price comparison site www.trivago.co.uk has put together a list of the fifteen most spectacular hotel rooftop terraces in the world.
Latest offers, discounts and more...