Good news for Paris-bound travelers from the D.C. area: Starting June 6, 2011, Air France will operate daily A380 service between Paris and Washington, D.C. The city will become the second U.S. destination served by the airline’s super-jumbo after New York, where service was launched one year ago.
Flight Schedules (local time) :
-AF028: Depart Paris-Charles de Gaulle :10:40 a.m.; Arrive Washington D.C. 1 p.m.
-AF039 :Depart Washington D.C. 4:25 p.m.; Arrive Paris-Charles de Gaulle 5:45 a.m. (+1)
Flight bookings and ticket sales begin today, November 30.
Beginning in June 2011, Air France will operate the A380 to five 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 percent reduction in operating costs. The main deck of the A380 has equivalent capacity to a Boeing 777-200 and the upper deck of an Airbus A340-300.
Air France’s A380 is currently equipped with 538 seats, divided between three classes: La Première (First) with nine seats on the main deck, Business Class, comprising 80 seats on the upper deck, and Voyageur (Economy), with 449 seats divided between the two decks. Starting in summer 2011, the A380s will be progressively equipped with Premium Voyageur, situated between the Business and Voyageur cabins, offering nine seats in Première, 80 in Business, 38 in Premium Voyageur and 389 in Voyageur.
For more information, visit www.airfrance.com/us.
