Air France Bets Big On Leisure Travelers

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French national flag carrier Air France has decided to adapt its global network by emphasizing leisure travel. Following a steep decline in business travel brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, Air France is betting on vacation destinations, believing that they will recover sooner than city-to-city routes.

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Air France to offer six new routes from CDG and PTP.Photo: Getty Images

In light of its decision to focus on leisure travel, Air France will operate flights from Paris to Zanzibar, Tanzania, Colombo, Sri Lanka, and Muscat, Oman. In a company statement released on August 4, 2021, Air France said it is unveiling six new routes for the 2021/2022 winter season, starting in October and ending in March.

New winter 2021/2022 routes

From Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG):

  • From Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG), Air France will fly to Tenerife South Airport (TFS) in Spain’s Canary Islands twice a week on a Monday and Sunday starting from November 1, 2021. On the route, Air France will deploy a 143 seat Airbus A319-100.
  • From Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG), Air France will fly to Rovaniemi Airport (RVN) in Finlands Lapland twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays from December 4, 2021, until March 5, 2022. On the route, Air France will deploy a 143 seat Airbus A319-100.
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Air France will keep operating seven summer routes during the winter. Photo: Getty Images.

From Paris Orly Airport (ORY):

  • From Paris Orly Airport (ORY), Air France will offer a daily flight to Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) and Munich International Airport (MUC) in Germany. The flights from ORY are in addition to the daily flights Air France already offers to BER and MUC from CDG. The service will commence on October 31, 2021, and will be operated using a 131 seat Airbus A318-100s.

From the Carribean to North America

From Pointe-à-Pitre International Airport (PTP):

  • From Pointe-à-Pitre International Airport (PTP) on the Carribean island of Guadalupe, Air France will operate two flights a week to Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL) in Canada. The flights will depart Montreal on Tuesdays and Fridays and return to Canada on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The service will commence on November 23, 2021, and will be operated using a 168 seat Airbus A320-200.
  • From Pointe-à-Pitre International Airport (PTP), Air France will offer two flights a week to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in the United States. The flights will depart PTP on Wednesdays and Saturdays and return to PTP on Thursdays and Sundays. The service will commence on November 24, 2021, and will be operated using a 168 seats Airbus A32-200.
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Air France to fly to the USA and Canada from Guadeloupe. Photo: Getty Images

Despite being thousands of miles away in the Carribean, Guadalupe is a part of France and its citizen’s members of the European Union. For this reason, it makes perfect sense for Air France to base planes at Pointe-à-Pitre and offer flights to American’s and Canadians looking for winter sunshine.

Some summer destinations to continue

As Air France focuses on leisure destinations, the SkyTeam alliance member will continue to offer popular summer routes for winter 2021/2022. From Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG), Air France customers can fly to the following destinations:

  • Seville, Spain
  • Las Palmas (Canary Islands, Spain)
  • Palma de Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Spain)
  • Tangier (Morocco)
  • Faro (Portugal)
  • Djerba (Tunisia)
  • Krakow (Poland)

Except for the medieval city of Krakow, all the other destinations offer mild winter weather and are ideal for a winter break.

What do you think about Air France betting on leisure destinations? Please tell us what you think in the comments.



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