Air France

flag-carrier and largest airline in France

Air France is one of the largest airlines in the world. It is based in France. It is owned by Air France-KLM. Before it merged with KLM, it employed 71,654 people. Its headquarters are at Charles de Gaulle International Airport[1] near Paris.

Air France
IATAICAOCallsign
AFAFRAIRFRANS
Founded7 October 1933
HubsCharles de Gaulle International Airport, Paris Orly Airport
Frequent-flyer programFlying Blue
AllianceSkyTeam
Parent companyAir France-KLM

History

The airline can be traced back to 1933, when four other French airlines were combined to create Air France. [2] Air France hired its first flight attendants in 1946. [3] The airline started flying between Paris and New York City on July 1, 1946. In 1957, the airline bought its first jet aircraft. [4] Air France was one of 4 airlines that flew the Concorde. [5] It used it from 1976 until 2003. In 1988, the airline became the first to fly the Airbus A320. [6] In 2003, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Air France announced they were going to be combining. The combination ended in 2004. [7] As of 2016, Air France is going through many financial problems. [8]

Fleets

AircraftIn serviceOrdersNotes
A318-10018Largest operator of A318-100
A319-100402 leased to Air Cote d'lvoire
A320-2004662 operated for Transavia France

1 leased to Air Corsica

A321-1005
A321-20018
A330-20015
A340-30013Being retired in 2016
A350-90018
A380-800102
B777-200ER25
B777-300ER40Launch customer
B787-912Orders under review

References