INTRODUCTION
The national airline of France, Air France, is based in Tremblay-en-France. It is a division of the Air France-KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam international airline alliance.
As of 2013, Air France operated scheduled passenger and cargo services to 175 destinations in 78 countries. It includes 93 destinations in France’s overseas departments and territories. In 2019, the airline carried 46,803,000 passengers. Air France currently serves 36 destinations in France.
The principal domestic hub for Air France is Orly Airport, with Charles de Gaulle Airport serving as its international base. The corporate headquarters of the airline, which is formerly in Montparnasse, Paris, are now situate on the premises of Charles de Gaulle Airport, which is located north of Paris.
Air Orient, Air Union, Compagnie Générale Aéroposttale, Compagnie International de Navigation Aérienne (CIDNA), and Société Générale de Transport Aérien were all combined to establish the airline on October 7, 1933. (SGTA).
AIR FRANCE SERVICES
51.4 million passengers transports in 2018 by Air France and its regional affiliate Hop. In addition to using Airbus A320 family aircraft for short-haul travel. The airline also maintains a mixed fleet of Boeing and Airbus widebody jets. On November 20, 2009, It began flying the A380 between Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris and JFK Airport in New York City. The majority of its scheduled regional domestic and European services are run by a fleet of regional jet aircraft operated by the airline Hop (formerly HOP)!
A two-compartment aircraft with twin engines and seating for 14 to 16 passengers, the French-built Potez 62 adds to Air France’s service in 1936. The Potez 62 was a sturdy and dependable workhorse for the airline that was in use up to the Second World War, with one being utilized by the Free French Air Force.
One of the largest fleets in the world, with 130 aircraft, was operated by the airline by 1948.
On June 16, 1948, a parliamentary act established Compagnie National Air France. At first, the government-owned 70%. The direct and indirect ownership stakes held by the French state nearly approached 100% in the years that followed. The state-owned 54% by mid-2002.
In 1952, Air France relocated its engineering and operational headquarters to the brand-new Orly Airport South terminal. The network had already traveled 250,000 kilometers by that point. By operating the inaugural, short-lived de Havilland Comet series 1A Paris-Rome-Beirut. Air France ushered in the jet age in August 1953.
CONCLUSION
The majority of Air France’s operations moved to the brand-new Charles de Gaulle Airport north of Paris in 1974. By the beginning of the 1980s, Orly’s sole remaining services were to Corsica, Martinique, Guadeloupe, the majority of flights to French Guiana, Réunion, the Maghreb region, Eastern Europe (apart from the USSR), Southern Europe (except Greece and Italy), and one daily flight to New York (JFK). Airbus Industries’ first commercial aircraft, the A300 twin-engine widebody plane. For which the airline served as a launch customer, and operates by the company for the first time by anyone in the world in 1974.
ALSO READ: Air France baggage policy
