Air France

Air France (AF/AFR) is a scheduled airline based in Paris, France and founded in 1933. Its operations are centred on Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. Originfacts tracks 13 destinations on its network across 11 countries.

Air France was established in 1933 through the merger of several early French aviation companies, including Air Orient, Air Union, Société Générale de Transport Aérien and CIDNA, creating a national flag carrier that quickly became central to European and intercontinental travel. Following the 2004 merger with KLM, the airline became part of the Air France-KLM group, one of the largest airline groups in the world by passenger traffic and revenue. Its primary hub is Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, with a secondary hub at Paris-Orly, from which it operates an extensive domestic network and long-haul services to North America, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Caribbean. The fleet is a mix of Airbus and Boeing widebodies and narrowbodies, including the Airbus A220, A320 family, A330, A350-900 and the Boeing 777 and 787 Dreamliner, progressively replacing older types as part of a fleet modernisation programme aimed at reducing fuel burn and emissions. Air France is a founding member of the SkyTeam alliance, launched in 2000 alongside Delta Air Lines, Aeroméxico and Korean Air, giving passengers access to a broad codeshare and lounge network. The airline's loyalty programme, Flying Blue, is shared with KLM and several partner carriers and is among the longest-running frequent flyer schemes in Europe. Premium travellers are served by the La Première first-class cabin on selected long-haul routes, along with a refreshed business class product. While the carrier remains a leader in transatlantic and Africa-bound traffic, it continues to balance cost pressures and strong competition from Gulf carriers and European low-cost rivals on short-haul routes.