Air France has announced it will be adapting its domestic services to and from Paris from September 2026 after a dramatic fall in point-to-point demand.
According to Air France Group the move comes as a result of “the rise of videoconferencing, the drop in domestic business travel and the growing shift toward rail”.
This combination has led to a “structural fall in demand” on Air France’s point-to-point network.
Between 2019 and 2023, traffic on domestic routes out of Paris-Orly fell by 40 per cent, and by as much as 60 per cent for day return trips.
After consultation with the relevant bodies the Group intends Transavia to become the airline’s reference operator from Paris-Orly to Toulouse, Marseille and Nice from summer 2026.
Transavia has a growing fleet of new Airbus A320neo and Air France Group says these
latest generation aircraft offer a 15 per cent reduction in fuel
consumption and CO2 emissions, as well as a 50 per cent reduction of
noise footprint.
Air France connections to and from Paris from 2026:
- Air France will operate all its domestic and international flights from its Paris-Charles de Gaulle hub with the exception of Corsica. As per Public Service Order (PSO) guidelines Air France will continue to operate its service from/to Corsica out of Paris-Orly. The airline has submitted a joint bid with Air Corsica for the renewal of this PSO from 2024, demonstrating its commitment to a sustained service to Corsica.
- Between now and 2026, Air France will continue serving Toulouse, Marseille and Nice, as well as the French Overseas departments from Paris-Orly. Air France has been serving French Overseas departments from Paris-Orly and Paris Charles de Gaulle since 2020, but from the end of this month (October 2023) flights to Cayenne (French Guinea) will be out of Paris Charles de Gaulle only.
- As this transition happens Air France will increase the number of flights from Paris-Charles de Gaulle to Toulouse, Marseille, Nice, Pointe-à-Pitre, Fort-de-France and Saint-Denis de La Réunion, in an effort to facilitate international connections and connectivity between French regions and Overseas territories.
- The Group’s capacity between Paris and Toulouse, Marseille and Nice will be maintained at 90 per cent of its current level, and at 100 per cent for routes between Paris and the French Overseas territories.
A process of information and consultation with employee representative bodies will begin shortly, along with negotiations with representative trade unions, to define the best way to support all employees affected by the changes.