Air France

This article is about the French airline. For the band, see Air France (band).

Société Air France, S.A.
IATA ICAO Call sign
AF AFR AIRFRANS[1]
Founded8 February 1919; 105 years ago (1919-02-08)
(as Société Générale des Transports Aériens)
Commenced operations30 August 1933; 91 years ago (1933-08-30)
(as Air France)
HubsParis–Charles de Gaulle
Secondary hubs
Focus cities
Frequent-flyer programFlying Blue
AllianceSkyTeam
Subsidiaries
Fleet size223
Destinations184[5]
Parent companyAir France-KLM
HeadquartersRoissypôle, CDG Airport, Tremblay-en-France, France
Key people
Revenue€16.3 billion (2022)[7]
Operating income€483 million (2022)[7]
Employees38,000[8]
Websiteairfrance.com

Air France (French pronunciation: [ɛːʁ fʁɑ̃s]; legally Société Air France, S.A.), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam airline alliance. As of 2013, Air France served 29 destinations in France and operates worldwide scheduled passenger and cargo services to 201 destinations in 78 countries (93 including overseas departments and territories of France) and also carried 46,803,000 passengers in 2019. The airline's global hub is at Charles de Gaulle Airport, with Orly Airport as the primary domestic hub. Air France's corporate headquarters, previously in Montparnasse, Paris,[9] are located at the Roissypôle complex on the grounds of Charles de Gaulle Airport, north of Paris.[10]

Air France was formed on 30 August 1933[11] as a merger of Air Orient, Air Union, Compagnie Générale Aéropostale, Compagnie Internationale de Navigation Aérienne (CIDNA), and Société Générale de Transport Aérien (SGTA). During the Cold War, from 1950 until 1990, it was one of the three main Allied scheduled airlines operating in Germany at West Berlin's Tempelhof and Tegel airports. In 1990, it acquired the operations of French domestic carrier Air Inter and international rival UTA – Union de Transports Aériens. It served as France's primary national flag carrier for seven decades until its merger with KLM in 2003.[12]

In 2018, Air France and its regional subsidiary Hop carried 51.4 million passengers.[13] Air France operates a mixed fleet of Airbus and Boeing widebody jets on long-haul routes, and uses Airbus A320 family aircraft on short-haul routes. Air France introduced the Airbus A380 on 20 November 2009 with service from Paris to New York. Air France Hop (formerly HOP!) operates the majority of its regional domestic and European scheduled services with a fleet of regional jet aircraft.[14]

  1. ^ "Designators for Aircraft Operating Agencies, Aeronautical Authorities and Services" (PDF). ICAO. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d "Infographie #34 - Quel avenir pour le réseau domestique d'Air France ?". 25 May 2020.
  3. ^ "Air France renforce progressivement son programme de vols". Archived from the original on 4 June 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  4. ^ "Air France, un acteur régional majeur dans la Caraïbe, Septembre 2013" (PDF). Corporate.airfrance.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  5. ^ "Air France on ch-aviation". ch-aviation. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  6. ^ "Air France names Anne Rigail as new head of airline". Reuters. 12 December 2018. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  7. ^ a b "Full Year 2022 Results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 March 2023.
  8. ^ "Key figures". Air France. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  9. ^ Salpukas, Agis (27 December 1992). "Air France's Big Challenge". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 18 June 2009. Retrieved 31 May 2009.
  10. ^ "Air France – Company Overview". Hoover's. 2009. Archived from the original on 27 April 2009. Retrieved 31 May 2009.
  11. ^ "Notre histoire : Legend". corporate.airfrance.com. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  12. ^ "Air France KLM". KLM. Since May 2004, Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines have become the largest European airline group: 1 group, 2 airlines, and 3 businesses.
  13. ^ "Record traffic in 2018 for Air France-KLM: more than 100 million passengers carried". Air France-KLM Group. 9 January 2019. Archived from the original on 11 August 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  14. ^ "regional.com". www.regional.com. Archived from the original on 19 October 2006.