The French flag carrier has announced it will start flying between Paris and Washington DC using an Airbus A380 aircraft from next June. For now, Air France operates the twice-daily service with 777 aircraft. By using the A380, the airline can combine the two flights into just one daily flight while offering the same seat capacity with 20% lower operating costs.
Air France is using only one other A380 aircraft on its Paris to New York route. “With Washington, three of the five destinations served by Air France’s A380 during summer 2011 will be in North America,” says Patrick Roux, Air France’s senior vice president Americas. “This effectively illustrates the airline’s investment in the North trans- Atlantic network. The A380, highly appreciated by our customers, will strengthen our assets on one of the world’s most competitive markets.”