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Air France reintroduces Manila-Paris nonstop flights

Bea Cupin
10/09/2024 09:14:00

MANILA, Philippines – Air France will reintroduce nonstop flights from Manila to Paris beginning December 8, 2024. The route marks the first time in “many, many years” for a direct route between Manila and a capital in the European Union.

French Ambassador Marie Fontanel, speaking at a press conference organized by Malacañang on Tuesday, September 10, said the route “puts an end to an anomaly by reconnecting the Philippines with Europe and France.” 

Sales for the new direct route begin immediately on September 10, or just three months before its inaugural flight. The last time Air France flew direct between Manila to Paris and vice versa was over two decades ago. 

The “new generation” Airbus A350-900, said Air France-KLM group General Manager for South East Asia & Oceania Femke Kroese, will be used for the route, which is set to fly thrice a week. The 14-hour direct flights are scheduled every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday and will operate between the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and the Charles de Gaulle Airport

Air France Flight Number 208 leaves Paris at 1020 pm and arrives in Manila the next day at 7:30 pm. Air France Flight Number 209, meanwhile, will leave Manila at 9:50 pm and arrive in Paris the next day at 5:50 am. The route operates with 324 seats – 34 in business class, 24 in premium economy, and the remaining 266 in economy class. 

Air France is also set to open an office in Manila, alongside existing KLM Royal Dutch Airlines operations. 

Philippine Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said that even as NAIA remains a “congested” travel hub, it is “very much prepared” to handle the Air France direct flight. 

Marie Fontanel, Paris’ envoy to Manila, said the new route coincides with the first weekend of the Notre-Dame de Paris’ reopening following a devastating 2019 fire. The French envoy said it was an “important milestone” and a long-standing request and “Christmas wish” from both Filipinos and French nationals alike. 

Fontanel said they’re already preparing for a “probable” rise in French visa applications in Manila as the direct route is introduced. In 2023, despite the absence of a non-stop route between the two countries, the French embassy in Manila approved over 37,000 visas. The French envoy admitted the lack of a direct route to Manila was a “barrier” 

“In terms of foreign direct investment [this route helps] by removing a psychological barrier to trade and boosting the interest of French and European investors in a particularly dynamic Philippine market,” said Fontanel.

Philippine flag carrier Philippine Airlines is also considering launching direct flights to France in 2025. – Rappler.com  

by KaiK.ai