PARIS- At the beginning of this year, Air France (AF) announced that it would launch Paris (CDG) to Phoenix (PHX) on May 23, 2024, and it did that with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
With the launch of this route, the French carrier now operates flights to 17 destinations in the United States and 24th in North America.
Air France Paris to Phoenix
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is welcoming a new airline for the first time in years.
Flights will operate three times a week—on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays—using Boeing 787-9 aircraft. These planes are equipped with 30 Business Class seats, 21 Premium Economy seats, and 228 Economy seats.
Flight schedules (in local times):
- AF068: Departs Paris-Charles de Gaulle at 10:10 AM, arrives in Phoenix at 12:10 PM
- AF069: Departs Phoenix at 2:10 PM, arrives at Paris-Charles de Gaulle at 9:15 AM the next day
According to the airport’s most recent economic impact study, international flights from Phoenix contribute over $3.4 billion to the local economy annually. This nonstop flight is expected to generate a $30 million annual economic impact in Arizona, with weekly flights from Phoenix to Paris running through December.
Over 200 people gathered inside the airport to embark on the 10-hour direct flight from Phoenix to Paris.
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Phoenix enjoys nearly year-round sunshine. Situated northeast of the Sonoran Desert, it is an ideal starting point for exploring the region’s stunning landscapes by car, hiking trails, or ATV.
Art and history enthusiasts will love Phoenix’s cultural diversity, which blends Indigenous American and Spanish influences with the enduring spirit of the Wild West, evident throughout the city’s downtown.
Paris Orly ATC Strike
In a separate development, the French civil aviation authority announced today (May 24, 2024) that it had ordered airlines operating at Paris Orly Airport (ORY) to cancel 70 percent of flights due to an upcoming air traffic controller strike.
The cancellations will affect commercial flights scheduled between 04:00 GMT and 21:30 GMT on Saturday. But flights between Orly and French overseas territories will operate as normal.
This stoppage follows a major air traffic controller strike a month ago that impacted several French airports and concluded with an agreement between the civil aviation authority and the largest air traffic controller union, SNCTA.
However, the second-largest union, UNSA-ICNA, stated that staffing levels remain inadequate.
“The managers at Orly continue their penny-pinching, which will quickly lead to understaffing by 2027.”
French ATC Union
Both UNSA-ICNA and the third-largest sector union, USAC-CGT, have rejected the deal signed late last month, which also included salary concessions.
The April strike resulted in the cancellation of thousands of flights in France and across Europe.
Orly, located south of Paris, is the second-largest airport serving the French capital after Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle. It serves as a secondary hub for Air France and is the home base for its low-cost subsidiary, Transavia (HV).
More than 20 other airlines, including easyJet (U2), Iberia (IB), and TAP (TP), operate out of Orly, which processed over 32 million passengers last year, according to the airport association UAF.
Following this, airlines have started canceling their flights, and passengers are left stranded at the airports.
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