About Airport

Air France came into being by the merger of four France-based transport companies and Aeropostale, which was at that time an airmail carrier. The airline was officially formed on 7th October,’33, at the Le Bourget airport. It had 259 total aircrafts, to its name. Air France logo is inspired from the symbol of Air Orient, which depicts a winged seahorse.

France?s civil aviation industry was made nationalised by’45, and Air France was handed with the responsibility of the complete air transportation network of the country, making it the flag-carrier of France. The inauguration of the Paris ? New York route was made in July,’46. After this, the luxury ocean liners were modernized, and the ?The Parisian Special? that flew between Paris and New York, had champagne on board, private cabins, and gourmet meals.

Very soon, the Caravelle and the Boeing 707 were included to the Air France fleet, between’59 and’60, making the travel time reduced to half. The airline moved its base to the Charles de Gaulle airport in’74. At the same time, the Air France also diversified its business into the cargo operations, which became a great success. The airline soon after, started the state of the art Concorde, in the year’76.

The’90s witnessed many mergers between the Air France and different carriers. The most recent one is the merger with KLM, which took place around the early 2000s. Air France also joined the SkyTeam alliance to provide its customers with a more wide-ranging network of destinations.

Today Air France has three main areas of business: Passengers, being the most important and the biggest, followed by cargo and then aircraft maintenance. The airline sports Europe?s most modern fleet comprising of more than 389 aircrafts, of which two thirds are owned and the balance of one third is leased.

Air France works hard constantly to create pioneering solutions for its customers. Besides, the usual Net services like online booking of flights and easy online check-in. The airline also offers special facilities, for instance ?smartboarding? which lets the passengers get security checked without standing in a line; get the baggage tracked through a microchip, and staying connected with the world while on flight, through mobile phones.

Over and above these services, Air France is also committed to excellence. Flight punctuality is a top most priority for them.

s a SkyTeam Alliance member, Air France operates flights out of South Africa to all the major destinations in the world. Apart from its self operated flights, Air France also offers flights through the other members of the alliance; Aeroflot, Aeromexico, Continental, Delta, CSA Czech Airlines, Korean Air, KLM, Northwest, China Southern Airlines and Alitalia ensuring an even wider range of destinations.

Graham McKenzie is the content syndication coordinator for South Arica?s leading Flight comparison & Booking portal, which includes Alitalia Airlines amongst others.