Air France announces new New York route, will resume Iran flights

Ben Mutzabaugh | USA TODAY

Air France announced two high-profile international routes Tuesday, detailing a second Paris route out of New York as well as plans to resume flights to Iran.

From New York, Air France will begin flying from JFK Airport to Paris Orly in June. Air France already offers several daily round-trip flights between JFK and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, which is the airline’s biggest hub and the busiest in France. Orly is Paris’ second-busiest airport.

Air France said the new JFK-Orly route “enables passengers to easily connect with (the airline’s) domestic network on arrival at Paris-Orly.” The flight will be operated as part of Air France’s joint-venture partnership with Delta.

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Air France will fly one daily round-trip flight between JFK and Paris Orly using 309-seat Boeing 777-200 aircraft. The 777s on the route are configured with 35 business-class seats, 24 Premium Economy seats and 250 standard coach seats. The Paris-bound flight will leave JFK at 6:05 p.m. and land at Orly at 7:05 a.m. the next morning, all times local. The return leaves Orly at 11 a.m. and lands at JFK at 1:10 p.m., all times local.

Air France also said it would begin flying to Iran for the first time since 2008. The airline plans three weekly flights to Iran’s capital city of Tehran. Beginning in April, Air France will fly one round-trip flight each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

“In this way, Air France is illustrating its ambition to expand in a country with buoyant growth, as the European Union is Iran’s fourth most important economic partner,” Air France said in a statement announcing the new route.

Air France last flew to Tehran in 2008, but pulled down the route amid the global economic crisis.

Air France's return to Iran, of course, comes after a nuclear deal was reached earlier this year between Iran and major Western nations, including France and the United States. In detailing the Tehran flights, Air France described the service as "supporting the resumption of commercial exchange with Iran."

Despite Iran’s strained ties with the West, a number of European carriers already fly to Iran. Alitalia, Austrian, Lufthansa, Turkish and Aegean are among at least a half-dozen European airlines currently offering either seasonal or year-round service to Iran.

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