Bon voyage: Air France to begin direct flights from Seattle to Paris

Air France will soon offer direct flights from Seattle to Paris aboard a Boeing 777-200 like the one pictured above. Delta already operates a daily flight to Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport in partnership with Air France, but Air France's flight experience has a reputation for being more luxurious than that aboard Delta. less Air France will soon offer direct flights from Seattle to Paris aboard a Boeing 777-200 like the one pictured above. Delta already operates a daily flight to Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport in partnership with ... more Photo: Courtesy Port Of Seattle/Air France Photo: Courtesy Port Of Seattle/Air France Image 1 of / 80 Caption Close Bon voyage: Air France to begin direct flights from Seattle to Paris 1 / 80 Back to Gallery

Europe-bound passengers from Seattle, and vice versa, will have a new, perhaps more posh option to get there starting in March.

Air France announced Wednesday that the carrier will begin operating direct flights from Sea-Tac to Paris five days a week -- Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays -- starting March 25, 2018.

That's in addition to daily direct flights to Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport already flying from Sea-Tac as part of a joint venture between Air France and Delta, according to details shared by the Port of Seattle.

But Air France's flights are known for being a bit more luxurious than Delta's offerings, a bonus to those who regularly sit through the 10-hour (give or take) flights.

Air France will fly the route with a Boeing 777-200, a long-range aircraft with room for up to 312 passengers with three classes of seating -- business, premium economy and economy.

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Flights will leave Seattle at 4:30 p.m. with a Paris arrival of 11:10 a.m. (Paris local time). Seattle-bound flights will leave Paris at 1:30 p.m. and touchdown in Sea-Tac at 2:20 p.m. (again, local times).

Over the 2017-2018 winter, Air France will also fly to Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York-JFK, San Francisco, and Washington D.C., according to the carrier.

International travelers will see better service into Sea-Tac starting in late 2019, when the new international arrivals facility opens. The new hub will double passenger capacity with more gates fit to serve wide-body long-haul aircraft and other improvements, according to the Port. Construction on the facility started earlier this year.

Daniel DeMay covers Seattle culture, city hall, and transportation for seattlepi.com. He can be reached at 206-448-8362 or danieldemay@seattlepi.com. Follow him on Twitter: @Daniel_DeMay.