In anticipation of rising demand during the 2014 summer season, Air France will be increasing flight capacities to several Southeast Asian destinations.
The airline started serving Kuala Lumpur in April last year with a Boeing 777-200 but will be increasing capacity for the route by 25 per cent this month through the introduction of another Boeing 777-200 with a new "leisure" configuration featuring 309 seats in a three-class configuration with 35 in business, 24 in premium economy and 250 in economy. The previous configuration had 246 seats with four suites in first class, 48 in business, 24 in premium economy, and 170 in economy.
The move may be an indication that demand for premium cabins on this route is lower than expected.
Air France currently serves the route three times weekly.
Starting from June 16, the carrier will also launch an additional frequency between Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG) and Kuala Lumpur, thereby serving the route four times weekly.
FLIGHT SCHEDULE BETWEEN PARIS AND KUALA LUMPUR
AF 246: Leaves CDG at 1940 on Mondays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays – arrives in Kuala Lumpur at 1405 the following day
AF 241: Leaves Kuala Lumpur at 2310 on Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays – arrives at CDG at 0610 the following day
Meanwhile, Air France will also be increasing its flight capacity to Singapore during the peak 2014 summer season. Between June 17 and August 30, the carrier will operate 10 weekly flights, up from seven.
The additional flights will be operated by the Boeing 777-200 rather than the larger Boeing 777-300, which Air France uses for its normal daily service to the Lion City. The B777-200 will feature the 246 seater configuration.
FLIGHT SCHEDULE BETWEEN PARIS AND SINGAPORE
On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, from June 17 to August 30
AF 256: Leaves CDG at 2320 – arrives in Singapore at 1855 the following day
AF 257: Leaves Singapore at 2315 – arrives at CDG at 0600 the following day
Finally, as reported previously by Business Traveller Asia-Pacific, Air France will be serving the Indonesian capital of Jakarta from March 30, via a route extension through Singapore. For a full report of this soon-to-be-launched service, please see here.
For more information, visit www.airfrance.com
Clement Huang
