From September 1 passengers flying Air France between Paris CDG and Tokyo Narita will be able to sample the A380 superjumbo.
Mind you, Air France will not be the first European carrier to serve Tokyo with the A380. That honour goes to Germany’s Lufthansa which will inaugurate A380 flights between Europe and Japan next Friday when it launches a rival service out of Frankfurt into Tokyo Narita.
But Air France’s new service will be a worthy competitor especially, as with Lufthansa, its flights are timed to offer a large number of connecting possibilities through its Paris CDG hub.
The A380 will operate Air France’s flight AF276 every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday from Paris CDG which arrives into Tokyo the next morning at 0810. Return A380 flight AF275 will depart Narita at 1150 every Monday, Thursday and Saturday to land back into CDG the same day at 1715. From October 5, Air France says the A380 service will be upgraded to a daily frequency.
The carrier’s A380 accommodates a maximum of 538 passengers. There are nine first class seats on the lower deck and 80 business class seats upstairs. Economy class is split between the A380’s upper and lower decks. Note that Air France’s A380s do not currently have premium economy seating, but the carrier is due to start equipping its superjumbos with the product from next year (see online news May 25).
Tokyo will be the third destination for Air France’s A380 after New York (which was launched in November last year) and Johannesburg (which started last February).
For more information visit airfrance.co.uk.
Report by Alex McWhirter
- For details of Air France’s A380 superjumbo, click here
- For a comparison of the current A380 layouts operated by SIA, Emirates, Qantas, Air France and Lufthansa, click here
