English
Arabic
Chinese (Simplified)
Dutch
French
German
Indonesian
Italian
Malay
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish
Swedish
Thai
Air France has announced plans to increase flight capacity to the Maldives by replacing its Boeing 777-200ER jet with a new 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft.
Air France last week filed operational changes for its seasonal Maldives service for winter 2018/19 season.
From November, the two weekly flights to the Maldives will be operated by the new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, replacing 777-200ER. Starting December 10, the Skyteam member will introduce third weekly rotation, operating on Mondays from Paris and Tuesdays from Male.
The French flagship carrier began direct flights to the Maldives on November 2, 2017, offering two weekly flights to the island nation’s main Velana International Airport on departure from Paris-Charles de Gaulle.
The airline has been using a Boeing 777-200 jet equipped with the latest Air France travel cabins, and with a capacity of 312 seats, including 28 in Business, 24 in Premium Economy and 260 in Economy. Flights operate on Wednesdays and Saturdays on departure from Paris and on Thursdays and Sundays on departure from Male.
The capacity increase by Air France is expected to give a much needed boost to tourist arrivals from France as well as from the whole of Europe.
Despite France being an important source market for the Maldives tourism industry, growth in arrivals has become stagnant over the past years. According to officials figures, arrivals from France observed an year-on-year increase of just four percent last year.
However, arrivals from France have seen an increase of 23.5 percent in the first two of this year.
Source URL: Maldives Insider
