RDU airport travelers will fly a different airline to Paris starting this fall
Another airline is coming to Raleigh-Durham International Airport this fall to take over a trans-Atlantic route established by Delta Air Lines.
Air France will begin flying between RDU and Paris in October, operating a flight Delta inaugurated in 2016. Air France and Delta are partners, seamlessly selling tickets on each other’s flights. Triangle travelers who land at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport after an overnight flight can connect to some 200 destinations in dozens of countries.
Air France is scheduled to take over the route between RDU and Charles de Gaulle on Oct. 30. The carrier will fly three days a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Delta currently flies daily between the Triangle and Paris.
Delta spokesman Drake Castaneda said the airline’s customers will still be able to book the RDU-Paris flight on delta.com and the Delta app and will still earn Delta frequent flyer miles.
“The only real change here is that Air France will operate the flight itself,” Castaneda said.
Air France will use a larger plane than Delta, a 279-seat Boeing 787. Delta uses a Boeing 767 with 234 seats.
Delta became the second airline to offer nonstop flights between the Triangle and Europe, competing with the long-established American Airlines flight to London. Last year, they were joined by Icelandair, which flies nonstop to Reykjavik with connections to about 30 cities in Europe.
“Triangle-area travelers embraced RDU’s nonstop service to Paris when it launched in 2016 and have made it one of their favorite international destinations,” Michael Landguth, RDU’s president and CEO, said in a written statement. “We welcome the arrival of Air France and the opportunities it provides to connect more travelers from our region with Paris and destinations in Europe, India and beyond.”
Air France will become the 15th airline to operate out of RDU and the seventh to offer international service. In addition to Paris, London and Reykjavik, Triangle travelers can fly nonstop to Cancun, Freeport, Montreal and Toronto.
RDU becomes the 14th U.S. airport where Air France operates, according to Eric Caron, the North America general manager for Air France-KLM, the airline’s parent company.
“Whether the final destination is Paris or going beyond through Air France’s wide global network, we look forward to welcoming travelers on board soon,” Caron said in a statement.
This story was originally published July 12, 2023 at 9:50 AM.
