For Air France, Olympic Demand Surging as Games Approach

As the sporting world prepares to descend upon Paris this summer, one of the first touchpoints for the host country for many athletes, coaches, support staff and fans may be France’s national airline — which has been preparing for years for this moment.

This summer, Air France will fly to the United States over 211 times a week, serving a total of 17 destinations once its new service in Phoenix starts in May. The new flights come as Paris will host the Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games, which take place from July 26–August 11 and August 28–September 8 respectively.

“The United States has always been a key market for Air France,” said Boaz Hulsman, vice president of commercial, North America for Air France KLM. “The demand to France has always been extremely high in the summer, but there is an anticipation for record bookings.”

Air France was a supporter for the 2024 Games before Paris was even announced as host, supporting the bid process. As the Games approach, Hulsman said new bookings for the Olympics period of July 22 through August 18 are up 22 percent compared with last year.

“The demand to France and Paris has been really strong for the past few years,” Hulsman said, adding “we’re looking to present the best of France, not just gastronomy and fashion but the entire culture around it. We really hope to put our best foot forward.”

New Markets Announced

Air France previously announced new service between Paris and Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, which is scheduled to begin on May 23. The new route will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays throughout the summer. The airline is resuming a daily flight from Minneapolis to Paris as well as extending the direct service from Raleigh-Durham to seven flights per week this summer.

“We have a whole process to review industry demand,” Hulsman said. “If you just look at the three specific examples, Minneapolis, that’s a big Delta hub because we are bringing back our own service. Then you look to Raleigh-Durham, that used to be Delta but we took it over this winter and increased it to a daily service, which is a testament to the daily demand. (And there’s) new markets where we traditionally haven’t been like Phoenix.”

Air France also commissioned Chef Dominique Crenn to design and curate a new menu for the La Première and Business class cabins. The Michelin-star chef created dishes for the airline such as Lobster with Pico de Gallo and tea sauce, as well as California Charbonnier with quinoa.

Marketing Plan Unveiled

As official partner of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games, Air France recently unveiled a new advertising campaign. A young woman wearing makeup in the colors of the French flag will be on giant displays in the passenger terminals at Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly, on billboards near the competition venues in Paris and in the main cities hosting sporting events including Marseille, Lyon and Nantes.

Air France is also putting together a series of videos ahead of the Games, starting with an initial video clip describing the transport of sports equipment such as kayaks, athletics poles and competition bikes. Air France has added 1,000 workers between ground crew, cabin crews, networking planning and more, and has increased its cargo space at airports.

At Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly, there will be dedicated check-ins and drop-offs for the Olympic village for athletes and official delegations for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. As part of what Hulsman said is Air France’s desire “to position how we want to drive the entire air industry to a more sustainable future,” and the Games’ overall focus on sustainability, Air France will match the amount of each customer subscription to the “Environment-sustainable aviation fuels” option during the 2024 Games. This will automatically apply to all bookings for travel between July 18 and September 9, 2024, to destinations in mainland France, as well as French Polynesia.

“It’s a unique occasion to represent ourselves, bringing the best of France because we are that first touchpoint to go to the Olympics,” Hulsman said.