Air France (AF, Paris CDG) plans to resume the 375-nautical mile (695-kilometre) route from Paris Orly to Munich in the Summer 2020 season - a sector it previously served until the mid-1970s, according to a report on Routes Online.
The Skyteam member will offer 2x daily flights from March 29, utilising an HOP! (France) (A5, Paris CDG) E190 aircraft on the route. The carrier already flies 39x weekly from its main gateway at Paris CDG to the German destination.
It is recalled that French airport slot coordinator COHOR awarded HOP! two daily slots at Orly, originally for use in serving Frankfurt Int'l. The slots were previously held by the now-defunct Aigle Azur (Paris Orly). COHOR also awarded Lufthansa (LH, Frankfurt International) the exact same number of slots. However, the Star Alliance carrier will fly the route 2x daily with its CRJ900 fleet beginning March 16.
That said, the start of flights to Germany does not fit into Air France's existing international network strategy at Orly. According to the ch-aviation schedules module, the Skyteam carrier currently flies to just eight international destinations from the airport, including French overseas territories like Cayenne, Fort de France, Pointe à Pitre, and St. Denis de la Réunion from Orly, as well as offering services to New York JFK, Basel/Mulhouse/Freiburg, CH, Geneva, and Algiers.
Air France is presently the largest carrier at Orly, commanding 38.5% of weekly seats, well ahead easyJet Europe (EC, Vienna) in second spot with just 8.7%, which rises to 10% if easyJet Switzerland (DS, Geneva) is included.
