Just a few days prior to the opening of the Paris 2024 Olympic games, Air France has named their newest Airbus A350-900 ‘Paris’, honoring the host city of the 33rd Olympiad.
On Thursday (July 18, 2024), Air France announced the naming of their newest long-haul Airbus A350-900 ‘Paris’ in honor of the 33rd Olympiad’s host city just days before the opening of the summer 2024 Olympic games. The aircraft, registration F-HUVJ, features the name Paris as well as the official logo of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, of which Air France is an official partner. Air France A350-900 ‘Paris’ joined the carrier’s hub at Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) on Thursday, where it operated its first commercial flight to Hong Kong (HKG).
During the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, which runs from July 27th through August 11, 2024, Air France will maintain a dedicated exhibition space at the Palais de Tokyo located at 13 Avenue de Président Wilson. Visitors of all ages will be able to access the 850 square-meter exhibition space from 10:30am to 6pm daily free of charge. The exhibit features a virtual reality cockpit visit of Air France’s A350-900 ‘Paris’, a mockup of the carrier’s latest Business Class cabin, as well as the iconic red dress with a never-ending train featured in the Air France brand video.
In 2019, Air France revived their tradition of naming aircraft after French cities and France’s regions across the world. Now, ‘Paris’ has joined other named aircraft, including Lyon, Saint-Denis de la Réunion, and Grasse. Air France operates a fleet of 256 aircraft, offering nearly 1,000 daily flights from Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly to around 200 destinations worldwide. For the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Air France expects to carry one in five athletes, specifically 15 percent of Olympic athletes, 35 percent of Paralympic athletes and 13 percent of members of the ‘Olympic and Paralympic Family.’
After five years in Japan, the Olympic flag was flown to Paris onboard and Air France flight following the closing of the Tokyo 2020 games. Upon arrival, it was welcomed by Air France staff and the French delegation led by Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo and Tony Estanguet, President of the Paris 2024 Games Organizing Committee, who announced the official start of the countdown to the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Games.
Air France’s newest Airbus A350-900 (Paris) features 48 Business Class, 32 Premium Economy, and 212 Economy Class seats, and will serve destinations across the carrier’s extensive long-haul network, including New York, Santiago de Chile, Hong Kong and Antananarivo in Madagascar. The aircraft delivers a 25 percent reduction in CO2 emissions as well as a 40 percent smaller noise footprint compared to previous generation aircraft. By 2030, 70 percent of the Air France fleet will be made up of the latest-generation aircraft, up from 20 percent in 2023.
Source: Air France