Air France celebrates 30 years of service during the modern era from Paris to Birmingham Airport‏

Juliana Wright, Account Manager at Air France, with Paul Kehoe, Birmingham Airport Chief Executive,
Tim Roulston, Air France Field Sales Manager and Jo Lloyd, Commercial Director at Birmingham Airport
Air France has celebrated 30 years of the service in the modern era operating to Paris Charles de Gaulle
from Birmingham Airport, over which time the airline has carried more than 1.7 million passengers

The national carrier for France operates almost 2,000 flights and carries 225,000 passengers a year
from Birmingham, and has a strong network of onward connectivity from Paris to Nice, Johannesburg,
Beijing, Hong Kong, Marseilles and Shanghai

The morning Air France service to Paris CDG received a water canon salute to celebrate 30 years of service
Paul Kehoe, Birmingham Airport’s Chief Executive, said: "Commencing services in September
1985, Air France is one of Birmingham Airport’s longest serving carriers and has sustained
operations throughout the three decades, growing from strength to strength"

“The commitment from airlines like Air France means that they benefit from Birmingham’s world
class facilities, excellent location and strong catchment area. We look forward to many more
decades of growth and partnership with Air France, and wish the team a very Happy Anniversary"


Warner Rootliep, General Manager for the UK and Ireland, said: "We are proud to be celebrating
the 30th anniversary of Air France’s service from Birmingham Airport to Paris Charles de Gaulle
Airport. We are dedicated to continual progress in meeting the expectations of our regional
customers and this is evident in our longstanding relationship with Birmingham Airport

Air France first served Birmingham Airport in the post war years initial flying a Douglas DC3 Dakota
to Paris Le Bourget and later also serving the seasonal holiday destination of Dinard. While the Paris
service was later upgraded to a Douglas DC4 the route was suspended on 11 April 1954

Air France returned to Birmingham on Monday 2 September 1985 initially operating a Monday to Friday
evening service - AF962/961 - from Paris CDG using a Boeing 737-200. Nowadays it operates three flights
a day using Airbus A318/319/320/321 aircraft with a further three daily flights to Paris operated by flybe
under a code share agreement. flybe also serve a number of other French destinations under the agreement  


Tuesday 1 September 2015