Air France has quietly cancelled its route between Paris CDG and Abu Dhabi only a year after launch. The final flight will take place on Sunday 27 October 2024.
Air France will continue to codeshare on the daily Etihad Airways flights between Abu Dhabi and Paris. Flying Blue members will also earn miles on Etihad Airways marketed and operated flights.
The news is a little surprising as it was only last year that Etihad Airways and Air France-KLM signed an expansive partnership agreement to explore collaboration across passenger operations, loyalty programmes, talent development, and maintenance. The route may have underperformed expectations, or Air France needs the aircraft for a different route.
Abu Dhabi to Paris flights this winter
Once the Air France service ends, there will be a single daily flight between Abu Dhabi and Paris CDG operated by Etihad Airways in both directions. From 1 November 2024, the Etihad Airways winter schedule between Paris CDG and Abu Dhabi is:
EY31
Depart Abu Dhabi AUH at 02:40
Arrive Paris CDG at 07:30
EY32
Depart Paris CDG at 09:45
Arrive Abu Dhabi AUH at 19:25
This is disappointing news for those of us who prefer day flights between Abu Dhabi and Europe. The Air France flight from Abu Dhabi to Paris was scheduled as a day flight with a very civilised mid-morning departure. I will miss having that option as an alternative to Etihad’s middle-of-the-night departure.
Air France also offered a decent Premium Economy product onboard, which I flew with the family over the summer. I had a review in the pipeline for the blog, but that seems redundant now.
Paris is getting an A380 upgrade
Etihad Airways had previously announced that it would begin serving Paris CDG with an A380 aircraft from 1 November 2024.
That represents a significant increase in Etihad’s capacity. The A380 carries 497 passengers compared. The A350-1000 currently serving Paris CDG only has room for 371 passengers. That’s an increase of 34%. Perhaps there was a view that the route could not support two flights a day.
Conclusion
The final Air France flight from Abu Dhabi to Paris CDG will occur on Sunday 27 October 2024.