Air France resumed April 17 Taipei-Paris direct flights after a 20-year hiatus, offering three services between the cities each week under a codeshare agreement with Taiwan-headquartered China Airlines.
The 13-hour flights between Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Charles de Gaulle Airport are operated by a Boeing 777-200 aircraft configured to carry 280 passengers. Services will depart from Taiwan Tuesday, Friday and Sunday, with the return legs leaving France Monday, Thursday and Saturday.
During a welcoming ceremony for the first flight, Taoyuan City Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan said the route will strengthen the tourism sectors of both sides as well as facilitate more frequent business and education exchanges.
Antoine Pussiau, Asia-Pacific senior vice president of Air France-KLM, said Taiwan will be the sole destination in Asia added by the carrier this year. The relaunch of services to this potential-laden market spotlights the company’s commitment to boosting transportation links between Taiwan and Europe, he added.
According to Steve Chang, senior vice president of China Airlines, demand for the flights is strong, with 80 percent of seats booked in April. It is anticipated that sales will remain at this level for the remainder of the year, he said.
Tourism links between the two sides have recorded impressive growth recently. Visitor numbers from France rose 10.5 percent year on year to 46,822 in 2017, marking it Taiwan’s third-largest source market in Europe behind Germany and the U.K. in that order, according to the Tourism Bureau under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications. (CPY-E)
Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw