Air France will leave the Puget Sound airline market next spring when it calls quits to its Sea-Tac-Paris route.
But this area’s nonstop connection to France won’t be lost. Air France’s SkyTeam alliance partner, Delta Air Lines, will pick up that route March 25, the day after Air France abandons it.
Air France will have served Sea-Tac for nearly five years when it leaves. Its first flight from Sea-Tac to Paris was on June 11, 2007.
Air France is struggling with higher fuel prices and reduced customer demand. The airline’s earnings fell by 31 percent in the third quarter. The company has told analysts to expect a loss for the year.
Delta has made Sea-Tac a West Coast hub for foreign travel with flights from here to Osaka and Tokyo in Japan and Beijing in China. The airline also flies from Sea-Tac to Amsterdam where Air France/KLM has a hub. Next spring it will also fly to Air France’s Paris hub, Charles de Gaulle Airport.
Air France had flown an Airbus jet on the route, an A330. Delta will fly a Boeing 767-300.
John Gillie
john.gillie@thenewstribune.com
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.