Air France to begin non-stop flights from Seattle to Paris
02-20-2007, 03:16 PM
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Air France to begin non-stop flights from Seattle to Paris
From Seattle PI:
Seattleites will be able to fly non-stop daily to Paris via Air France from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport beginning June 11.
Sea-Tac also provides direct service to London, via British Airways; Amsterdam, via Northwest Airlines; and Copenhagen, via Scandinavian Airlines (known as SAS).
Air France will use the Airbus A330-200 to carry as many as 219 passengers between Seattle and Paris' Charles de Gaulle International Airport, arriving in Seattle daily at 2:35 p.m. and leaving for Paris at 4:55 p.m.
Forty of the flight's 219 seats will be business class, the rest in economy. The 4:55 p.m. departing flight will arrive in Paris 11:40 the next morning, while the flight arriving at 2:35 p.m. will have departed Paris at 1:20 p.m. that day. The ten-hour flight costs about $622 each way using Air France's online booking service, which calculates the total trip cost at $1,420.
Paris is the largest European City without direct service to Sea-Tac. France is Washington's second-largest European trading partner.
Currently, 50,000 passengers fly through Sea-Tac to and from Paris. Air France's hub at de Gaulle Airport offers service to 126 European destinations in 34 countries, including France and North Africa.
Software, aerospace and tourism are among the industries the Port of Seattle commission hopes will benefit from the increased service.
The new flights are a direct result of the commission last week authorizing the waiving of all landing fees for new international air service routes during their first year at Sea-Tac and 75 percent of the fees the following year.
"It's been twenty some years in the making, and it's wonderful news," Port of Seattle Commission President John Creighton said. "They asked us if we could sweeten the pot a little, but we are required to treat all airline carriers the same, so we decided to change the general agreement."
"We are working to get more routes to mainland China and South America, so if this incentive program pushes them over the edge into considering non-stop service to more cities, all the better," Creighton said, calling it a win for both leisure and business travelers.
"We are in the second year of a seven-year lease incentive program, which has not been successful" in attracting airlines to begin non-stop service to new international destinations in Asia and Europe, said David Soike, Deputy Director of Aviation Development and Finance at the port meeting Friday. "Airlines say the other airports have better deals, and we've been listening."
Facilities charges will be cut 75 percent for each of the first two years of a new international air service, and the port will contribute $250,000 the first year, $160,000 the second year and $45,000 the third year to a joint-marketing program.
"We still can't do anywhere near what other airports can do, but this is a step in the right direction," said Port of Seattle Chief Executive Mic Dinsmore, who said Seattle had lost business to Portland, which was "more responsive" to airlines' bargaining.
Direct service to Copenhagen from Sea-Tac began 41 years ago, while Northwest's non-stop flights to Amsterdam from Sea-Tac started in 1998.
Seattleites will be able to fly non-stop daily to Paris via Air France from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport beginning June 11.
Sea-Tac also provides direct service to London, via British Airways; Amsterdam, via Northwest Airlines; and Copenhagen, via Scandinavian Airlines (known as SAS).
Air France will use the Airbus A330-200 to carry as many as 219 passengers between Seattle and Paris' Charles de Gaulle International Airport, arriving in Seattle daily at 2:35 p.m. and leaving for Paris at 4:55 p.m.
Forty of the flight's 219 seats will be business class, the rest in economy. The 4:55 p.m. departing flight will arrive in Paris 11:40 the next morning, while the flight arriving at 2:35 p.m. will have departed Paris at 1:20 p.m. that day. The ten-hour flight costs about $622 each way using Air France's online booking service, which calculates the total trip cost at $1,420.
Paris is the largest European City without direct service to Sea-Tac. France is Washington's second-largest European trading partner.
Currently, 50,000 passengers fly through Sea-Tac to and from Paris. Air France's hub at de Gaulle Airport offers service to 126 European destinations in 34 countries, including France and North Africa.
Software, aerospace and tourism are among the industries the Port of Seattle commission hopes will benefit from the increased service.
The new flights are a direct result of the commission last week authorizing the waiving of all landing fees for new international air service routes during their first year at Sea-Tac and 75 percent of the fees the following year.
"It's been twenty some years in the making, and it's wonderful news," Port of Seattle Commission President John Creighton said. "They asked us if we could sweeten the pot a little, but we are required to treat all airline carriers the same, so we decided to change the general agreement."
"We are working to get more routes to mainland China and South America, so if this incentive program pushes them over the edge into considering non-stop service to more cities, all the better," Creighton said, calling it a win for both leisure and business travelers.
"We are in the second year of a seven-year lease incentive program, which has not been successful" in attracting airlines to begin non-stop service to new international destinations in Asia and Europe, said David Soike, Deputy Director of Aviation Development and Finance at the port meeting Friday. "Airlines say the other airports have better deals, and we've been listening."
Facilities charges will be cut 75 percent for each of the first two years of a new international air service, and the port will contribute $250,000 the first year, $160,000 the second year and $45,000 the third year to a joint-marketing program.
"We still can't do anywhere near what other airports can do, but this is a step in the right direction," said Port of Seattle Chief Executive Mic Dinsmore, who said Seattle had lost business to Portland, which was "more responsive" to airlines' bargaining.
Direct service to Copenhagen from Sea-Tac began 41 years ago, while Northwest's non-stop flights to Amsterdam from Sea-Tac started in 1998.
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