Air France will start a new twice-daily service from Shannon Airport to Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris from 4th February 2008, writes June Aherne.The new flights, to be operated by CityJet, will not only link the Mid West with Paris but will provide the region with vital connectivity through the Paris-Charles De Gaulle hub to 248 Air France-KLM destinations across the world, and via the SkyTeam alliance to 841 cities. The Air France hub at Charles de Gaulle airport coordinates the arrival and departure times of flights across the whole network so that passengers can connect with their onward international flights in as little as 45 minutes.
The Shannon to Paris flights will depart each day at 9.35 a.m. and 7.00p.m. The Paris to Shannon flights will depart at 7.40 a.m. and 5.05p.m. The schedule has been planned to fit with the Air France hub to facilitate easy worldwide connections, as well as being convenient for travellers whose final destination is Paris. Customers can find the latest fares and book seats online at www.airfrance.ie .
Following a meeting with the Minister for Transport, Mr. Noel Dempsey T.D., Mr. Geoffrey O’Byrne-White, CityJet’s Chief Executive said: "CityJet and our parent company, Air France, appreciate the need for continuity of service for the Mid West business community, so even though our aircraft are already busy on our existing network, we've worked hard to put this new service in place as quickly as possible,” he said. Speaking at the launch of the new service, Mr. Noel Dempsey TD, Minister for Transport, commended CityJet and its parent company, Air France, for working to ensure that the local and international business communities have access to the Mid West.
“Over the past few months the business community sought to have a service that will provide them and their customers with connectivity to and from key destinations throughout the world. I believe that CityJet and Air France are not only meeting that requirement, but exceeding it by giving them a business-quality service and access to over 800 destinations throughout the world,” Minister Dempsey said. “On behalf of the Government, I wish to extend my sincerest gratitude to CityJet and Air France for ensuring that there will be virtually no break in the Mid West's access to international destinations. I believe CityJet’s commitment to work with Shannon airport and the local community to grow the business will contribute to attracting new industry and new visitors to the area and I urge everybody in the business community in the Midwest to wholeheartedly support this new service,” he said.
CityJet, the Irish subsidiary of Air France, currently flies from Dublin to Paris Charles De Gaulle seven times a day and London City Airport six times a day. It has also developed a broad and successful network out of London City, flying business passengers to Dublin, Paris, Edinburgh, Geneva, and a host of other destinations every day. CityJet is based in Swords, Co Dublin, employs 720 staff and carried 1.6 million passengers last year.