On Friday, Air France announced that it would be increasing its service to the French Caribbean starting from December 21st and continuing through the remainder of the winter season. The airline already operates service to the French Caribbean from Paris-Orly. Still, this additional service will see flights operating between Pointe-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe) and Fort-de-France (Martinique) and Paris-Charles de Gaulle. This means that up to three daily flights will be operated daily between Paris and each of the two islands.
The Winter flight schedule
Beginning December 21st, this is what Air France will be offering in terms of service to the French Caribbean from its two Paris airports:
- To/from Pointe-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe): 21 weekly direct flights:
- 17 weekly direct flights to Paris-Orly (AF763/762, AF793/792, and AF797/766)
- Four weekly direct flights to Paris-Charles de Gaulle on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays (AF739/740)
- To/from Fort-de-France (Martinique): 19 weekly direct flights:
- 16 weekly direct flights to Paris-Orly (AF841/842, AF847/848, and AF851/852)
- Three weekly direct flights to Paris-Charles de Gaulle on Mondays, Fridays, and Sundays (AF809/810)
The aircraft of choice for these services
The Boeing 777-300ER will operate these Air France flights. These widebodies are equipped with business, premium economy, and economy cabins.
There are multiple configurations for Air France’s 777-300s. Some are in the 468-seat configuration, which divides into 14 business class seats, 32 premium economy seats, and 422 economy seats.
However, we mentioned early this year that the carrier has a sub fleet of 10 777-300s that recently underwent a €120 million refurbishment. These high-density jets will feature 472 seats, including 14 in business class, 28 in premium economy, and 430 for economy class.
An abundance of service this winter
Air France’s increase in service might not be too welcome with other airlines running service from Paris to the French Caribbean. For example, also flying to Pointe-à-Pitre are airlines Corsair and Air Caraibes. On some days, both airlines run multiple services each day (more so for Air Caraibes).
Corsair will operate its A330, while Air Caraibes will also deploy the A330 as well as the A350. While the A350 is a newer aircraft, you may not want to be stuck in economy class with Air Caraibes on this jet. That’s because the airline’s A350s include an unusual high-density 10-abreast layout in economy class, meaning narrower seats and potentially additional discomfort.
Also flying between Paris and PTP is IAG-owned LEVEL using an Airbus A330.
Do you have any plans to travel to the French Caribbean this Winter? Or at least somewhere warm? Share your travel plans (or aspirations) with us in the comments!
