[RDU,CDG]

Seemingly out of the blue, Air France has announced plans to begin serving its 14th destination in the United States. Nonstop service between the airline's Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG) hub and Raleigh-Durham (RDU), North Carolina is slated to begin this fall.

Brand-New Service

Raleigh-Durham is a completely new route for Air France. From October 30th, the airline will be operating its 279-seater Boeing 787-9 aircraft three times per week between the capitals of France and North Carolina. 

The new service will operate as AF-692 from Paris to Raleigh, and AF-693 from Raleigh to Paris. The schedule for the new service is as follows:

*All times displayed are local with respect to the departure and arrival airports.

Monumental for Raleigh

Air France will become the 15th airline serving RDU once service begins later this year, but that's the only cool bit of news that comes with this exciting route announcement.

Once Air France launches service, its 787-9 will be the largest aircraft offering regular service to Raleigh-Durham International Airport. The 279 seats on this aircraft are spread across 30 in Business Class, 21 in Premium Economy, and 228 in Economy. This will also mark the first time a Boeing 787 is offering regular service not just to Raleigh but anywhere in North Carolina.

As of now, the largest passenger aircraft regularly serving RDU is American Airlines' Boeing 777-200ER which has 273 seats. American operates this aircraft daily between Raleigh and London Heathrow.

However, American's 777 is not the only daily widebody passenger jet serving the airport. Delta Air Lines operate the 238-seater Boeing 767-400 daily to Paris-Charles de Gaulle. It's this service, in fact, that will be ending once Air France takes the helm in October.

Out of all the airlines currently serving Raleigh-Durham, Air France will offer the best connectivity to Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Perhaps the one community that Air France's new service will especially benefit will be the Indian-American community residing in Raleigh and the Greater Research Triangle area.

North Carolina overall is home to around 425,000 Asian Americans, with Indian Americans comprising the largest group. Most of this population is centered in and around Raleigh in nearby Durham and Chapel Hill, N.C.

Air France serves four cities in India, namely Delhi (DEL), Mumbai (BOM), Chennai (MAA), and Bengaluru (BLR). Easy one-stop itineraries via Paris will now be possible for those wanting to visit family, and friends, or just visit India for tourism.

As briefly mentioned earlier, Raleigh is part of a greater area known as the "Research Triangle". This area is comprised of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill and is called such because of its proximity to three major research universities. These are Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and North Carolina State University.

The Research Triangle is also home to around 300 companies, including those in technology and biotech. Therefore, it goes without saying that Air France's new route to Raleigh will also supplement these businesses in one way or another.

RDU's International Reach

Paris is not a new destination for Raleigh. As mentioned earlier, Delta currently flies there from RDU and has been doing so since 2016. However, having a major European carrier like Air France is a big deal for the airport.

Last year, RDU welcomed another brand-new European carrier. Icelandair began nonstop service from Reykjavik-Keflavik (KEF) and now operates the route year-round with the Boeing 737 MAX.

Aside from Paris and Reykjavik, here are all the international destinations currently served nonstop from Raleigh-Durham International Airport:

• Montreal, Canada (YUL) - Air Canada
• Toronto, Canada (YYZ) - Air Canada
• Cancun, Mexico (CUN) - American, Delta*, jetBlue
• Freeport, Bahamas (FPO) - Bahamasair
• London, England (LHR) - American

*Delta will resume seasonal Cancun service from December 16th, 2023.

Air France's new upcoming service to Raleigh signals exciting times are ahead for the city, region, and airport. Time will tell if other European carriers, namely British Airways or Lufthansa, will consider launching services to RDU.