This airline company was established on October 7, 1933. Serving as the flag carrier of France, it has its headquarters located in Tremblay-en-France. Additionally, it operates as a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM group and holds the distinction of being a founding member of the Skyteam global airlines alliance. With a comprehensive network, the airline offers services to 36 destinations within France and provides scheduled passenger and cargo services to an extensive network of 175 destinations across approximately 78 countries worldwide.

The airline also boasted a passenger count of 46,803 in 2019. Its global hub is situated at Charles de Gaulle Airport, while its domestic hub is at Orly Airport. The airline's corporate headquarters can be found in Montparnasse, situated on the grounds of Charles de Gaulle Airport, just north of Paris.

The origins of this airline company date back to its formation on October 7, 1933. During the Cold War era, spanning from 1950 to 1990, Air France stood among the three major Allied scheduled airline operators at Tempelhof and Tegel airports in Germany. In 1990, the airline acquired the operations of the French domestic carrier Air Inter and its international competitor UTA. It remained France's national flag carrier for seven decades before merging with KLM in 2003.

Hop, which operates as the regional subsidiary of Air France, impressively served 51.4 million passengers in 2018. It maintains a mixed fleet of Airbus and Boeing widebody aircraft for long-haul routes, while short-haul routes are covered by the Airbus A320 family of aircraft. Notably, Air France introduced the A380 on November 20, 2009, with service to New York City's JFK Airport.

History

The constituent members of this airline company developed an extensive European network extending to French colonies in North Africa. During World War II, the airline relocated its operations to Casablanca.

In 1936, Air France incorporated French-built twin-engine Potez 62 aircraft into its fleet. These aircraft featured a two-compartment cabin, accommodating 14 to 16 passengers. The Potez 62 was a high-wing monoplane with a wooden fuselage and composite coating, complemented by fabric wings with a metal edge. It maintained a cruising speed of around 175 miles per hour and remained in service until the Second World War, with one unit used by the Free French Air Force.

France's air transport companies underwent nationalization on June 26, 1945. On December 29, 1945, a decree from the French government entrusted Air France with the management of the entire French air transport network. In 1946, the airline appointed its first flight attendants and opened its inaugural air terminal at Les Invalides in Central Paris. On July 1, 1946, Air France initiated direct flights between Paris and New York with refueling stops at Shannon and Gander. By September 1947, the airline's network extended east from New York to Buenos Aires and Shanghai.

By 1948, the airline company operated a fleet of 130 aircraft, ranking among the world's largest fleets. Lockheed Constellations served worldwide routes for both passengers and cargo between 1947 and 1965.

Jet Age Reorganization

In 1952, Air France relocated its operations and engineering base to the newly constructed Orly Airport. By then, it covered a vast network spanning 250,000 kilometers. The airline embraced the jet age in August 1953 and introduced the Vickers Viscount turboprop in the mid-1950s. The government directive in May 1953 instructed Air France to share long-distance routes with new private airlines, a practice that continued until August 1954.

The Ministry of Public Works and Transport transferred Air France's domestic monopoly to Air Inter on February 23, 1960. Subsequently, the government formalized the division of routes between Air France and its private sector competitors on February 1, 1963.