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70th anniversary of Air France's first stewardesses

In April 1946, Air France welcomed its first eleven stewardesses on board its aircraft.Thanks to them, the Company has over the years built a reputation for excellence and flies its aircraft around the world in the highest standards of quality and safety. Of the 13,500 Air France flight attendants, there are currently more than 8,800 stewardesses.They represent the Company worldwide…The "housewife" stewardessIn 1938 the first steward appeared at Air France. With longer flights such as the Paris - New York that could last up to 23 hours 45 minutes, the Company strengthened its workforce by hiring its first stewardesses. But they didn't have the same tasks. The stewards prepared the meals in the galley…Airline eleganceStewardesses' first uniforms had a very "military" look. The designer Georgette Rénal created the first Air France stewardess uniform in 1946. It had a basic wardrobe: a suit, summer dress and coat. The style was reviewed by Georgette de Trèze five years later, with a more feminine style. In the…Cabin crew, becoming more professionalIt was not until 1955 that stewards and stewardesses were officially baptized cabin crew. This was official recognition for a profession that was becoming more structured. With the arrival of jets, then wide-bodied aircraft, customer service was redesigned. Teamwork became widespread, with each…VideoElégance aérienne / Airline elegance

The first air service from Paris to Tehran was launched 70 years ago.

On 29 April 1946, Air France wanted to "reach out all over the world"...To America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East, even to Iran, and launched its Paris-Tehran route. The Iranian capital was served once every two weeks by DC-3 and then by DC-4. Before the war, the airline had already launched flights to Bushehr, located 1,215 km south of Tehran, on its Far Eastern…TEHRAN, A PROMISING DESTINATIONThe “Echo de l’air”, the logbook at the time, said "Paris-Tehran in 19 hours and 30 minutes," for a trip that lasted two and a half days in 1947, a service operated by DC-4: departure on Sunday at 7:00 from Le Bourget, arrival in Tehran the following Tuesday at 13:15. With seven stopovers in…AIR FRANCE BACK IN IRANFrom 1979, the service was interrupted several times. First between 1981 and 1982, then 1985 and 1988 and then between 1997 and 2004. In October 2008, Air France suspended operations to Iran. The direct flight resumed on April 17, 2016, 70 years after the launch of the first flight. With the…VideoParis - Teheran

Air France and the Cannes Film Festival now on show

Since 1980, Air France has been a partner and the official carrier of the Cannes Film Festival. A longstanding partnership which illustrates the Company’s commitment to the world of cinema and the promotion of film.In September 1946, when the International Cannes Film Festival first opened in response to the Venice Film Festival, Air France was enjoying a renaissance. With a modernized fleet, the Company was redeploying its network. The small airport in Cannes hadn’t been a part of this since 1939, so Nice…A partnership celebrated with our customersThis year, to celebrate 36 years of partnership between Air France and the Cannes Film Festival, the Company has come up with “Cinema to Go”, a unique service so that passengers can watch or finish watching a film from the ‘Cannes Festival’ selection on board, at home, on their tablet, smartphone…VideoAir France et le Festival de Cannes à l’affiche / Air France & the Cannes Film Festival now showing

Air France in Toronto, 40 years of history

Le 20 mai 1976, un Boeing 747 « Jumbo » pouvant accueillir 360 passagers quittait le tarmac de l'aéroport Paris-Charles de Gaulle à 17h pour atterrir à Toronto le même jour à 19h, heure locale.Ce premier vol marquait le début des 3 trajets hebdomadaires assurés par Air France à destination de Toronto. 40 ans plus tard, en mai 2016, le Boeing 777 de 309 sièges atterrit à Toronto. Un anniversaire célébré avec les clients du vol AF351, Toronto - Paris. De nombreuses surprises, organisées…Air France au CanadaC'est le 2 octobre 1950 qu'Air France a débuté ses activités au Canada, lorsque le Lockheed Constellation 749 immatriculé F-BAZS a rallié Dorval pour la toute première fois après avoir fait escale à Shannon et Gander. Le premier vol Air France Montréal-Paris Orly a quant a lui décollé 3 jours plus…

The legendary route,Paris-New York, celebrates its 70th anniversary

July 1st, 1946. The Air France Douglas DC-4 took off from Paris-Orly and landed at New York’s La Guardia airport at noon local time.Un vol pour l’Histoire de 23h45 avec deux escales, Shannon (Irlande) et Gander (Terre Neuve). Une première liaison commerciale, entre Paris et New York, baptisée «Ligne du Ruban Etoilé». L’essor des relations entre les Etats-Unis et la France conduit Air France à augmenter la fréquence, deux vols…La ligne de toutes les innovationsDepuis Orly, les Boeing 707 rejoignent l’aéroport d’Idlewild - rebaptisé John Fitzgerald Kennedy en 1963 - en 8h15. Plus que jamais, la desserte incarne la modernité de la compagnie, qui confie au décorateur Pierre Gautier-Delaye la rénovation de son agence de New York, sacrée plus belle façade de…VideoParis-New York, the legendary route celebrates its 70th anniversary Image © air france

Air France and the Pearl of the Orient

On 20 September 1966, the Boeing 707 "Château de Cheverny" launched the Paris- Shanghai route. Three crews shared the 23-hour flight, with stopovers in Athens, Cairo, Karachi and Phnom Penh.Air France became the first European airline to serve the PRC. During the "Cultural Revolution", China experienced much unrest. Shaken within its borders, the Eastern giant did not, however, neglect its diplomatic contacts. Taking advantage of closer ties with France, since 1964, the Chinese…VideoAir France and the Pearl of the Orient Image © air france

The age of the hub

In the early 1990s, the air transport crisis required airlines to review their development strategy.Gone was the extensive global network. To limit costs, it was better to focus on efficient, selective and dense coverage of the most profitable routes, well structured around hubs. In the United States, where the concept was born in the 1980s, this was called the hub and spoke strategy. CDG, Air France's hubAir France's natural choice for its central hub was Paris-Charles de Gaulle 2. Flights to and from Paris CDG 2 were reorganized around five connecting banks, each consisting of a wave of arrivals and a wave of departures, to provide maximum connections in the shortest possible time. A colossal job…VideoDans l’ère du hub / The age of the hub

Launch of the Navette service 20 years ago!

Twenty years after its creation, the Navette carries over 100 million travellers.Everything began on 27 October 1996, following the deregulation of air transport that began 18 years earlier in the U.S. before arriving in Europe in the 1990s. In France, in 1994, TAT-European Airlines (a British Airways subsidiary) was authorized to operate the Orly-Marseille and Orly-Toulouse…VideoIl y a 20 ans : « la Navette » / Launch of the Navette service 20 years ago!

Air France’s longest flight, Paris-Santiago.

80 years ago, Air France launched its Santiago route for passengers.As soon as the company was created in 1933, it began operating flights to the capital of Chile. Despite the distance separating it from the Bourget base some 11,600 km away, Santiago is part of the South-American network inherited from Aéropostale. Enclosed by the Andes, it is a difficult-to-access…Air France plays its cards right In July 1939, its France-Chile service was fully opened to passengers. The journey was truly epic! 70 hours in total and fifteen stop-overs including Marseille, Dakar, Rio, Montevideo, etc. Suspended in July 1940, the route was reopened in 1946, with a DC-4. But due to insufficient profitability…Video80 years of Air France in Chile! Image © air france

1936, Air France launches passenger flights to Dakar.

1936, Air France launches passenger flights to Dakar.Three years after its creation in 1933, Air France was expanding more than ever before. To the South, it was continuing the "Aeropostale" adventure, an ambitious project for a route from Toulouse to Santiago de Chile. Opened in 1929, the route passed through Dakar, a strategic airport facing the…Video80 years of the Paris - Dakar route Image © Air france