Air France Will Launch 4 Weekly Airbus A350-900 Flights From Paris CDG To Orlando Airport In Spring

Air France has announced that it will fly from Paris, France, to Orlando, Florida, the United States, starting in May 2025, returning to a route it has not served regularly since 2012.

Returning to Orlando

On October 30, Air France said that starting May 21, 2025, it would return to flying between Paris Charles De Gaulle International Airport (CDG) and Orlando International Airport (MCO), with the airline scheduling four weekly flights on the itinerary.

The French carrier has chosen its Airbus A350-900 equipped with 324 seats, 34 business, 24 premium economy (marketed as ‘Premium’), and 266 economy class, to fly the route. Its other A350-900s are configured with a more premium-heavy cabin: 48 business, 32 premium economy, and 212 economy class seats.

Air France flight AF96 will depart Paris at 17:05 local time (UTC +2), arriving at Orlando at 20:45 local time (UTC -4) on the same day, while AF97 will leave Florida at 23:00, arriving at the French capital at 13:30 on the next day.

However, the airline did not specify whether this was a seasonal-only or a year-round route, with its current schedule pending governmental approval.

Air France’s booking engine has dates available until October 24, with the last direct flight departing Paris toward Orlando being scheduled on that day. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) summer season 2025 ends on October 26, 2025.

Disneyland connection

The French carrier highlighted that Orlando was the theme park capital of the world, with travelers flying to the Floridan city to experience a wide variety of attractions with the benefits of a mild, sunny climate.

“Not to be missed near Orlando: the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Cape Canaveral, where visitors can relive the history of space exploration and, why not, witness the launch of a rocket.”

Like Orlando, Paris has a Disneyland park. The site is located around 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport (CDG).

Orlando International Airport (MCO) will become Air France’s 18th destination in the US and 25th in North America, with the carrier also flying to five cities in Canada and two in Mexico.

Last direct flights in March 2020

Data from the aviation analytics company Cirium showed that Air France last served the route between Paris and Orlando regularly between June 2011 and August 2012, scheduling three weekly itineraries with a Boeing 777-300ER, with a Boeing 747-400 operating flights connecting the two cities in April 2012.

The only other airline to fly directly between the two cities was Norwegian, which operated flights on the route from August 2017 until March 2020, when the pandemic closed a large majority of international borders.

What initially began as a once-weekly service expanded to two weekly flights between April 2019 and October 2019. The following month, Norwegian reduced it to once per week, before finally exiting the market in March 2020.

Since then, Norse Atlantic has taken over Norwegian’s Boeing 787 aircraft but is yet to open up a route between Paris-Charles De Gaulle and Orlando International.

According to booking data from OAG Traffic Analyzer, there were 78,000 point-to-point (P2P) travelers flying between Paris and Orlando who had to choose connecting itineraries to get to the Floridan city year-to-date (YTD) to July 2024.

The route is the Parisian airport’s largest unserved market in the US, with the second-largest being Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS), which saw around 38,000 P2P travelers YTD to July.