This week has seen Cork Airport witness a major new route development with the arrival of Air France daily service to Paris, one of the world’s most romantic cities. As a testament to pent-up demand in Cork’s catchment for more hub connections, the French flag carrier has already converted the seasonal operation to a year-round service, even before the Irish airport had officially welcomed its latest new airline partner this week.
“The confirmation that one of the world’s largest airlines [in terms of countries served] shares our confidence in the economy across the south of Ireland, and that Cork Airport can grow and sustain new routes, is a momentous boost for our development,” enthuses Niall MacCarthy, Managing Director, Cork Airport. “The growth of the route before it was launched is clear evidence of the high demand for the direct link, both from our Irish passengers wanting to visit Paris as well as the popularity of Ireland for our French visitors – Ireland is ranked as the fourth most popular destination from France, so this is fantastic progress for inbound tourism growth,” adds MacCarthy.
The introduction of Air France’s new operation on the city pair will see Cork offer more than 1,700 weekly seats to Paris CDG, resulting in close to 50,000 seats to the French capital city this summer. Joining the airport’s established services to Bordeaux, Carcassonne and Rennes the additional capacity to Paris further fortifies France’s position as the fourth largest country market to be served from the Southern Irish gateway during S18.
“Our new service will not only connect Cork to Paris but also offer our customers a third link to a global hub,” explains MacCarthy. “As Air France joins our airline roll call our passengers will now have access to the carrier’s extensive network including long-haul destinations such as Brazil, Mauritius and Mexico, as well as easy access to short-haul connections to Brussels, Lisbon, Nice and Rome.”
