Air France now operates between Paris CDG and Phuket, which means the carrier’s Thai routes have doubled. Phuket is the gateway to Thai beach resorts and is enormously popular among Europeans. According to booking data, more than 2.5 million people flew between Europe and Phuket in the 12 months to September (6,800+ daily).
A whopping 94% of Western European travelers flew via a hub en route. While it would be easy to say it is enormously underserved by nonstop flights, it’s because of the low yields and long distances. To attempt to help make the economics work, Air France deploys its highest-capacity equipment: the 472-seat, economy-heavy Boeing 777-300ER, which has very low seat-mile costs.
Air France’s 472-Seat 777s: A Summary
According to ch-aviation, the SkyTeam member’s passenger-carrying fleet consists of 118 widebodies. It has 43 777-300ERs, 39 Airbus A350-900s, 18 777-200ERs, 10 787-9s, and eight A330-200s. Twin-aisle equipment constitutes over half of Air France’s mainline passenger fleet.
Aerolopa shows the carrier has four configurations of the 777-300ER. Capacity varies from just 296 seats to 472 seats. The highest-capacity layout has 14 seats in business (1-2-1), 28 seats in premium economy (2-4-2; 38″ pitch), and 430 seats in economy (in the undesirable 3-4-3; 31″ pitch). A huge 91% of the capacity is bog-standard economy.
Since Air France retired the A380, its 472-seat Triple 7s have been its highest-capacity equipment. It has 12 aircraft with that many seats. The aircraft are very heavy and therefore have a higher trip cost than lighter alternatives.
Their competitive weapon is their very low seat-mile cost. This is critical to where they’re deployed. Unsurprisingly, this is all about leisure and visiting friends and relatives markets globally, which is discussed later in the article. It provides high passenger volume to offset the lower yields from lower premium demand.
Air France Jets Off To Phuket
The carrier’s first departure from Europe to the beach resort gateway took place on November 27. It is bound to make my celebratory Weekly Routes article (see the most recent edition). While Flightradar24 and Cirium Diio indicate the initial round-trip service deployed the 328-seat 777-200ER, nearly all subsequent flights will be on the 472-seat 777-300ER.
Between October 2024 and September 2025, Paris-Phuket had around 197,000 round-trip passengers (540 daily). Everyone flew via a hub, particularly Doha, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Bangkok, Delhi, and Singapore. The French capital was Phuket’s second-largest unserved market from Europe, after London (272,000; 745 daily).
Air France’s seasonal operation will cater to the large point-to-point market and passengers transiting in CDG to reach many other northern European cities. Large markets include London (272,000), Frankfurt (243,000; has nonstop flights), Copenhagen (121,000; has nonstop flights), Manchester (112,000; has nonstop flights), Munich (103,000), Zurich (94,000; has nonstop flights), Stockholm (94,000; has nonstop flights), and Amsterdam (69,000). Dozens of other cities have 20,000+ passengers, such as Dublin (26,000), Gothenburg (24,000), and Birmingham (23,000).
As usual with such leisure markets, CDG’s problem is not the traffic, which is significant. It is the fares. Booking data shows that the average fare across all passengers, cabins, and airlines was just $562 each way (including a fuel surcharge). It is even lower-yielding than Bangkok, reflecting inbound tourism, with the 472-seater’s low seat-mile costs being important.
|
Days |
CDG To Phuket; Local Times* |
Days |
Phuket To CDG; Local Times** |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Saturdays |
3:05 pm-8:50 am+1 (11h 45m) |
Sundays |
11:15 am-6:35 pm (13h 20m) |
|
Mondays, Thursdays |
3:40 pm-9:25 am+1 (11h 45m) |
Tuesdays, Fridays |
11:55 am-7:15 pm (13h 20m) |
|
* In December. Shown in Simple Flying’s new time format |
* In December. Shown in Simple Flying’s new time format |
Virgin Australia Begins 4th Boeing 777 Route Using Qatar Airways Aircraft
Separately, Qatar Airways has returned to Canberra.
Where Air France’s 472-Seaters Will Fly In December
Cirium data for December indicates that the configuration has an average of six daily departures from CDG, along with three from Paris Orly. Unsurprisingly, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Réunion—all part of France—account for the bulk of the 472-seater’s operation. It always does.
In the festive month, the layout will also fly to Brazil (December 3 and 10 only), Canada, Mauritius, Mexico, Peru (December 2, 5, and 15 only), the UAE, and now Thailand. Compared to last December, Brazil, Peru, and Thailand now see it.
Air France’s very high-capacity equipment has a daily service from CDG and Orly to Fort-de-France (Martinique), Pointe-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe), and Saint-Denis (Réunion). The most-served non-French market is Dubai, which sees the 472-seat 777 daily in December.
