• Air France Tile
    Air France
    IATA/ICAO Code:
    AF/AFR
    Airline Type:
    Full Service Carrier
    Hub(s):
    Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport
    Year Founded:
    1933
    Alliance:
    SkyTeam
    Airline Group:
    Air France-KLM
    CEO:
    Anne Rigail
    Country:
    France
    Region:
    Europe

In just under two months, Air France is set to operate a rather unorthodox domestic rotation. Scheduling data shows that the French carrier will deploy a Boeing 777 on a one-off round trip from Nice to Paris, on dates that coincide with the longest day of the year. Let's take a closer look at this striking choice of aircraft.

The dates and times

Domestic air travel in France has become a point of contention in recent months, with the country having devised a ban on point-to-point internal flights for routes where the train takes two-and-a-half hours or less. However, with Paris and Nice being some 430 miles (692 km) apart, this particular corridor is alive and kicking.

Indeed, looking at Air France's booking website for June 20th, we can see that nine flights are available for booking between Nice and Paris CDG. Eight have flight numbers beginning with '77,' with one notable outlier. Departing Nice at 07:40, flight AF4149 isn't your average 90-minute Airbus narrowbody-operated domestic hop.

Indeed, the flight, which reaches the French capital at 09:10, is instead scheduled to be operated by a Boeing 777-300ER. Three days later, on June 23rd, a Paris CDG-Nice flight will also be graced with the presence of the twin-engine widebody. Numbered as flight AF4148, it will depart at 08:20, arriving 90 minutes later at 09:50.

AirFrance LaPremière B777 300 (1)

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An unlikely aircraft choice

For regulars traveling on the Paris-Nice route, the presence of the 777-300ER is likely to raise a few eyebrows. After all, Air France typically deploys Airbus A320 family narrowbodies between the two cities. Evidently, the carrier is projecting increased demand for the particular dates, which straddle the longest day of the year (June 1st). Simple Flying has contacted Air France for more information.

But how much more capacity will the aircraft offer? First of all, as seen in the tweet above, it is important to note that the airline isn't selling first class seats on these flights. However, these only account for four passengers, with scheduling data showing that this still leaves an impressive 292 seats up for grabs on these services.

This figure specifically consists of 58 business class flatbeds, alongside 234 seats sold as economy tickets. However, this figure itself consists of 206 standard seats (3-4-3) as well as 28 premium economy recliners (2-4-2). In any case, the 292 available seats are a significant advance on the 142 and 178 listed by SeatGuru as being present on the A319s and A320s that typically ply the route.

AirFrance Boeing 777-300 4
The airline also uses widebodies on longer domestic flights to French overseas territories. Photo: Air France

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No stranger to domestic widebodies

In a sense, Air France is already accustomed to deploying widebody aircraft on routes that are considered to be domestic flights. However, a key difference is the fact that they serve far-flung French overseas territories such as Reunion. These are the world's longest domestic flights, and thus require a widebody's range.

What do you make of this one-off domestic widebody rotation? Have you ever flown on an Air France Boeing 777? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!