Air France cuts flights to Minneapolis-St.Paul International Airport

Air France becomes the latest European airline to abandon Midwestern airports. Which airline will step in to pick up capacity?

Air France will suspend flights to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) this summer. The airline’s seasonal summer route from its hub at Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG), which was due to resume in May 2023, has been removed from the schedule this week.

The airline has been flying to Midwestern airports for almost a decade, but capacity between the two cities will be taken over by Air France’s SkyTeam partner Delta Air Lines. The US airline has added his second direct flight to Paris-Charles de Gaulle. This flight operates three times a week during the summer.

The schedule change has been confirmed by Delta Air Lines. According to a spokesperson for Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, “Air France plans to return to MSP in 2024.”

Photo: GB-Photographie | Shutterstock

flight schedule

Beginning May 1, 2023, Delta will increase the frequency of service between Minneapolis and St. Louis. Paul and Charles de Gaulle in Paris from every day to 10 times a week. The flight schedule looks like this:

• Flight DL232 – Depart MSP at 16:50 and arrive at CDG at 07:55 (+1 day)
• Flight DL233 – Depart CDG at 10:15 and arrive at MSP at 12:25
• Flight DL138 – Depart MSP at 22:00 and arrive at CDG at 13:25 (+1 day)
• Flight DL139 – Depart CDG at 15:40 and arrive at MSP at 17:45

Flights DL232/233 are Delta’s existing daily annual service. Flight DL138/139 operates three times a week during the summer: Tuesday, Friday and Sunday (eastbound) and Wednesday, Saturday and Monday (westbound). Both services fly with Airbus A330-300 aircraft.

Delta’s 31 Airbus A330-300s each accommodate a total of 282 passengers in a four-class configuration. 34 in Business Class (Delta One), 21 in Premium Economy (Premium Select) and 24 in Economy Plus (Delta Comfort+). , 203 in economy class (main cabin).

Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

Minneapolis-St. Paul’s Changing Long Distance Network

Air France is the second European airline to abandon Minneapolis-St. Paul. Paul International Airport in recent years – At the start of the pandemic, Aer Lingus canceled flights to Dublin (DUB). The service is he one of the airline’s few transatlantic services that have not yet been restored. Since then, all eyes have been on Delta Air Lines, which is trying to pick up this route, but this has yet to materialize.The Dutch flag carrier, his KLM, continues to operate in Amsterdam (AMS ) four times a week.

Beginning March 25, 2023, Delta will resume year-round service to Tokyo Haneda (HND) and welcome Seoul Incheon (ICN) as a nonstop destination in Asia. Both routes are operated by Airbus A330neo. Delta Airlines’ other intercontinental routes from Minneapolis-St. Paul is a daily service to London Heathrow (LHR) operated by an Airbus A330-300.

Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

Have you ever traveled between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Minneapolis-St. Paul with Air France? Pole? Will the schedule change affect future travel plans? Please share your experience by commenting below.