Air France has existed since 1933 and is France's national flag carrier airline. Its headquarters and main hub are located at Charles de Gaulle Airport, which is only a short distance outside the Paris city limits. Aside from this main hub at Charles de Gaulle, Air France also has an additional centre at Orly Airport, which is also situated close to Paris. In addition to these locations, Nice, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse (which are all in France) are focus cities for the airline. Air France currently has more than 230 Airbus and Boeing aircraft in its fleet.
Air France operates flights to more than 200 destinations across the globe. Its flights to Montreal, Bucharest and Istanbul are some of the most popular routes. In 2004, the company merged with KLM. The airline also has the HOP! and Transavia France subsidiaries. Air France is a member of the SkyTeam alliance, which it helped to establish in 2000. It operates codeshare flights with a large number of other airlines in order to increase its coverage. Some of the airlines it has such agreements with are Japan Airlines, WestJet and Alaska Airlines.
Online check-in
Passengers may check in for their Air France flight online up to 30 hours prior to the departure of their flight. In addition to printing their boarding card, checking in online will also allow passengers to select a seat for their flight and pay for extra checked baggage allowance. To check in online, passengers can use their reservation reference number and flight number on either a mobile or a web browser. Air France passengers are also able to check in at the airport without paying any extra fees. Depending on the starting location and destination of the flight, check-in closes between 90 minutes and 40 minutes before take-off.
Hand luggage allowance
Cabin baggage on Air France flights is limited to a total size of 55 x 35 x 25 cm. The maximum weight allowed is defined by the cabin class the passenger is travelling in. Passengers with an Economy ticket are entitled to 1 piece of cabin baggage weighing up to 12 kg, while passengers holding a Business ticket are permitted 2 pieces of hand luggage with a weight of up to 18 kg. Passengers may also bring a personal item onto the plane with them, although this counts towards their weight allowance. Accepted personal items include handbags, briefcases and laptop bags. Air France will also carry collapsible pushchairs, car seats, wheelchairs and other mobility aids.
Checked baggage policy
The maximum checked luggage size is a combined width, height and length of 158 cm. The allowance for checked baggage on an Air France flight is 1 piece weighing up to 23 kg for Economy class passengers and 2 pieces weighing up to 32 kg each for Business class passengers. Checked baggage that exceeds a passenger's allowance will incur a charge. Any single baggage item with a weight greater than 32 kg will not be accepted. Air France also accepts a large number of sporting items, such as golf clubs, ski's and surfboards. Sporting equipment will count towards a passenger's existing luggage allowance.