Air France Launches Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Ottawa Flights

Air France launched new non-stop flights between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Ottawa this week, making the airline the only company to operate direct flights between the Canadian capital and Europe.

Ottawa is Air France’s fifth Canadian destination, after Montreal (since 1950), Toronto (1976), Vancouver (2015) and Quebec City (2022).

The new service will help support Ottawa’s economic and diplomatic activity, as well as tourism in the region, including that of Gatineau in Quebec, and conversely, connect Ottawa residents to Paris and France’s global network spanning almost 200 destinations across all continents.

Air France will operate five flights a week between Ottawa (YOW) and Paris (CDG), Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

The flights will be on Airbus A330-200s outfitted with recently-refurbished passenger cabins and flight-long wi-fi. Aircraft features include 224 seats:

• In Business class (36): a seat that converts into a fully flat, 2-metre bed.
• In Premium Economy class (21): a seat that reclines to 130°, is also one of the widest on the market, and provides lumbar support.
• In Economy class (167): a seat that reclines to 118° padded with ergonomic foam.

Business class passengers and Flying Blue Elite members will enjoy access to the Ottawa International Airport’s Aspire Lounge.

Rounding out the new non-stop service will be Air France’s shuttle bus service between Montreal’s Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau Airport and the nation’s capital.

Eric Caron, General Manager for North America, Air France-KLM, said: “I am delighted to be inaugurating our fifth non-stop route from Canada, and the second from the province of Ontario. This will serve to further strengthen the historical ties between France and Canada, and also help foster new bonds culturally, economically and on the tourism front. Canada is now the second leading long-haul market for our airline. Our summer offering here is up by 38% compared to 2019.”