THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.
Air France now offers three weekly flights on the Accra-Paris route.
The flights, departing from Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport, are operated on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
“These three weekly flights will strengthen Air France’s presence in Africa as well as the Air France-KLM Group’s presence, as KLM already flies daily from Amsterdam to Accra,” Frédéric Gagey, Chairman and CEO of Air France, said in a statement.
“With this new service, we will provide Air France customers with even more connecting opportunities at Paris-Charles de Gaulle, both to and from Europe and North America,” he added.
The maiden Paris-Accra flight touched down at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) on 28 February at about 7pm with 178 passengers on-board the Airbus A330.
Welcoming the airline’s senior officials to Ghana, Aviation Minister Cecelia Dapaah said government and the aviation sector regulators were happy to have Air France in the country and would give the company the needed support to succeed.
Aviation industry observers say Air France’s decision to start a direct service on the Accra-Paris route is because of the success of its sister company, KLM, in Ghana. An observation confirmed by Jean-Marc Janaillac, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Air France-KLM Group, while speaking to the press in Accra.
“KLM has been flying daily from Accra to Amsterdam for many years. Their flights are always full and so we thought it could be useful to add new flights but instead of adding flights to Amsterdam, we thought it was better to have other opportunities by flying three times a week to Paris because it allows more connections to more destinations and different timetables,” he explained.
“So, it gives more opportunities to business travellers and tourists who want to go to different countries of Europe, US or Asia. So it is our strategy to give more opportunities and more choices to our clients,” he said.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has also expressed Ghana’s gratitude for the confidence reposed in the future of the Ghanaian economy by the Air France-KLM Group. He made the comment when he received in his office the management team of the aviation company led by Mr Janaillac. The airline chief said the purpose of the courtesy visit was to formally inform the President of the commencement of Air France’s direct flights from Accra to Paris.
President Akufo-Addo described the development as a happy day for the two countries, stating that “our country has very strong relations with France, relations that we want to continue to develop and expand.”
He added that “we want our country to be linked to the major economic centres in the world”, so as to help rebuild the Ghanaian economy.
The entry of Air France into Ghana’s aviation space is expected to deepen competition and possibly lead to lower prices on European and North American routes. Air France has also disclosed its commitment to facilitate the swift export of fresh agricultural produce from Ghana to Europe in the short to medium term.
Headquartered in Tremblay-en-France, Air France is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global airline alliance.
Francis Sackitey
Flight schedules (in local time)
From 28 February to 27 March 2017
AF780: leaves Paris-Charles de Gaulle at 13:30, arrives at Accra international airport at 19:05 the same day;
AF731: leaves Accra international airport at 22:25, arrives at Paris-Charles de Gaulle at 6:00 the following day.
As from 28 March 2017
AF780: leaves Paris-Charles de Gaulle at 15:30, arrives at Accra international airport at 19:50 the same day;
AF731: leaves Accra international airport at 23:40, arrives at Paris-Charles de Gaulle at 8:00 the following day.
- Flights operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays on departure from Paris.
- The Paris-Accra flights are operated by Airbus A330 with a capacity of 208 seats (40 in Business class, 21 in Premium Economy and 147 in Economy) until 27 March 2017. After that date, the route will be served by Boeing 777-200 with a capacity of 312 seats (28 in Business class, 24 in Premium Economy and 260 in Economy.
