Air France Guns for Cuban Tourism

With the landing of Air France’s new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, the company is underscoring its support for Cuban tourism, as the airline’s local delegate Guilhem Mallet said.

Mr. Mallet indicated the opening flight –on the occasion of the 29th International Tourism Fair (FITCUBA 2009)- brought onboard 25 tour operators from his country and the rest of Europe who had signed up for a FAM trip to such locations as Trinidad and Cienfuegos.

One of the special guests who landed in Havana is Antoine Pussion, the air company’s delegate for the Caribbean, who hopes his visit will help strengthen the ties between the two nations.

Air France established contacts with Cuban authorities back in 1997 and a year later it set up the Paris-Havana route. Today it runs half a dozen Havana-bound weekly flights out of the Charles de Gaulle International Airport in the French capital.

The new jetliners can carry 472 passengers (14 in Affaires/Business class, 36 in Alizé/Premium Tourist class and 422 in Voyageur/Tourist class) and replaces the old Boeing 747-400 planes.