Article from BTNews 8 APRIL 2019
Newcastle greets mainline A318
An Airbus A318 from the mainline fleet is taking over Air France scheduled flights out of Newcastle Airport for the first time. The airline will continue to operate three daily Newcastle – Paris services but unlike the current aircraft the A318 will be fully branded with AF livery.
Air France says investment in the larger A318 will mean more than 15,000 extra seats this summer flying between Paris and Newcastle. The aircraft is operating from April to mid-July, then again from September to the end of October.
The aircraft was welcomed by a water salute by the airport fire service as it touched down in Newcastle for the first time on Monday. The airport’s head of aviation development, Leon McQuaid said: “It is great to welcome the Airbus A318 into the airport and the North East.
“With the route currently performing very well, the new aircraft is a strong sign of Air France’s continued investment into the region to give our passengers extra capacity when travelling to Paris and beyond.”
Air France-KLM UK & Ireland general manager Benedicte Duval added: “As a result of the strong passenger numbers on our Newcastle to Paris route, we are delighted to be able to add extra capacity of nearly 15% over this period.”
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