Air France has just revealed plans to launch a new route to the United States, and it seems like a logical enough addition.
In this post:
Air France adds Paris to Las Vegas route
As of April 15, 2026, Air France will launch a new flight between Paris (CDG) and Las Vegas (LAS). The service will operate 3x weekly with the following schedule:
AF56 Paris to Las Vegas departing 1:40PM arriving 3:35PM
AF57 Las Vegas to Paris departing 5:50PM arriving 1:05PM (+1 day)
The 5,442-mile flight is blocked at 10hr55min westbound and 10hr15min eastbound. The flight will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, in both directions.
Air France will use an Airbus A350-900 for the service, featuring 324 seats. This includes 34 business class seats, 24 premium economy seats, and 266 economy class seats (this will be Air France’s old A350 configuration, and not the new A350 configuration).
How Las Vegas route fits in Air France’s network
Las Vegas will be Air France’s 19th destination in the United States, and 26th destination in North America. Las Vegas is of course a popular year-round destination, both for leisure and for conferences. That being said, it doesn’t seem to be quite as “hot” as it used to be, at least from a US-centric perspective, with declining tourism numbers.
When it comes to transatlantic service, Las Vegas currently has:
- Year-round flights on British Airways to London (LHR), and seasonal flights to London Gatwick (LGW)
- Seasonal flights on Condor to Frankfurt (FRA)
- Year-round flights on Discover Airlines to Frankfurt (FRA)
- Seasonal flights on Edelweiss to Zurich (ZRH)
- Year-round flights on KLM to Amsterdam (AMS)
- Year-round flights on Virgin Atlantic to London (LHR), and seasonal flights to Manchester (MAN)
So it’s actually a pretty well served market, though as you can see, it’s on a mix of full service and leisure airlines. Air France-KLM already has the Amsterdam route, but I guess the airline is finding enough success there to also want to add Paris service.
Las Vegas has decent year-round transatlantic demand, in the sense that you have a local community that’s looking to travel to Europe in summer, and Europeans looking to travel to Las Vegas in winter (perhaps as part of a bigger West Coast trip).
In the past couple of years, we’ve otherwise seen the airline expand in the United States by adding flights to Orlando (MCO), Phoenix (PHX), and Raleigh-Durham (RDU). With that in mind, this seems like one of the logical next markets for Air France to serve, so I’m not surprised to see this addition. 
Bottom line
As of April 2026, Air France will launch a new 3x weekly flight between Paris and Las Vegas using an Airbus A350. This will be Air France’s 19th destination in the United States, and it’s also an airport already served by sister company KLM. Given Air France’s impressive expansion in the United States over the years, I see no reason this route shouldn’t succeed.
What do you make of Air France adding service to Las Vegas?
Would love to see Paris - Tampa service. Sils Vous Plait
Are you sure about the MAN-LAS seasonal route with VS?
What next? Paris, France to Paris, TX?
A bit of a surprising add, even with just 3 weekly. The LAS market is shrinking, not growing. Not quite the destination it used to be, and travel to the United States is down. I don't see a lot of local traffic boosting demand for CDG-LAS. This is probably catering to local LAS originating traffic, and connecting opportunities from LAS via CDG. The 787-9 feels like a better suited plane for this route, over the A359. I don't see this route succeeding, honestly.
Seeing this from the Paris side, I disagree: the LAS market is shrinking seen from the US, but on this side of the Atlantic we hear/see nothing of shrinking value nor the highway robbery going on there.
You have to remember that for most European tourists, LAS is only part of the trip and rarely the only destination... so the more gateways you have, the more likely you'll be picked as the carrier.
BA (for...
Seeing this from the Paris side, I disagree: the LAS market is shrinking seen from the US, but on this side of the Atlantic we hear/see nothing of shrinking value nor the highway robbery going on there.
You have to remember that for most European tourists, LAS is only part of the trip and rarely the only destination... so the more gateways you have, the more likely you'll be picked as the carrier.
BA (for all its faults) has long understood this and positioned itself in the EU market as the "USA specialist" to the leisure traveller.
Aer Lingus fly to Las Vegas as well.
I'm curious: How much would a JV inform or drive these kinds of decisions, beyond the airline themselves. Like, I'm sure KLM/AF look at demand patterns as a whole, but would DL and Virgin be a part of the conversation, sharing data and advising the choice? (I've long been curious how the JVs work—curious beyond what I find explained in the basic introductions online.)
They're most certainly part of the conversations as they are profit sharing on the routes.
In any case, I don't think they'd be much negativity or pushback on more new routes as the more your partners open, the more options you have, with basically zero risk or cost to yourself.
Zut alors!
Mauvais usage de l'expression ;)
Zut alors!
Given current trends, I find LAS to be a very curious choice for this service. Particularly using an A350. The place is losing market share and it's not because Orange Man offends the world. It's because private equity owners are greedy and have jacked up prices on everything such that it's a lousy value. Only whales are really welcome, yet anyone who's an actual whale isn't that interested in Vegas anymore. For the rank and...
Given current trends, I find LAS to be a very curious choice for this service. Particularly using an A350. The place is losing market share and it's not because Orange Man offends the world. It's because private equity owners are greedy and have jacked up prices on everything such that it's a lousy value. Only whales are really welcome, yet anyone who's an actual whale isn't that interested in Vegas anymore. For the rank and file who actually pay Vegas' bills, they are thanked with overpriced hotel rooms, overpriced dining, tightened "perks" that are supposed to pass as comps (but don't), and fees....fees....fees! The resort fees are my favorite confiscatory bit of theft. An extra $50/day for garbage wifi that you'd get for free at the Hampton Inn Duluth Airport. Plus: access to the air conditioning, elevator and toilet! And this is only the beginning. Gambling? Frankly, you can now do that in lots of places that don't treat you like a sucker.
Vegas just isn't worth visiting anymore and the word is out. AF is about 4 years late with this service, which would be in the process of being eliminated by now if they had started it post pandemic.
I agree, for individual visitors. But the conference market there is HUGE, and a whole other set of economics.
I grew up in Las Vegas and remember the $.99 breakfasts and $5 steak dinners LONG ago gone.
Vegas (and Reno for that matter) grow and became a success because you really can't day trip there, unlike say Atlantic City. The casinos and hotels are screwing people and those people are voting with there pocket books. GOOD !
I know its all about market research and I am viewing this from the USA side, not the European side.
As AF and KLM are so interchangeable from the USA for both paid booking and award space availability perspective (connect in CGD or AMS), I wish they would stop having the same US cities, and open up a few more east coast cities. Example, they both fly to IAD, but none to PHL or BWI.
Ben, when do you update your statistics? Words written, miles flown, etc?
Worth looking at this as an option for ex U.K. passengers to avoid the APD and the times are good too.
French and Germans like going to Nevada and Arizona in the summer. I wonder what lounge Air France will use in Las Vegas.
Delta would seem to be the logical choice.
Since when does Delta have a Sky Club in Las Vegas? Regardless, Air France seems to prefer its own clubs. Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, and Miami all have both Sky Club lounges and Air France lounges.
AF also has its own lounges at SFO, JFK, IAD, and IAH. In Houston, despite not having a Delta lounge, there is both an AF and KLM lounge. (I believe the MIA one may have closed, though).
Probably the same one Virgin uses
Presently KLM passengers have no access to a Lounge in Terminal 3
There is The Club only used by Aeromexico
Delta departs Terminal 1 and they have no Lounge
Las Vegas is also awful and I have been 3 times when younger. Never again. The only positive was seeing Cirque du Soleil when were not so established.
On paper it's not surprising. But there is obviously a decline in tourism in the US from foreign countries. Maybe there are just about enough people willing to splurge on overpriced restaurants and hotels in Vegas?
Curious comment. There are a number of *decent* hotels in Las Vegas that are below $200 per night. Even right on the Strip. And, there is affordable dining. If one wants upscale dining, that's available as well (with commensurate pricing).
@Fred
You forgot the "resort fees".
Pool seating fee. Parking fees. Cover charge. Amenity fee.
$50 minimum bets.
Cheating odds.
These days, I only go to Vegas with OPM.
Yes, but the French are more sophisticated culturally and unlikely to be clamoring for mediocre surf-and-turf.
As a French, I think most of my countrymen (myself included) see LAS more as a gateway to the National Parks than a destination in itself.
In any case it'll fit nicely into an open-jaw road trip in the region so it's a welcome addition!
Unless the gateway to the National Parks has been torn down due to recent government cuts, that is.