The Boeing 787 In Bamako for The Route’s 80th Anniversary

Starting on 8 October, Air France will serve Bamako daily by Boeing 787 equipped with the latest travel cabins. In 1937, Air France flew from Paris to Bamako for the first time. Today the company is celebrating the route’s 80^th anniversary.

FLIGHT SCHEDULES OPERATED BY BOEING 787 FROM 8 OCTOBER TO 29 OCTOBER (IN LOCAL TIME)

AF520: leaves Paris-Charles de Gaulle at 10:00, arrives in Bamako at 13:45;
AF521: leaves Bamako at 22:10, arrives at Paris-Charles de Gaulle at 05:50 the following day.
_{Daily flights.}

FLIGHT SCHEDULES OPERATED BY BOEING 787 AS FROM 29 OCTOBER (IN LOCAL TIME)

AF520: leaves Paris-Charles de Gaulle at 09:55, arrives in Bamako at 14:35;
AF521: leaves Bamako at 22:55, arrives at Paris-Charles de Gaulle at 05h30 the following day.
_{Daily flights.}

The Dreamliner offers 276 seats including 30 in the Business cabin, 21 in Premium Economy and 225 in Economy.

THE LATEST INNOVATIONS ON BOARD THE BOEING 787

On its Paris-Charles de Gaulle-Bamako route, Air France is introducing the latest aircraft in its fleet, the Boeing 787. For customers, this aircraft provides a number of assets:

• on-board Wi-Fi adapted to the needs of customers (from 20MB to 200MB for a price varying between €5 and €30);
• more comfort and space with the new Premium Economy seats;
• windows that are approximately 30% larger than on similar aircraft;
• improved air pressure and humidity levels for greater travel comfort;
• 20% less fuel consumption than previous generation aircraft providing a significant reduction in CO₂ emissions as well as noise emissions.

PERSONALIZED SERVICES ON ROUTES TO AFRICA

Air France offers customers on its African routes tailor-made services. As soon as they arrive at the airport, customers can enjoy exclusive services such as:

• dedicated staff to help Air France customers with check-in and with their connections between flights;
• a larger baggage allowance to most African destinations:

-La Première: 3 bags each weighing up to 32 kg
-Business: 2 bags each weighing up to 32 kg
-Premium Economy: 2 bags each weighing up to 23 kg
-Economy: 2 bags each weighing up to 23 kg

• a tasty catering offer based on typical products such as ginger juice and chili pepper on its African routes;
• a SkyTeam alliance Go Africa pass, which enables customers to make savings and enjoy greater flexibility on flights operated by one of SkyTeam’s 20 member airlines, as part of an intercontinental round trip to Africa or a Go Round the World ticket.

PARIS – BAMAKO: A LEGENDARY ROUTE

In 1933, when Air France was created, Bamako was absent from its African network. After the launch of flights to Dakar in 1936, all eyes were turned towards Mali.

In 1937, Air France launched its twice-weekly Paris-Dakar route with an extension to Bamako. Passengers arrived in Dakar from France by Dewoitine 333 and continued their journey to Bamako by Wibault 282.

In the 1950s, Bamako was linked to Orly via Casablanca without stopping off in Dakar by DC-4 and then by Constellation. At the time, it took 15 hours to fly to the rapidly expanding city.

Today, the city, and its 2 million inhabitants, has become one of Air France’s main gateways in West Africa.

To find out more about the history of the Paris-Bamako route go to www.airfrancelasaga.com