With November in full swing, Air France has made a subtle change to its new and popular route between Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) . In what appears to be a response to increased demand, the French flag carrier has swapped out its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner with the 777-200ER on the route. It comes as the airline has seen satisfactory performance on the route , which has only been in operation for less than six months.
The move now brings the number of carriers operating the 787 in the Valley of the Sun to just three this month. Changing things up Air France officially implemented the equipment changes on October 28th, according to aviation data and analytics provider Cirium . It marks the first time the airline has used an aircraft other than the 787-9 on the route since it was launched on May 23rd.
This month, the carrier has a total of 26 flights scheduled – 13 in each direction. Flights operate thrice weekly, on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Switching to the 777-200ER results in a capacity boost of 49 seats.
According to its website, Air France has three different interior configurations of the aircraft, seating 280, 312, or 328 passengers. Data shows that the airline is deploying its 328-seat 777-200ER as the 787-9 replacement, which accommodates 279 passengers. The specific configuration will reportedly become the interior across the entire 777-200ER fleet, which comprises 18 examples.
Inside the 777-200ER .
