France

In France, as in Paris, 2021 was already a productive year for the hotel industry. If not very active in the capital, due to the prolonged absence of international tourists. Notable openings in Paris include two potential new palaces - Cheval Blanc and Bulgari - and the private hotel-club Soho House,...

With the fifth wave sweeping across France and Europe, how do you see 2022? Eric Viale - I'm approaching this year with cautious optimism, but with confidence. The good thing is that we now have the lessons to learn and the best practices to apply, in addition to scientific advances and vaccination efforts. We have...

The Air France group is pursuing its strategy of expanding Transavia. On Tuesday, the airline announced that it had inherited three new business routes. Starting on 27 March, two domestic routes will be operated from Orly airport. Transavia will then connect Pau and Perpignan. The first destination will be...

After making its return to the Paris-Clermont-Ferrand route last November, Amelia began operations between Orly and Brive under its own colours on 5 January. The company had already been operating between these two airports for over a year, but for Air France. The move had been made official less than a month earlier at...

Are you allowed to eat while travelling or not? This is not such a trivial question, following the government's announcement at the end of last week that it would be forbidden to eat food on board trains. Especially on long journeys. Before taking a plane or a train, will we have to hurry up and gobble down some food?

In its annual review of the French rail transport market in 2020, the Autorité de Régulation des Transports (ART) notes that the market remains attractive to new operators. Competition in rail transport services in the European Union came into effect on 13 December 2020. Alternative operators are ready to cross swords with the...

Twin Jet is continuing its coverage of the French regions with the resumption of the Marseille-Toulouse route on 17 January. This will be the fourth destination to be served from Marseille. Targeting business customers, Twin Jet will be offering 5 direct return flights a week between the two cities. Flight times will be just one hour. The flights will...

Volotea is preparing for the arrival of summer with the announcement of new flights from Nantes airport. While the destinations unveiled on 22 December are mainly aimed at leisure customers, business travellers in Nantes will be able to take advantage of a new route to a European capital. The low-cost airline is planning to fly to Rome. There will be two flights per...

According to consultant OAG, air capacity rose slightly in the week to 13 December. It rose by 3.8 % week-on-week to 81.4 million seats declared. However, capacity in terms of seats is still 26.21 % lower than in 2019. OAG notes that the Omicron variant does not...

The Lufthansa Group's route between Rennes and Frankfurt is good news for the French market. It gives Lufthansa an eleventh regular destination in France. The German airline already serves the airports of Paris CDG and Orly, Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Mulhouse-Basle, Nantes, Nice, Strasbourg and Toulouse...

Can you summarise the status and role of Provence Côte d'Azur Events? Héliéna Brégand - Provence Côte d'Azur Events (PCE) is the regional Convention Bureau, set up as an association, bringing together more than 200 professionals throughout the region, from Avignon to Menton. All the professions are represented: event venues such as palaces, hotels,...

A new wave, a new variant, and therefore new restrictions: such is the health and regulatory context at the beginning of December on an international scale, and France is no exception to the rule. On Wednesday, the government announced the entry into force of a new protocol for international travel. Travellers wishing to visit France...

From 8 April, the tarmac at Paris-CDG airport will see more of the shimmering livery of low-cost carrier Volotea. The Spanish airline, based in Barcelona, will be launching up to four flights a week linking the French capital with Verona in Italy. Verona is an important base for Volotea, which serves some twenty destinations, including...

As a result of the pandemic, international airports are adjusting their R&D priorities: after working on a seamless passenger experience, with biometrics in particular to speed up every stage of the airport journey, the time has now come for contactless technology. Nice airport is no exception to the rule, with the launch on 6 December of its...

Clearly positioned in the business travel segment, the new Brest-Bordeaux route operated by Finistair has been operational since Tuesday. The nine-seater CESSNA Gran Caravan flies twice a week. Departure from Brest is every Tuesday at 7am and every Thursday at 4pm. Take-off from Bordeaux is scheduled...

What was the state of air transport in France at the end of September? The good news is that passenger traffic is picking up again and seems to be out of the rut seen between February and April. During this period, traffic was barely 10% of what it was in 2019... September certainly saw a slowdown in the number of...

It has been a long wait for airlines following the Biden administration's announcement in September that they would once again allow vaccinated European travellers to come to the United States. But now it's done. As of November 8, travellers who have been duly vaccinated and who test negative for the Covid virus before departure will be able to travel to the...

Good news for business travellers who regularly fly between Paris and Clermont-Ferrand: from 2 November, Amelia will be resuming the schedule it introduced shortly before the crisis. The French carrier will be operating the same schedule, with two daily flights on weekdays and one on Sundays. The...

By inviting an audience of journalists to the Palais des Festivals last September, Cannes' MICE managers were keen to send out a clear message: the destination is ready for the return of events. What's more, the pause for reflection imposed by the crisis has enabled us to improve our offering...

The conference business will not escape the conquest of the West launched in Nice, as the dossier for the Parc des Expositions et des Congrès (Exhibition and Conference Centre) finally takes shape, replacing the Marché d'Intérêt National (MIN). "It's a project that's seen a lot of movement, especially over the last year, particularly in response to the major trends...