Delta Air Lines announced today that it will add a daily nonstop flight from the Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) to Paris (CDG). The new flight, which will be operated using Boeing 757-200 aircraft, begins May 12, 2016. The new service goes on sale this Saturday, September 26, 2015.
“The Research Triangle is an important market for Delta, and our new Paris flight is the latest in a series of Delta investments in the region, both at the airport and in the community,” said Bob Somers, Delta’s Vice President – Global Sales. “For business or leisure, we look forward to serving our customers across the Atlantic as we strengthen our relationship with the region, and the region’s ties to the world.”
Image courtesy of Delta Air Lines.
“From Delta’s joint venture hub in Paris, customers can connect to more than 75 onward destinations throughout Europe, the Middle Eastand Africa, increasing global access for a region with strong international ties through its world-class universities and global companies. The daily flight will be Delta’s 13th destination from Paris and the only nonstop link between the two cities.”
You may remember that Delta planned to start nonstop service between RDU and CDG several years ago, but the service was never activated as travel slowed down after the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009. The new service is being supported through a public private partnership. According to the RDU Airport Authority, the “public/private partnership between local governments and the business community has committed $1.1 million to support the flight. The Airport Authority is providing $1.25 million in fee waivers and $500,000 in marketing funds.” The RDU market is not a small one for Delta, and this seems like a natural expansion of international service for Delta from North Carolina’s Research Triangle area.
Read Delta’s press release here.
Read the RDU Airport Authority press release here.
-MJ, September 24, 2015
@cheesepuff
CVG-CDG is still around, and typically operates 7x weekly.
This flight seems ideal for a 787. Didn’t DL cancel its 787 orders? A 757 will be a challenge for most passengers TATL. What a/c will DL use. The 757 with DL1 has 168 seats not 164 as specified in the press release..
It very well could up-gauge if successful, and I think it likely will do OK. I do not believe DL cancelled NW’s orders (options?) for the 787, they just delayed them out into the future.
Good to know. Thanks.
Nice! Thanks for letting us know about this. I really miss the direct flight from Cincinnati. I guess Delta is still waiting for CVG to pony up their own $2.85 million in ransom – er – “fee waivers, marketing, and commitments”!
Do you know if this RDU-CDG is a Delta or Air France flight?
It’s a Delta flight.