Which Carriers and for Where?

Over 1,000 Airlines

There are over 1,000 airlines worldwide. However, just a few dozen of them—marketed online or through numerous agencies across France—account for more than three-quarters of the routes offered. Even so, due to the "code-sharing" system, a ticket from airline X might actually mean you’ll fly with a plane from partner airline Y.

Major Airlines

Each year, IATA (the International Air Transport Association) publishes a ranking of airlines based on traffic. Globally, for 2017 (millions of passengers):

1) American Airlines (199.6); 2) Delta Air Lines (186.4); 3) Southwest Airlines (157.8); 4) United Airlines (148.1); 5) Ryanair (130.3); 6) China Southern Airlines (126.3); 7) China Eastern Airlines (110.8); 8) EasyJet (81.6); 9) Turkish Airlines (68.6); 10) Lufthansa (66.23).

French Airlines

Air France

France, the home of Airbus and Aéropostale, has always played a significant role in air transport. You can still fly under the colours of Air France (or its subsidiaries like Hop!) to dozens of destinations from Paris and, occasionally, from regional airports for European routes. Since its merger with Air Inter a few years ago, Air France officially manages the domestic French network under the parent brand or as Hop!.

The Others

In the private carrier sector, there’s been a decline for some time due to the struggles (or takeovers by Air France) of most of them.

For example, the Air Liberté - Air Littoral - AOM group, once owned by Swissair and the second-largest after Air France, was first dismantled due to Swissair’s poor management (which itself was later restructured). In 2001, AOM and Air Liberté merged to become Air Lib—a pseudo-new airline that never quite figured out its direction (charter, "low-cost", scheduled?) and ultimately folded in early 2003. The same fate befell Aeris that same year, followed by Air Littoral and Air Atlantique in 2004. As for Régional Airlines, Proteus, Brit’air, and Flandre Air—once independent—they were acquired by Air France and eventually merged in 2013 under the name Hop!, which became Air France Hop! in 2019. That same year also saw the collapse of Aigle Azur and XL Airways.

Only a handful of small carriers remain, some of which occasionally operate under the Air France label, still present in France in a somewhat "low-key" manner.

Finally, Corsair (the airline of Nouvelles Frontières/TUI) handles routes to the French overseas territories (with local airlines like Air Austral or Air Caraïbes), West Africa, and numerous charter flights from Paris and regional airports.

European Airlines

Western European Airlines

The chances of flying with these airlines are high. Not just within Europe but also to other continents from Paris and regional airports via their respective hubs.

Of all, British Airways stands out thanks to one of the world’s largest networks in terms of destinations and multiple regional connections to London. It’s sold by nearly all travel agencies worldwide. The same goes for Lufthansa (via Frankfurt or Munich), KLM (via Amsterdam and now partly owned by Air France), and to a lesser extent Swiss (via Switzerland). Iberia (via Madrid), Brussels Airlines (via Brussels), and even TAP (via Lisbon) are also airlines that agencies like to work with, though to a lesser degree. Brussels Airlines is mainly found on African and European routes, TAP also covers Africa and Brazil, while Iberia focuses on Central and South America.

Less known to the general public, airlines like SAS (via Copenhagen), Finnair (via Helsinki), and Austrian (via Vienna) are increasingly present in the market, particularly for their European and Asian routes.

Eastern European Airlines

Eastern European airlines, once relatively prominent in the French market, now play only a "token" role. Among them, only Aeroflot (a SkyTeam member) still holds a significant position for flights to former USSR countries and, occasionally, Asia. Others like CSA (Czech Republic), LOT (Poland), or Tarom (Romania), though part of alliances, are now largely limited to serving their own countries from France.

It’s worth noting that the image of Eastern European airlines as "cheap, risky, or very low-end" is now completely outdated. Today, they are just like other (European) airlines, though some still offer quite low fares.

Low-Cost Airlines

While charter flights to holiday destinations marked the 1970s and 80s, the late 1990s were defined by the arrival of "low-cost" airlines. Their goal: to connect major European cities at lower costs. An objective largely achieved, as they’ve become indispensable, even surpassing traditional scheduled flights on many intra-European routes.

Among them, Ryanair and EasyJet remain the best-known (including on the French domestic network), far ahead of others like Vueling or Volotea.

African Airlines

African airlines have always faced competition from European carriers and, occasionally, charters (or even some Middle Eastern airlines). As a result, their presence in the French market has always been—and still is—quite limited or at least targeted toward their home country or region. This is particularly true for airlines from the Maghreb, Egypt, or the Indian Ocean (though Réunion’s Air Austral is trying a different approach). In short, you’ll have relatively few opportunities to use their services.

Middle Eastern Airlines

Some of the world’s best airlines come from the Middle East. It’s no surprise, then, that they’re widely marketed for all their routes on the Europe-Asia-Pacific axis, often at very attractive prices.

In short, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to fly with Qatar, Etihad, or Emirates for the "premium" segment, as well as increasingly with Turkish Airlines, and occasionally Gulf Air, Saudia, or Royal Jordanian.

Asian and Pacific Airlines

Asia

A tale of two tiers: on one side, a few well-known airlines that are omnipresent in agency offers for nearly their entire Asia/Pacific network, and on the other, carriers that are less sought-after or focused on serving their home country.

In the first category, you’ll find high-performing airlines like Thai, Singapore, and Cathay. Especially Malaysia Airlines, which remains highly regarded for its network (also interesting for round-the-world trips) and excellent value for money. On the other side, there are also solid airlines like Vietnam Airlines, Eva Air (Taiwan), Korean Air, as well as Air India, SriLankan, Air China, and Japanese airlines (JAL, ANA).

Pacific

Traditionally, they’ve faced competition from Asian airlines and a few Middle Eastern and European carriers, so they’re rarely present in the French market. However, you’ll still find Australia’s Qantas, offering good value for money on routes (also via London or Frankfurt) from Bangkok to Sydney. Also, Air Tahiti for flights to French Polynesia via Los Angeles, and occasionally Air New Zealand for the South Pacific via North America.

As for Air Calédonie (New Caledonia), it’s mainly scheduled as a connection for flights initially heading to Australia or Southeast Asia.

North American Airlines

Responsible for the deregulation that has dominated the airline industry for years, US carriers have engaged—and still engage—in fierce competition, which, combined with the economic crisis, has led to the disappearance of dozens of them.

For now, three (massive) airlines remain prominent in agency catalogues: American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines. Their routes include direct or connecting flights to the US, Canada, the Caribbean, Central and South America, and even the Pacific or Southeast Asia, particularly for United.

As for Canadian airlines, after several closures, Air Canada and especially Air Transat remain in French agency programmes, the latter notably for its summer flights from regional airports to Quebec.

Latin American and Caribbean Airlines

Much like in Africa, local airlines have faced competition from European and North American carriers for their routes.

Central America and the Caribbean

Beyond Aeromexico (Mexico), Air Caraïbes (Antilles), and occasionally Cubana (Cuba), there aren’t many other airlines featured in French travel agencies’ programmes.

South America

Logically, the French market has never been a major priority for South American carriers. As a result, agencies often prefer North American (American, etc.) or European airlines (British Airways, TAP-Portugal, Air France, Iberia, etc.). There are a few exceptions, though, such as TAM (Brazil), Aerolíneas Argentinas, or LAN (Chile), even if some flights require a stopover in Madrid for the latter two.