Anna Duplantis -
5 days ago In summary
• Air France adds nonstop Paris flights to Nashville and San Diego in May 2027.• Both routes fly 3x weekly on A350-900s with CDG connections worldwide.
• The expansion targets growing U.S. markets beyond traditional hubs.
Air France is expanding its U.S. network again, with two new nonstop routes from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Nashville and San Diego scheduled to launch in May 2027.
Both routes will operate three times a week aboard the Airbus A350-900, giving travelers in Tennessee and Southern California a new direct option to Paris while also opening easier connections across Air France’s wider European, African and Asian network.
The Nashville service will begin on May 14, 2027. Flight AF38 will leave Paris at 2:10 p.m. and arrive in Nashville at 4:40 p.m. local time. The return flight, AF39, will depart Nashville at 6:55 p.m. and land at Paris Charles de Gaulle at 10:15 a.m. the following morning.
Three days later, on May 17, Air France will add San Diego. Flight AF58 will depart Paris at 10:10 a.m. and arrive in San Diego at 12:50 p.m., while AF57 will leave San Diego at 3:10 p.m. and arrive in Paris at 11:10 a.m. the next day. The schedules are designed to feed into Air France’s large bank of onward connections at Charles de Gaulle.
Nashville Gets a Major New Link to Europe
The Nashville route is particularly notable because it gives one of America’s fastest-growing tourism and business markets another direct connection to Europe.
For Middle Tennessee travelers, the new flight removes the need to connect through a major U.S. hub before heading to Paris. It also gives passengers access to dozens of onward destinations from Charles de Gaulle on Air France and its SkyTeam partners.
The route also adds more competition to Nashville’s increasingly international air service, which has expanded significantly in recent years as the city’s population, tourism sector and corporate presence have grown.
For European travelers, the flight provides direct access to one of the most recognizable leisure destinations in the American South, known for its live music scene, nightlife and growing culinary reputation.
San Diego Finally Gets Another Major European Connection
San Diego is an equally important addition for Air France. The Southern California market has long generated strong international demand, but its nonstop European network remains smaller than those of Los Angeles or San Francisco.
A direct Paris flight gives San Diego-area travelers another alternative to driving north to LAX for long-haul travel. It could be particularly attractive to leisure passengers heading to France as well as travelers connecting onward to cities elsewhere in Europe.
The arrival of Air France also strengthens competition for premium international passengers in Southern California, where airlines increasingly see demand for long-haul service outside the largest traditional gateways.
Both Routes Will Use the Airbus A350
Air France plans to operate both Nashville and San Diego with the Airbus A350-900, one of the newest long-haul aircraft in its fleet.
The A350 is a particularly important part of Air France’s expansion strategy in the United States. The airline already uses the aircraft on a growing number of North American routes, and it also chose the type for its new Las Vegas service launched in 2026. Air France says the aircraft offers Business, Premium and Economy cabins and is designed to provide lower fuel consumption and a quieter cabin than previous-generation widebody aircraft.
The choice of the A350 also signals that Air France sees meaningful premium demand in both new markets rather than treating them simply as seasonal leisure routes.
Air France Keeps Betting on the U.S.
The Nashville and San Diego announcements continue a rapid expansion of Air France’s American network. In 2026, the airline launched a new Paris-Las Vegas route and increased service to New York-Newark, while North and South America remained a major source of long-haul capacity growth.
The strategy reflects the importance of U.S. travelers to Air France and its broader transatlantic partnership with Delta. Rather than concentrating only on New York, Los Angeles and other traditional gateways, the airline has increasingly targeted large secondary U.S. markets where travelers may be willing to pay for nonstop service to Europe.
Nashville and San Diego fit that model well. Both have strong tourism demand, sizable affluent populations and enough connecting traffic to support a long-haul route without relying entirely on passengers traveling only between the two endpoint cities.
What It Means for U.S. Travelers
For travelers in both cities, the most important benefit is not simply easier access to Paris. Charles de Gaulle is one of Europe’s largest connecting hubs, meaning passengers can continue on a single itinerary to destinations across France, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia.
The three-times-weekly schedule will be less flexible than a daily flight, so travelers will need to plan around specific operating days. Still, the ability to avoid a domestic connection could make the routes particularly attractive for vacationers and business travelers who value a simpler itinerary.
With Nashville joining the network on May 14 and San Diego on May 17, Air France is making clear that its next phase of U.S. growth will extend well beyond the country’s biggest coastal hubs.
