Air France is preparing to open a second destination in the United Arab Emirates. The French flag carrier already operates a daily flight to the main city of the gulf state, Dubai. However starting late 2023 the airline will be also offering flights to the other major city and aviation hub in the UAE, Abu Dhabi. So let’s take a closer look at what the new Air France AF638 will look like, how it’ll operate and which plane will fly the route. Here’s all you need to know about the new Paris to Abu Dhabi Air France Flight AF638.
The New Air France Paris to Abu Dhabi AF638 Flight
Although Abu Dhabi isn’t as flashy and as sought after as a tourist destination, the city remains the capital of the UAE. Also the second largest UAE city has been making significant efforts to improve it’s image as a travel destinations with some success.
This new Paris to Abu Dhabi flight will help Air France get a better stronghold on the extremely profitable and rich routes between the UAE and France.
The flight from the get go, first service is scheduled for October 29th 2023, will be a daily service. A service that will work along side the current existing Paris to Dubai Air France service AF662.
The New Paris to Abu Dhabi AF638 Flight Schedule
The schedule of the new Air France Paris to Abu Dhabi flight AF638 is quite a convenient one for travellers. The flight outbound to Abu Dhabi is a night service. Meaning you can get on the plane, have a quick bite to eat sleep and wake up at the destination. I personally love night flights as I find it easier to combat jet lag with these flights.
The return flight arrives back into Paris half way through the day. Arriving at 13:15 gives you plenty of time to get things done in the French capital in the afternoon.
| Flight Number | Departure Airport | Airport Code | Departure Time | Arrival Airport | Airport Code | Arrival Time | Flight Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | AF638 | Paris | CDG | 21:15 | Abu Dhabi | AUH | 06:45+1 | 6hrs 30min |
| AF639 | Abu Dhabi | AUH | 08:45 | Paris | CDG | 13:15 | 7hrs 30min |
Air France Increasing Presence in the Gulf Area
Although Air France is one of the largest airlines in Europe, its destination network in the Gulf area is still lacking some key services. For instance the French flag carrier is still doesn’t serve destinations in the region such as:
- Doha (Qatar)
- Riyadh (Saudi Arabia)
- Jeddah (Saudi Arabia)
- Bahrain
However it worth noting that its sister company, KLM, does serve most of these destinations.
The Plane For Flight AF638 Paris to Abu Dhabi
The airline has chosen to fly the AF638 Paris to Doha flight with one of its mid sized long range wide body planes. The aircraft of choice for AF638 will be the European produced Airbus A350-900. These plance offer 3 classes of travel to choose from when booking their flight:
- 34 Flatbed Business Class Seats (Safran Optima model)
- 24 Premium Economy Class Seats (Recaro’s PL3530 model)
- 266 Economy Class Seats (Safran Z300 model)
Business Class has a 1-2-1 layout, however here are some things to keep in mind when booking a ticket:
- If you’re travelling as a couple, and want to sit close to each other, choose centra even seats (2E/G, 4E/G and so on). These are so called honeymoon seats. You can easily talk to one and other by lowering the partition.
- If you want to enjoy the views from the windows I’d suggest you’d also choose even numbered rows (2A/L, 4A/L). As these seats are located close to the window while odd rows don’t allow to easily look out of the windows.
Premium Economy is laid out in a 2-4-2 configuration while economy class has a standard 3-3-3 layout. For extra comfort when travelling in Economy Class, try to get your hands on seats 31A and 31L as they have incredible legroom as there is no seat in front.
If you’re travelling as a couple in economy class and are willing to put up with some extra noise in exchange for not having a neighbour, you can choose seats 45B/C and 45J/K. That would be the last row of the plane. Therefore you’ll have more noise and light due to the proximity to the galley but there are only 2 seats next to the window.
No First Class on Air France Flight AF638
Although this is a route between to extremely rich areas of the world, Air France won’t be deploying its La Premiere first class product on this service.
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