Cardiff: Route Development & Rumours

[Foxlimayankee]

If KL cant even manage 3 daily flights anymore theres little chance AF will ever been seen at CWL. They are the same company so will have data about where people are travelling.
I think realistically Paris and Edinburgh need to be forgotten about for a while and other routes focused on.

 

[Jerry]

Based airline wise I can only think Ryanair would be an option?

 

[Jarvo]

Let's just say growth needs a solid base, it won't be 1 jet.

Wonder why VY are quiet?

It's this one bluebirdry posted last week.... If it won't be 1 jet... it may be 2 jet (jet2??)

 

[Jerry]

If KL cant even manage 3 daily flights anymore theres little chance AF will ever been seen at CWL. They are the same company so will have data about where people are travelling.
I think realistically Paris and Edinburgh need to be forgotten about for a while and other routes focused on.

I don't think the airport is going to forget about them though. Both are major city destinations in their own right more so with Paris and big gaps on the route map.

 

[Samdorob]

It's this one bluebirdry posted last week.... If it won't be 1 jet... it may be 2 jet (jet2??)

I would prefer FR to open a base over Jet2. Jet2 offer very similar routes to TUI and I’d be afraid they would squeeze them out. Ryanair are more likely to offer some new destinations in addition to added frequencies on the existing offering.

 

[Jerry]

I would prefer FR to open a base over Jet2. Jet2 offer very similar routes to TUI and I’d be afraid they would squeeze them out. Ryanair are more likely to offer some new destinations in addition to added frequencies on the existing offering.

Ryanair also would attract a different set of passengers almost complementing TUI.

 

[Jarvo]

Ryanair also would attract a different set of passengers almost complementing TUI.

Quite literally complimenting TUI , you can book FR flights through the TUI website for packages due to their agreement... FR would be the ideal scenario really for the airport.

 

[Jerry]

Quite literally complimenting TUI , you can book FR flights through the TUI website for packages due to their agreement... FR would be the ideal scenario really for the airport.

I do think though Ryanair would want to know how routes like Alicante perform over the winter before making any decisions.

 

[Jerry]

SeanM1997 teasing that there's more to come for the UK. I'm hoping CWL gets something from Ryanair and Air France launch Paris CDG.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1995196339546992744

 

[fly4gigs]

Maybe AF want to see what CWL-CDG loads are like in February first.

 

[Jerry]

Maybe AF want to see what CWL-CDG loads are like in February first

Although I don't think if they were good they'd harm CWLs case I don't think AF would base a decision on that. Especially if a route was going to be launched May/June time which I'd expect any announcement in December would be for.

 

[gulftraveller]

Maybe AF want to see what CWL-CDG loads are like in February first.

Route planning is not done that way. The origin of this flight is likely to have been an approach from travel agencies used by the teams.

 

[Jerry]

Route planning is not done that way. The origin of this flight is likely to have been an approach from travel agencies used by the teams.

I'd expect that it being onsale as a scheduled route will be down to engagement from Cardiff route development team to get Air France to operate it as a scheduled route and not a charter for French rugby fans.

 

[fly4gigs]

If there is no word on Paris in the near future I might book to go in February on those AF flights on sale now.

 

[Foxlimayankee]

Bearing in mind AF and KL are the same company, if there's no confidence from KL in restoring the overnight aircraft and morning departure to AMS, I can't see there being much confidence from AF in launching a whole new route. A single daily flight from AF would struggle to attract any connections, which is a large part of AF's business. Solely relying on point to point traffic would put a strain on the success of the route at AF's prices.

 

[Samdorob]

It would be a surprise to see Air France start a route. Summer seasonal maybe? They do have Air France Hop running the E190 which would work quite nicely with Cardiff.

 

[fly4gigs]

A senior member of staff at CWL said they want Paris. Who else could do it? FR to Beauvais? Ew.

 

[Jerry]

Bearing in mind AF and KL are the same company, if there's no confidence from KL in restoring the overnight aircraft and morning departure to AMS

But for all we know Cardiff could be under consideration for the 3rd daily to return but KLM may well have other routes ahead of Cardiff or not have the slots etc. An Air France route to Paris could be a possible substitute for that and the money is kept within the same company and it can be booked through them as well. There's no doubting that Paris is a link the airport sees as a priority as the new CEO mentioned it in an interview during the Westjet announcement.
It's likely to lead to nothing but I do find it strange that Air France have launched scheduled flights for the Six Nations something I don't think they've done before instead of just operating them as charters like I'm sure they've done in the past.
I suspect though they'll just be one offs like Volotea was but hope not!

A senior member of staff at CWL said they want Paris. Who else could do it? FR to Beauvais? Ew.

They mentioned it as a hub route. Beauvais isn't a hub route and I do think the challenge with Paris is it might struggle as a point 2 point route and may well need onward connections.

If there is no word on Paris in the near future I might book to go in February on those AF flights on sale now.

That's what I did. To me I'm looking at it as most likely the only opportunity to fly Air France from Cardiff.

 

[Qing4theloo]

What happened to Eastern Airways' planes? Or were they all leased?

 

[Severn]

Here’s a table comparing major UK airports with flights to Paris’s three airports (CDG, ORY and BVA). I’ve used a week in August 2026 for comparison.

easyJet appears to be the main operator to Paris while Air France seems similar to KLM offering multiple daily connections to CDG to support their wider network.
ORY is very slot-constrained but although Vueling and Transavia France are options, they've reduced operations to the UK next year.
BVA could be more viable, especially since Ryanair has a base there. This could be a good option for CWL, though a Ryanair base at CWL would be even better!