Air France announced Tuesday that it plans to offer direct flights to Paris from the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport next summer.
 
The seasonal service will run from May 21 through September 1 and will be the French carrier’s first in the Twin Cities. The service will include one flight five days a week from May 21 through June 16 and one flight daily from June 17 to September 1.

The flights will leave the Twin Cities at 8 p.m. and arrive at the Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris at 11:25 a.m. the next day. Passengers will fly on a 275-seat airbus, which will have 30 business class seats, 21 premium economy class seats, and 224 economy seats. Round-trip economy tickets for late May are currently selling on airfrance.com for about $2,000.
 
Air France has partnered with KLM, Alitalia, and Delta Air Lines to offer connecting flights to Twin Cities passengers who want to fly from Paris to other destinations in Europe.
 
The Twin Cities will be the carrier’s 11th destination in the United States.
 
Metropolitan Airports Commission spokesman Patrick Hogan told Twin Cities Business that Air France hasn’t yet revealed whether it will offer its Twin Cities seasonal service in subsequent years.
 
In addition to offering service from the Twin Cities during summer 2013, Air France plans to also offer new service between Paris and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with three weekly flights.
 
“With these two new routes, Air France is offering its customers greater choice and additional flight opportunities alongside existing services operated by KLM and Delta,” Alexandre de Juniac, chairman and CEO of Air France, said in a statement. “With a more extensive network, we have a clear ambition of creating the best flight offering linking the economic centers of North America and South East Asia.”