The Boeing 787 in Bamako for the route's 80th anniversary

Starting on 8 October, Air France will serve Bamako daily by Boeing 787 equipped with the latest travel cabins. In 1937, Air France flew from Paris to Bamako for the first time. Today the company is celebrating the route's 80th anniversary.
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On its Paris-Charles de Gaulle-Bamako route, Air France is introducing the latest aircraft in its fleet, the Boeing 787. For customers, this aircraft provides a number of assets:
• on-board Wi-Fi adapted to the needs of customers (from 20MB to 200MB for a price varying between €5 and €30);
• more comfort and space with the new Premium Economy seats;
• windows that are approximately 30% larger than on similar aircraft; 
• improved air pressure and humidity levels for greater travel comfort; 
• 20% less fuel consumption than previous generation aircraft providing a significant reduction in CO2 emissions as well as noise emissions.
 
Paris - Bamako: a legendary route 
In 1933, when Air France was created, Bamako was absent from its African network. After the launch of flights to Dakar in 1936, all eyes were turned towards Mali. In 1937, Air France launched its twice-weekly Paris-Dakar route with an extension to Bamako. Passengers arrived in Dakar from France by Dewoitine 333 and continued their journey to Bamako by Wibault 282. In the 1950s, Bamako was linked to Orly via Casablanca without stopping off in Dakar by DC-4 and then by Constellation. At the time, it took 15 hours to fly to the rapidly expanding city. 
Today, the city, and its 2 million inhabitants, has become one of Air France's main gateways in West Africa.
 
 

 

Vincent Chappard

Vincent Chappard

Vincent is an aerospace editor and consultant based in Paris.