Delta Air Lines will launch Austin's first nonstop flight to Paris next spring, adding a major European destination considered a top priority by the city's airport officials.
The daily flights to Paris-Charles de Gaulle International Airport start March 27, 2027 and run through the summer until Oct. 24.
"Austin and Paris are united by a spirit of culture, creativity, and discovery, and this new route will bring our communities closer together while creating new opportunities for people to experience all that makes our city special," Mayor Kirk Watson said in a statement.
Delta says its partnerships with Air France and KLM will allow travelers to connect easily through Paris to almost 70 nonstop destinations in Europe, India and Africa including Barcelona, Mumbai and Casablanca.
The new Paris flight will add to a handful of European nonstop destinations from Austin: Amsterdam, Frankfurt and London.
Delta will operate the flight on an Airbus A330-900neo, on which the most expensive seats can lie flat and come with premium bedding and small privacy doors.
Paris has long been one of the destinations Austin airport officials have been trying to land.
"I can tell you, commissioners, that we are working on nonstop Paris," ABIA executive Jamy Kazanoff told airport commissioners last month in response to rumors circulating online. "We have a very strong business case, but no announcement."
The city has dangled free money in front of airlines that fly nonstop at least twice a week to any of seven "international priority" destinations: Beijing, Dubai, Dublin, Paris, Seoul, Shanghai and Tokyo.
The economic incentives include 24 months of waived landing fees and up to $500,000 for marketing over two years. The marketing amount is reduced for seasonal flights.
Opportunity Austin, an economic development organization funded by businesses and other groups including the University of Texas, is helping cover the marketing costs for the Paris flight, Delta said. The move reflects how the local business community believes nonstop flights to Paris could help attract companies, corporate travel and international investment to Austin.
Austin has come close to getting a nonstop to Paris before. In October 2019, Norwegian airlines said it would fly from ABIA to Charles de Gaulle Airport starting May 2020. But the pandemic derailed those plans.
The Paris flight comes as Delta is making a longer-term commitment to Austin. The Atlanta-based carrier overtook American Airlines earlier this year as Austin's second-largest airline behind Southwest.
Delta says by summer 2027 it expects to serve about 30 destinations from Austin and operate more than 70 departures on peak days, including daily service to San Diego starting April 12, 2027.
"Austin's growth continues to create new opportunities for customers," Delta executive Joe Esposito said in a statement. "Delta is proud to grow alongside it."
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