Air France Names Its Aircraft

Air France names its aircraft in a tradition that dates back to the beginnings of French aviation, drawing inspiration from naval customs. The practice began in the late 19th century with Clément Ader, a French aviation pioneer, who named his first prototype "Éole" after the Greek god Aeolus, the keeper of the winds. Though "Éole" only managed a short flight, it marked the start of aviation history and a naming tradition that continues today.

Since the 1930s, Air France has christened its planes with names from various domains. These have included French regions like "Gascogne" and "Auvergne", adjectives such as "Actif" and "Agile", constellations like "Cassiopée" and "Altaïr", and birds like "Albatros" and "Cigogne". During the 1960s, Boeing 707s in the Air France fleet were named after French châteaux such as "Blois" and "Fontainebleau".

This poetic tradition was paused in 1970 with the introduction of the Boeing 747 but saw a brief revival in 1988 with the Airbus A320. In 2019, Air France reinstated the practice, this time choosing town names from mainland France and its overseas territories for new aircraft like the A350 and A220, as well as for refurbished planes. These names are carefully selected for their connections to aviation history or for their cultural, historical, and gastronomic significance. In 2023, names such as Le Havre, Les Sables-d’Olonne, and Nantes were added to Air France’s fleet, continuing the rich tradition of naming its aircraft.