Jet-set sweets: Air France opens café in T.O.; fuel crisis “a challenge,” but all flights operating

Nothing coos “ooh la la” quite like a pastry shop curated by Air France.

An effortlessly chic (and limited time) pop-up shop, called “La pâtisserie,” has landed in downtown Toronto and, for the first time ever, visitors can taste Air France’s Business Class pastry selection on the ground.

Located at 151 Bloor Street West (coincidently, Air France-KLM’s former headquarters), in the city’s affluent Yorkville neighbourhood, the stylish lounge, which PAX visited Tuesday (April 28), feels deliberately indulgent, evoking a brief escape to Paris while layering in subtle touches of aviation nostalgia.

At the heart of the boutique – whose exterior showcases Air France’s latest branding campaign, including the image of a striking model poised atop a giant raspberry-hued macaron – are five delectable desserts, protected by glass cloches, which visitors can purchase (on top of speciality coffees, if they like).

The pastries – with sweet titles like “Lemon Delight,” “Raspberry and Montelimar Nougat,” and “Mango Coco” – are conceived by celebrated French pastry stars Yann Couvreur and Laurent Le Daniel (Meilleur Ouvrier de France), underscoring Air France’s commitment to celebrating French gastronomy, at 35,000 ft., through bold-faced collaborations.

Pourquoi? To celebrate the 50-year anniversary of Air France’s Paris-Toronto route.

“It’s a big milestone,” said Bertrand Pous, Consul General for France in Toronto, speaking at yesterday’s late-morning coffee (and champagne) klatch for trade media. “It’s 50 years of direct connections, between Paris and Toronto, between business [travellers], tourists, academics, artists, students, and families, who nurture, day by day, the relationship between France and Ontario.”

Air France launched its first Toronto-Paris flight, operated by a Boeing 747, on May 21, 1976 – just as the Toronto Paralympic Games were underway.

At that time, Air France was the only airline to offer the route, with three weekly flights.

Fifty years later, Air France, this summer, will offer two daily flights to Paris, out of Toronto, using Airbus A380s.   

“Paris is a major touristic destination, but we also see a lot of connecting traffic to our set of destinations beyond Charles de Gaulle [airport],” said Jean-Eudes de La Bretèche, country manager for Air France–KLM Canada, also on the scene yesterday.

Sky-high concepts, on the ground

La pâtisserie, open to the public until May 17, is designed to shine a light, on the City of Light, while honouring the airline’s long-standing connection with The 6ix.

The bright ‘n’ cozy café doubles as a mini museum: Air France cutlery is displayed on the walls alongside archival materials, such as newspaper clippings, ads and photos, from the 1970s, promoting Air France’s new Toronto–Paris route, and even stories from the Concorde era.

One piece of memorabilia will appeal to industry folk: the original party invite, mailed out in 2001, to mark the 25th anniversary of Air France’s Toronto–Paris service.

de La Bretèche – yesterday, joined by Mélanie Paul-Hus, director for Canada at Atout France – noted that La pâtisserie is one of several activations Air France has launched in recent years to bring its airborne concepts to life on the ground.

In 2024, there was La Plage (the beach), an outdoor beach lounge, in the centre of the Cannes Film Festival, with bar, menu and sunbeds, all inspired by Air France, near Hôtel Martinez.

Then, in 2025, pop-up restaurants in Paris: first at Palais de Tokyo, then on the eighth floor of Galeries Lafayette. Air France gastronomic experiences, inspired by life on board.

Which brings us to La pâtisserie, in Toronto, which opened April 25. The Air France café, currently, is the only one in the world.

“We are really proud to open this concept to mark this very special event,” said de La Bretèche, referring to the 50th. “Gastronomy is such an important part of the customer experience.”

In addition to dessert and coffee service, La pâtisserie also has a dedicated Creator Studio, hidden in the back, where influencers (and hey, maybe even travel advisors?) can book time to film content.

Fuel challanges, but operating all flights

Apart from Toronto, in the peak season, Air France will fly to Paris from Montreal (28 flights), Quebec City (4), Ottawa (7), and Vancouver (7), for a total of 60 flights per week.

The “magic number,” for both Air France and KLM, said de La Bretèche, is 100 flights per week from Canada to Europe. On top of Air France’s routes, KLM operates 40 weekly flights to Amsterdam.

“It shows the strategic importance of Canada, our second-biggest international market,” de La Bretèche said.

And what about rising fuel costs? As previously reported, airlines around the world – in Europe, especially – have been cutting capacity amid supply disruptions tied to the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, and the associated closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

PAX posed the question to de La Bretèche, who said the case “is hard to predict.”

“We’ll keep observing the situation,” he said, noting that Air France, like many airlines, has had to pass on some of the additional costs to passengers through fuel surcharges.

“It’s a challenge,” he said.

As for the suggestion that Europe could run out of jet fuel in a matter of six weeks, de La Bretèche was optimistic, saying there’s so far “absolutely no impact” on operations.

“We’re operating all of our flights,” he said.

Meanwhile, Transavia, a low-cost subsidiary of the Air France-KLM group (and separate network) has cancelled fewer than two per cent of its program for May and June.

As for summer bookings from Canada to Europe, they're trending strong, de La Bretèche said.  

“We’re seeing people book later [than they did in the past],” he said, noting how current trends suggest a timeline of roughly three to four months out. “People are maybe more hesitant, but we’re still seeing good dynamics.”

Don't miss a single travel story: subscribe to PAX today!  Click here to follow PAX on Facebook.