Air France opens Air Bistro Paris at TIFF

Despite stormy skies and a brief downpour, Air France unveiled its Air Bistro Paris concept today, just in time for the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

France has a long history of cinema, and to mark the occasion on Festival Street in Toronto, the Consul General of France, Marc Trouyet, accompanied Roland Coppens, Commercial Director Air France-KLM Canada and Mélanie Paul-Hus, Director for Canada, French Tourism Development Agency (Atout France) for a special ribbon-cutting ceremony.

“Air France, our long time partner, has chosen to wrap its wings around the dearest of all Canadian festivals, TIFF,” said Paul-Hus. “We are showing our love of cinema by adding a touch of Parisian lifestyle to TIFF’s glamour. The part we play together in this year’s TIFF is also meant to highlight France’s international reputation and the work of past and present artists, screenwriters, directors, and producers. The way we celebrate France’s heritage and sceneries through the arts, as well as their loyal attendance to the many cinema happenings in France, such as the Cannes Film Festival instills a desire to visit our destinations amongst spectators, better than any possible promotional campaign.”

“The Air Bistro Paris will be open for four days and will provide an experience a la Francais,” said Paul-Hus. “Take a selfie by the Eiffel Tower, eat a macaron, enter our contests, and dream about your next stay in Paris or France.”

Two contests have been organized jointly with Atout France, offering visitors to the country the chance to win one of two upscale stays in France. “Everyone will be able to win two fabulous French experiences through the contest, which first asks participants a very difficult question: do you prefer the Cannes Film Festival, or Toronto? I have no doubts that there will be four very happy people at the end of the festival,” said Marc Trouyet, Consul General of France, Toronto. The two trips include the "Win a Trip to Cannes 2018" and the "#ParisJetaime" trip.

“Starting November 20, Toronto will be one of the destinations served by Air france regularly by our Boeing 787-9,” Coppens said. “On board for many Canadian destinations, we will serve, for business class travellers going to Paris, a wonderful meal. Guests will experience twenty-percent less fuel consumption, and thirty-percent bigger windows, but today at TIFF, I will speak to two numbers: 12 and 16: those are the widths of the screens on board; 12 inches for the premium economy and 16 inches for the business class. In-flight entertainment is another important part of the travel experience, and that’s why Air France operates one of the largest moving theatres in the world, representing 38,000 prisma screens that equip up to 1200 hours of video on demand."

Alongside Canada, France is heavily involved in film production and the cinematic experience, with an average of 10 films shot in Paris each day, and 100 international productions in a year. “Five hundred million people are seeing images of the French landscape through motion pictures,” said Coppens. “Given the vast possibilities of shooting in fantastic natural environments for both our countries, we have reached an agreement between France and Canada. France is one of the true nations of cinema. We have many movie theatres, in fact, there are 400 screens in Paris, and because of this, France welcomes more than 160 film festivals, which is more than any of the other countries put together. More than 200 French professionals will be attending this year’s TIFF event.”

This year's TIFF festivities will run from September 7 to the 17.