Air France is sharpening its focus on the French Riviera for 2026, launching a series of direct flights from the United States to Nice that are timed precisely around the Cannes Film Festival and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The limited nonstop services from Los Angeles and New York-JFK are designed to channel high-spending visitors, media, and industry professionals straight into the heart of the Côte d’Azur, bypassing Paris and shortening travel times to one of Europe’s most coveted spring and early summer destinations.
A Strategic Bridge Between the U.S. and the French Riviera
The new direct links from the United States to Nice Côte d’Azur Airport underscore Air France’s ambition to position itself as the carrier of choice for premium festival-bound travelers in 2026. Traditionally, North American visitors heading to Cannes have routed through Paris-Charles de Gaulle before catching a short-haul connection to the Riviera. By operating nonstop services from Los Angeles and New York-JFK, Air France is removing a key friction point at precisely the moment the region’s global visibility peaks.
The airline confirmed that the Los Angeles to Nice flights will operate in May 2026, bracketing the 79th Cannes Film Festival, scheduled from May 12 to May 23, while New York-JFK to Nice services will run in June to coincide with the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, taking place from June 22 to June 26. The timing highlights a clear strategy: Air France wants to own the transatlantic corridor for the world’s most influential film and advertising gatherings on the Riviera, delivering both convenience and cachet.
For destination marketers in Nice and Cannes, the move is more than symbolic. Direct long-haul connectivity tends to translate quickly into higher visitor numbers, longer stays, and increased average spend. With the airline already strengthening its broader U.S. network for summer 2026, these festival flights are emerging as the flagship expression of a wider North America strategy that leans into culture, events, and luxury travel.
Flight Schedules Tailored to Cannes and Cannes Lions
Air France has crafted the 2026 flight schedules with a keen eye on festival calendars and the practical needs of high-profile travelers. From Los Angeles, flight AF041 is scheduled to depart on May 11, 2026 at 14:00 local time, arriving in Nice at 10:35 the following day. That timing places passengers on the Riviera on the eve of the festival’s opening days, with jet lag minimized and a full day of preparations ahead. The return service, AF040, will leave Nice on May 25 at 13:15, touching down in Los Angeles at 16:30 the same afternoon, once the closing ceremonies and associated events have wrapped.
The New York-JFK to Nice operation offers similarly strategic timing geared to Cannes Lions, a global magnet for marketers, media, and technology giants. Flights AF043 are slated to depart JFK on June 20 and June 21 at 16:30, arriving into Nice at 10:35 the following morning, offering delegates a comfortable buffer before the festival’s main program begins on June 22. For the return, AF042 will lift off from Nice at midday on June 25 and June 26, arriving in New York at 15:00, which allows passengers to conclude business, check out of hotels, and still arrive back on the U.S. East Coast before evening.
Crucially, the services are limited and tightly concentrated around these dates, reinforcing their status as special-event flights rather than regular scheduled routes. This scarcity is likely to drive early bookings from both individual travelers and corporate buyers seeking group allocations for film studios, agencies, brands, and media organizations that treat Cannes as a must-attend fixture on the annual calendar.
Premium Cabins and the La Première Showcase
The choice of aircraft and onboard product underscores the premium positioning Air France is cultivating with these festival flights. The services will be operated by Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, a long-haul workhorse that the airline has earmarked for its latest generation cabin interiors, including the signature La Première first-class suite. For Air France, the Cannes corridor doubles as a showcase for French luxury and hospitality, reinforcing the brand’s association with cinema and high culture.
La Première, which the airline has described as its most exclusive cabin to date, is configured as an ultra-private suite with a modular seat, daybed, and full two-metre lie-flat bed. The product is framed as more akin to a boutique hotel room in the sky than a traditional seat, complete with large-format 4K screens, personal storage, and design touches that mirror French high-end interiors. For industry leaders, celebrities, and executives traveling to Cannes, the offering is likely to be as much part of the experience as the festival itself.
Beyond first class, the cabins are expected to feature Air France’s latest long-haul business class seat with sliding doors, premium economy with enhanced recline and ergonomics, and refreshed economy seating. Complimentary high-speed connectivity is being rolled out progressively on the airline’s U.S. network, including New York, allowing passengers to finalize presentations, review film cuts, or coordinate festival agendas while en route. The combined effect is a travel product that aims to blur the line between office, lounge, and private retreat at 35,000 feet.
Cannes Festival Partnership and the Cinema Connection
The direct U.S.–Nice routes build on a long-standing and carefully cultivated relationship between Air France and the Cannes Film Festival. The airline has been an official partner of Cannes for decades, aligning its brand with the glamour of the red carpet, the influence of global cinema, and the artistic prestige that surrounds the event each May. In recent years, that partnership has extended beyond branding to tangible initiatives such as special film selections onboard and curated experiences on the Croisette.
Air France regularly highlights its cinema credentials through an extensive inflight entertainment library, including films that have premiered or screened at Cannes and other major festivals. Dedicated Cannes-related programming on long-haul flights, combined with the airline’s presence at beaches and branded spaces along the Croisette, reinforces the message that the journey is an extension of the festival’s narrative rather than just a means of transportation.
By adding New York-JFK to the mix in June for Cannes Lions, Air France is effectively broadening the scope of this cultural link to encompass not just film, but also advertising, media, and creative industries. In doing so, the carrier is positioning itself as a bridge for creative talent, brand leaders, and content producers traveling between two of the world’s most significant economic and cultural hubs: the United States and the French Riviera.
Tourism Boost for Nice, Cannes, and the Wider Riviera
From a destination perspective, the implications of these flights go far beyond festival attendees. Nonstop services from North America to Nice have historically translated into a broader halo effect for the region, catalyzing visits to nearby hotspots such as Antibes, Saint-Tropez, and the perched villages of the hinterland. With aircraft loaded with affluent travelers arriving at key moments in the season, local tourism authorities are anticipating a measurable lift in hotel occupancy, restaurant revenue, and high-end retail activity.
Inbound travelers will find that Nice functions as both gateway and destination. Its seafront promenade, evolving culinary scene, and growing art and design credentials increasingly appeal to visitors looking for more than a quick transit point. Direct long-haul flights can encourage travelers to extend their stay, spending a few extra nights in Nice either side of Cannes, or venturing inland to explore vineyards, perfumeries, and hiking routes that remain under the radar for many first-time Riviera visitors.
The flights also support the French Riviera’s ongoing effort to diversify its tourism profile beyond peak summer leisure. By targeting May and June, Air France is aligning with a period that has long been anchored by business tourism and events. Strengthening this shoulder season with additional long-haul capacity helps spread visitor flows over a longer window, softening pressure on infrastructure and contributing to more sustainable economic returns for local communities.
Competition, Connectivity, and the Wider U.S. Network
Air France’s festival flights arrive against a backdrop of intensified transatlantic competition and expanded U.S. connectivity. The airline, working in close coordination with its joint-venture partner Delta Air Lines, is raising frequencies to New York in summer 2026, with up to eleven daily flights between Paris-Charles de Gaulle, New York-JFK, and Newark Liberty. That dense schedule at the New York end of the network gives festival passengers multiple options to connect into or out of the special Nice services if they are traveling from other cities across North America.
At the same time, Nice itself is seeing increased attention as a long-haul gateway, with a growing roster of seasonal and event-driven routes from international carriers. By committing widebody capacity and premium cabins on its festival flights, Air France is making a strong statement of intent about defending and growing its share of the high-yield segment. Tight coordination with domestic and European feeder flights into Nice further enhances the city’s role as an alternative to Paris for travelers whose primary goal is the Riviera.
For U.S. travelers, the expanded network means that Cannes-bound itineraries in 2026 can be constructed more flexibly. A traveler might, for example, fly into Nice nonstop from Los Angeles for the opening of the film festival, then depart Europe from Paris or another European hub after an extended post-festival holiday. The airline’s broader transatlantic schedule and partnership ecosystem make these open-jaw and multi-stop journeys relatively seamless from a booking and baggage perspective.
Booking Dynamics, Pricing, and Access
With capacity on the direct festival flights limited to a handful of operations on specific dates, Air France is expected to see strong early demand from both corporate clients and high-end leisure travelers. Industry observers anticipate that premium cabins, especially La Première and business class, will sell quickly as studios, agencies, and brands move to secure seats for senior delegations. The scheduling around peak festival days reinforces the perception that these are the most convenient and time-efficient options to reach Cannes.
At the same time, economy and premium economy cabins will appeal to a broader mix of visitors, including independent filmmakers, journalists, and cinephiles eager to experience the festival atmosphere without the logistical hurdles of a connection in Paris. For frequent flyers, the routes represent an attractive opportunity to redeem loyalty miles on a uniquely time-sensitive and aspirational journey, especially as Flying Blue, the Air France and KLM joint program, continues to promote event-linked redemptions.
Given the compressed window and likely high load factors, travelers interested in these flights are being encouraged to finalize plans early in the booking cycle for the 2026 summer season. Demand is particularly strong for itineraries that combine the Cannes Film Festival or Cannes Lions with side trips along the Riviera or onward travel into Italy and the Alps, as the direct flights simplify cross-border travel planning in a way that appeals to both seasoned and first-time European visitors.
Shaping the Future of Event-Focused Air Travel
Beyond the immediate impact on Cannes tourism in 2026, Air France’s U.S.–Nice initiative points to a broader trend in aviation strategy: the use of targeted, event-driven routes to capture high-value traffic in short, intensive bursts. By aligning capacity so closely with the calendars of global events, airlines can generate outsized returns on limited operations, while destinations gain a powerful tool to raise their profile and accessibility.
For the French Riviera, the return of direct festival flights from the United States signals confidence in the enduring appeal of Cannes as a global meeting point for culture and commerce. It also reflects the region’s ability to reinvent its offer, combining classic Riviera glamour with contemporary creative industries and digital media. As 2026 approaches, Nice and Cannes are preparing not just for an influx of visitors, but for a new chapter in how those visitors arrive and experience the journey.
For travelers, the message is clear: the path from Hollywood and New York to the Croisette has never been more direct. With premium cabins designed as flying salons, carefully calibrated schedules, and a deep partnership with the festivals themselves, Air France is turning the trip to Cannes into an integral part of the story, and in the process, is giving Riviera tourism a powerful new lift for the 2026 season.