Plane vs train: Airlines boost London-Paris flights in bid to tempt Eurostar passengers

As Eurostar celebrates 31 years of a monopoly on passenger rail through the Channel Tunnel from London to Paris, airlines are stepping up flights between the two capitals in a bid to tempt travellers away from trains.

By spring 2026, there will be more than 50 flights a day between five London airports and two Paris hubs.

From 5 March, easyJet restores a link between Stansted airport and Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG). Britain's biggest budget airline already flies to the French capital from three other London airports: Gatwick, Luton and Southend.

Now Air France is to launch two daily round-trips – a total of four flights per day – between Paris CDG and Gatwick. The link begins on 29 March 2026, in direct competition against easyJet.

Air France already connects Heathrow with its main hub at CDG, as does British Airways. In addition, BA’s sister airline, Vueling, has flights from Gatwick to Paris Orly, the city’s second airport.

In total, on Fridays from April 2026 onwards there will be 27 flights each way between London and Paris, compared with 18 Eurostar trains.

Eurostar will still take a large majority of travellers between the two cities, attracted by the swift city centre-to-city centre journey time, the absence of airport stress and a generous baggage allowance.

But airlines believe they can profit from prospective rail passengers are deterred by high train fares – particularly for short-notice trips.

For a long weekend trip from Friday 3 to Monday 6 April 2026, the lowest return fare is £104 on both Eurostar from London St Pancras International and easyJet from Southend, returning to Stansted.

But at late notice, the Channel Tunnel rail operator can be much more expensive than the airlines. Booking on Thursday afternoon, 4 December, for a one-way trip from London to Paris the following day, the cheapest Eurostar deal is £196. This applies for only the 6.01am departure; tickets for subsequent trains cost either £219 or £242 in standard class.

In contrast, the cheapest flight – on easyJet from Southend to Paris CDG – is only £68, barely one-third of the Eurostar price. Seven other departures on a variety of routes are available at less than half the Eurostar fare.

Air France will hope to cash in on some useful “point-to-point traffic” between Gatwick and Paris CDG. But the French airline’s main aim is to feed connecting passengers from south of London via its hub to destinations worldwide.

Aviation analyst Sean Moulton said: “With Eurostar not planning to resume trains from Kent anytime soon, Air France are helping to fill the connectivity void between the South Coast and Paris.

“But London Gatwick has struggled to retain its ‘legacy carriers’ over recent years. Despite KLM serving 18 UK airports, it does not serve Gatwick – partly due to the quantum of flights at Britain's two busiest airports.”

Eurostar has declined to comment about the new flights.