Pour ?

Question

I was taking a quiz involving 'dans' and this was the sentence:  
Lucien est dans l'avion pour Paris.
Why is is not "à Paris?"  Sorry, it doesn't really relate to 'dans.'

Thanks.

Accepted Answer

Hi Carole, 
If you said -
Lucien est dans l'avion à Paris , it doesn't make any sense because 'à Paris' means  'in Paris'.
As the plane is normally on the move it is incorrect here...It could be used if he was onboard the plane in Paris waiting for take off but very limited in usage...
So -
Lucien is in the plane travelling to Paris = Lucien est dans l'avion pour Paris
Hope this helps!

Answer

Thanks -- I think I discovered another way to look at it.  If you are on a plane/train whose destination is Paris, or is en route there, then it's 'pour Paris."  If you're just talking about going to Paris, living there, having a holiday there, then it's 'à Paris.'  But Paris as a destination is 'pour.'