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Instead, 200 passengers became stuck in a remote town in Siberia, where temperatures plummeted to -20 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees Fahrenheit).
The original Boeing 777-300ER has been aired to the airspace by Air France said in a statement.
After realizing repairs could not be done quickly enough, the second B777 from Paris to the Russian city to pick up the stranded passengers.
But that plane breaks down to the ground, according to the statement, forcing the French flag carrier to send a third B777 to Siberia.
Posting on Weibo, a Twitter-like platform in China, a Chinese passenger complained about the chaos after the unscheduled landing – including two lengthy waits for hotel rooms, while lacking access to both their luggage and passports, which were withheld by local officials.
"I'd like to ask Air France: Do you have a problem with your business?" wrote the passenger.
"Can you just waste your customers' time and energy like that?"
The first two aircraft had been in service for more than 14 years, and the third one joined the Air France fleet nearly a decade ago.
The twin-engine, B777s widebody are the workhorses of many airlines around the world. The three Air France B777-300ERs involved seat up to 318 passengers.
The third and final aircraft finally made it to Shanghai on Wednesday afternoon with the unlucky fliers on board.
Air France expressed regret over the "exceptional situation" and apologized to the passengers in its statement, stressing safety was its top priority.
It added that its team in Russia worked with local authorities to accommodate the affected customers, who would be contacted for "suitable" compensation.
