Air France continues to adjust it’s fleet size – with the end of Airbus A380 operations from the fleet
Air France A380 peeking over the top at Paris Charles De Gaulle – Image, Economy Class and Beyond
It marks the first airline to withdraw the aircraft from its fleet permanently. The fleet was due for withdrawal by the end of 2022 originally – however thanks to the joy of COVID-19, it’s forced the airline group to think again.
Air France-KLM Group will use the withdrawal of the type to aid the simplification of its fleet by what it describes
“The Air France-KLM Group fleet simplification strategy of making the fleet more competitive, by continuing its transformation with more modern, high-performance aircraft with a significantly reduced environmental footprint.”
In terms of flight – five aircraft in the fleet are own by Air France (or owned via a finance lease). The remaining four are on an operating lease from another company.
It’s not going to be cheap to withdraw the type – with an estimated cost of €500 million euros.
As for replacements…
Like most airlines, Air France-KLM Group is going down the line of efficient twins – with Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 continuing to join the fleet, with the group having 33 A350s and 10 Boeing 787s in its backlog at the moment.
Whilst they won’t be able match the capacity the A380 offered (or the space if you want to be socially distant on an aircraft), at this time it seems the A380 turned into a dead-weight for the airline, with no customers to fill it.
And we all know that empty aircraft don’t pay bills sadly.
Welcome to Economy Class and Beyond – Your no-nonsense guide to network news, honest reviews, with in-depth coverage, unique research as well as the humour and madness as I only know how to deliver.
Follow me on Twitter at @EconomyBeyond for the latest updates! You can also follow me on Instagram too!
Also remember that as well as being part of BoardingArea, we’re also part of BoardingArea.eu, delivering frequent flyer news, miles and points to the European reader