An Airbus A380 (© Air France)
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The company has advanced the exit of the air giant from its fleet, initially scheduled for late 2022. Its colossal cost of management and the crisis of coronavirus will definitely be right.
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After more than a decade of loyal service, the Airbus A380 bows out with Air France, which will remember the inaugural flight operated on November 20, 2009 between Paris and New York, which had seen the 538 passengers on board be impressed by its interior calm, which will make its legend. The Air France-KLM group announced, on Wednesday, May 20, the immediate end of operation of its entire A380 fleet. News that will cost him dearly in the short term.
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Too expensive device, snubbed by companies
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The announcement of the Franco-Dutch alliance to part with its 9 A380 models should not be seen as a surprise or even as inevitable. In reality, it is quite logical. Extremely expensive in maintenance (painful fuel-maintenance combo), the giant of the air has never taken off from a marketing point of view.
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The Covid-19 crisis was only an accelerator of its fall. Already in 2019, Airbus’ biggest customer, Emirates, expressed doubts about it, and wanted to replace an order for 39 A380 aircraft with A330 and A350. Today, the Gulf company is reportedly trying to cancel five of its last eight deliveries. Lufthansa, the most powerful European company to which the crisis will cost nearly 2 billion euros in ticket reimbursement, announced in early April the withdrawal of its fleet of six A380s.
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Recall that more than a year ago, on February 14, 2019, the aircraft manufacturer Airbus had officially announced the end of production of its fallen giant for 2021.
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The A380, a half-billion euro ball at the foot of Air France
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Air France-KLM announces that its new A380s (all operated by the French company for that matter) will no longer fly. Yes, fine, but what will she do with these devices? This is where the rub is. Because Air France owns five of these nine planes, the others being “leased” from the German leasing company Dr Peters Group, with leases which expired in 2024.
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“The withdrawal of the Airbus A380 fleet is part of the Air France-KLM group’s fleet simplification strategy which aims to make it more competitive, by continuing its transformation with more modern, more efficient aircraft and whose environmental footprint is considerably reduced. “
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Air France-KLM statement, May 20, 2020
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This means that Air France will have to “get rid” of five A380s that it owns or leases. The company estimates the overall impact of the depreciation of its A380 fleet at 500 million euros. The devices should be dismantled. This very expensive cost will be recorded in the company’s second quarter balance sheet, which promises to be catastrophic with the abysmal hole in the ticket office and the reimbursement of canceled flights which is beginning.
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