The airline wanted to fly with them for three more years. However, because of the Corona crisis, Air France is already pulling its Airbus A380 out of service.
“An innovative aircraft” – that’s how Air France advertises to passengers for the Airbus A380. And the double-decker is also extremely popular with travelers. “Spacious”, “quiet” and “comfortable” are the attributes that come up in conversations.
And if you can fill the Airbus A380, they are also profitable for the airlines. Because the costs per seat are then very attractive. However, the occupancy of such a large aircraft with around 500 seats was not easy before and it becomes all the more difficult after the Corona crisis. For this reason, various airlines have been thinking aloud about saying goodbye to their super jumbos forever.
Everywhere doubts about the A380
Qatar Airways’ A380s “would not return for at least a year,” said CEO Akbar Al Baker recently, “perhaps never.” Lufthansa has parked most of its super jumbos in Spain, British Airways in France, Qantas in Australia – everyone has a question mark about their future.
Air France is the first airline ever to draw a final line under the A380 chapter. “In connection with the current Covid-19 crisis and its impact on the expected level of demand,” said parent company Air France-KLM on Wednesday (May 20), it said “the final cessation of Airbus A380 operations at Air France known. »
Replacement with Airbus A350 and Boeing 787
The airline had originally planned to decommission its nine remaining super jumbos by the end of 2022. Five of their Airbus A380 are owned, four are leased. In a first step, however, the savings will result in costs for the group. Because of the premature eradication, Air France-KLM has to write off 500 million euros.
The Airbus A380s will be replaced by the A350s and Boeing 787s. Air France-KLM says the delivery of the new long-haul aircraft will be maintained.
First flight eleven years ago
Air France carried out the first flight with an Airbus A380 on November 23, 2009. It led from Paris-Charles de Gaulle to New York. The airline had already shut down three of the giant aviators before the Corona crisis.
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