You may opt-out by. James is the Chief Social Media Editor & European Editor for the magazine and is actively boosting its presence in the region. The French flag carrier took delivery of its first Airbus A380. As Smith mentioned in July, “these decisions support the Air France-KLM Group’s fleet competitiveness strategy”, and have obviously continued to be the case.
Get Coronavirus travel updates. All of Air France's A380's are showing their age, seats are worn and hard, entertainment system is slow and small screens. But things did not improve much in the higher classes of service. This is understandable given the fact that the A380 consumes around 20-25% more fuel per seat than in any newer long-haul aircraft. Stay on top of industry impacts, flight cancellations, and more. “I don’t think [first class] on the A380 lives up to the exclusivity of the price tag and miles redemption that comes with it,” Brian Kelly wrote in his 2016 review. However, after today, the A380 will no longer fly for Air France. We are very pleased to work with Airbus to add the A220-300 to our fleet, an aircraft that demonstrates optimum environmental, operational, and economic efficiency”. A poll worker knew she had covid-19 and worked Election Day anyway. A crowd gathered around the airport to watch the... © Copyright 2020 Airways International, Inc. All rights reserved. It probably didn't help that the A380s interiors were badly outdated and would have cost millions of ... [+] dollars to refurbish. The coronavirus has produced the first retirement of an airline’s entire A380 fleet. Connect with friends faster than ever with the new Facebook app. Or at least it does for airlines that are not Air France.
Airbus originally conceived the A380, with two complete decks, as an answer to Boeing’s iconic 747. “If you have the choice, I’d recommend going with the 777 instead of the A380 — it’s much more private and comfortable.”. He is also one of the nation’s foremost experts on airline, hotel and credit card loyalty programs. It is understood that the cost for the aircraft to be phased out is at around €500m which will be placed into the expenses book for the second quarter of 2020. “In the context of the current COVID-19 crisis and its impact on anticipated activity levels, the Air France-KLM Group announces today the definitive end of Air France Airbus A380 operations,” it says. The twin-aisle, twin-engine long-haul jets can also operate so-called “thinner” routes –seasonal itineraries with less regular traffic and capacity – to secondary destinations more profitably than the A380. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. The Boeing 777 becomes then the new largest jet in Air France’s fleet. Air France today says au revoir to the Airbus A380. Unfortunately, Air France’s flagship never got an onboard product reflecting its status. Air France’s famed La Première is, after all, the current holder of the TPG Award for best long-haul first. Granted, Wallace was flying in the lowest of four separate classes available on the Air France plane.
The Airbus A380 has become the latest victim of the global pandemic. Air France is betting on newer aircraft like the fuel-efficient A350 to replace its A380s. Reviews editor Nick Ellis did not have much kinder words for it.
Out of the nine units in the fleet, five are directly owned by AF or are on finance lease, with the other four being on operating lease. That’s a sad fate for a fleet of airplanes that are still very young. This came after a story published by Airways in November 2018 that it was looking to half its fleet to five A380, following audits from CEO Benjamin Smith. But, like other carriers, it always struggled to make the jet a profitable part of its fleet due to high operational and maintenance costs. Eric Rosen is a travel writer based in Los Angeles who regularly contributes to National Geographic Traveler, Travel Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler and Bloomberg. The initial announcement for retirement was made back in 2019 when alongside that announcement, the carrier announced an order for 60 A220-300 aircraft. December 2019 saw the airline add another 10 units to what is now the 38-strong backlog, Norwegian Air Secures $271m Government Bailout, Berlin Tegel Airport To Close for Two Months, Former Pan Am Pilots Could Claim Millions over Airline’s Demise, Traveler: Onboard Virgin Atlantic’s Brand New Airbus A350-1000 (+Photos), First Wizz Air Abu Dhabi A321neo Performs Maiden Flight, Interview: Seven Questions for BOOM Supersonic, The Antonov AN225 Lands in Prestwick (+Photos, Video), Virgin Atlantic Files For Chapter 15, Airline Still Safe, FAA Proposes Final Corrective Action for The Boeing 737 MAX.