The arrival in the Air France fleet of the very large capacity A380 seating 538 passengers, is a major event for the Company, which has 12 planes on order, three of which started operating during winter 2009-2010 on the Paris-New-York and Paris-Johannesburg routes.
The heavy investment involved covering a long period of time, corresponds to Air France’s strategy of continually renewing and upgrading its aircraft whose average age of 9 years makes it one of Europe’s youngest fleets.
The size and performance of the A380, particularly well-suited to the Air France network, will save the Company from 12 to 15 million euros per aircraft per year. In today’s depressed economic climate, the giant airliner provides the Company with the means to withstand the crisis.
The A380 boasts equivalent capacity to that of a Boeing 777-200 and an Airbus A340-300 combined, while offering a 20% reduction in operating costs.
In this way, the aircraft enables Air France to continue to improve its customer service, while remaining cost-efficient. In the longer term, the A380 will also be a key factor in restoring Air France to profitable growth.
The A380 is here! - see below for all the information
- Read Air France KLM CEO Mr P-H Gourgeon's speech
- Video: "Ambiances onboard the A380"
- Video: "Arrival of the Air France A380 by Pierre-Henri Gourgeon Air France KLM CEO"
- Find out more about how Air France is getting ready for the A380's arrival
- Video: "24 hours to Paris-CDG"
