Air France to retire the A380 – the world’s largest airliner – from its fleet by 2022 but signals faith with Airbus with order for 60 of its new A220 jets
- Airline group says there are limited markets where the A380 operates profitably
- It comes five months after Airbus announced it was scrapping production
- Air France-KLM has provisionally agreed to order 60 of Airbus’s new A220 jets
Air France-KLM is to retire all 10 of its Airbus A380s – the world’s largest airliner – from its 541-plane fleet by 2022.
Air France had previously disclosed plans to retire three of its 10 A380s. The airline group said that the current competitive environment ‘limits the markets on which the A380 can be operated profitably’.
However, the company has signaled its faith in Airbus by provisionally agreeing to order 60 of Airbus’s new A220 jets to replace ageing aircraft.
Air France is to retire the Airbus A380 – the world’s largest airliner – from its fleet by 2022
The move to retire the A380 comes five months after Airbus announced it was scrapping production of the superjumbo jet in response to lacklustre sales.
With two decks of spacious cabins and room for 544 people in a standard layout, the A380 was designed to challenge Boeing’s legendary 747 but failed to take hold as airlines backed a new generation of smaller, more nimble jets.
Air France-KLM will ‘examine the possible options for the replacement of these planes with new-generation aircraft now available on the market’, the company said.
Air France-KLM’s board has approved 60 firm A220 orders worth $5.5 billion (£4.5 billion) at 2018 list prices and 30 options and 30 purchase rights for the aircraft, which Airbus acquired from Bombardier last year.
The order was first reported by French daily La Tribune.
The company said the 120-150-seater A220-300 would ‘improve Air France’s environmental footprint’ as it gradually replaces its older A318 and A319 models at the smaller end of its fleet, starting in 2021.
Airbus said the A220 order was a memorandum of understanding, meaning final contractual details must be negotiated before it appears in the company’s order book.
Air France-KLM has provisionally agreed to order 60 of Airbus’s new A220 jets, pictured
The new A220 jets will replace Air France-KLM’s older A318 and A319 models. Pictured is an Air France A319
Air France-KLM, formed from a merger of French and Dutch flag carriers in 2004, continues to operate a mixed fleet between its two main national networks.
Last month, KLM provisionally became the first major European customer for the newly certified E195-E2 offered by A220 rival Embraer of Brazil, whose commercial aerospace arm is being acquired by Boeing.
However, Embraer was not given a chance to compete for the Air France part of the fleet shake-up, industry sources said.
Airbus bought the loss-making A220 programme from Canada’s Bombardier last year and immediately began offering it to customers that already have other Airbus aircraft, allowing it to juggle prices and ancillary services across the fleet.
Air France’s deal extends a rebound for the A220 after leasing company Air Lease Corp provisionally ordered 50 of the planes at last month’s Paris Airshow as part of a broader deal giving the lessor access to Airbus’s hot-selling new longer-range A321XLR.
Following the A380’s demise, Airbus’s arch-rival Boeing is hoping its new twin-aisle 777X jet may scoop up more orders as it prepares to enter service next year.
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