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Home » Airplanes » A380 » Air France A380 Retirement Is Hardly A Surprise
A380Air FranceNews

Air France A380 Retirement Is Hardly A Surprise

Matthew Klint Posted onJuly 31, 2019November 14, 2023 6 Comments

a plane taking off from a runway

As I predicted, Air France will not bother to retrofit its A380 fleet, but instead retire it by 2022. The writing was on the wall.

Last November, Air France announced it would return half of its A380 fleet rather than retrofit it. Balking at the 45MN EUR price tag per aircraft to retrofit, Air France initially opted to keep the five A380s it owned and return the five it leased. But even that proved too great of a price tag.

It was only last month that I speculated that Air France would likely retire its entire A380 fleet early. That was on the basis of a statement from CEO Ben Smith:

The other seven have older seats and we’re in the middle of making the decision on how long those A380s will be staying in the Air France fleet and whether we should invest €30-€40 million ($33.8-$45.1 million) per aircraft in upgrading those seats.

That rather ominous statement along with Air France’s tripartite fleet goal made the answer clear.

  • Simplicity around the fleet
  • Efficiency of aircraft layouts
  • Consistency of product

The A380 did not simplify the fleet, it was not efficient, and it would cost up to 45MN EUR per aircraft to make it consistent.

Thus, when Air France announced the A380 retirement yesterday, I was not at all surprised. Smith said:

This is a very important next step in Air France’s transformation, and this evolution in Air France’s fleet underlines the Group’s determination to attain European airline leadership.

CONCLUSION

Air France will order A220s for shorthaul flying, focus on 787 and A350s for its longhaul product, and retire its A380s by 2022. As much as I love the A380 as a passenger, this move undeniably makes sense. Not only was the premium cabin product woefully uncompetitive on the A380, it simply did not make financial sense to retrofit. Sadly for customers, that means three more years of a business class seat is at least a decade démodé.

C’est la vie my dear Air France A380…

> Read More: Air France A380 Decision Is Sad, But Smart
> Read More: Air France May Retire A380 Even Earlier

image: James Rowson / Wikimedia Commons

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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6 Comments

  1. Sidi Reply
    July 31, 2019 at 12:40 pm

    Don’t they know what seats to put in before spending millions on a new aircraft ? I don’t hear Emirats getting rid of 380’s because of that ?!

  2. Kenneth Reply
    July 31, 2019 at 4:42 pm

    I will be sad not seeing this aircraft in Air France’s perennially smart-looking livery, but I understand the reasoning behind the company’s decision. And having flown the A380 in Business Class from Paris to Johannesburg and back in January, I have to admit the 777 in a number of ways provides a more comfortable ride. (Configured 1-2-1, that is.)

  3. Joseph N. Reply
    July 31, 2019 at 7:02 pm

    This is me laughing at those airports that spent millions to accomodate A380s.

    😀

  4. JoeMart Reply
    July 31, 2019 at 9:28 pm

    I almost expected Ben to start singing :”Et j’ai crié, crié,
    Et j’ai pleuré, pleuré
    Oh, j’avais trop de peine”

  5. JDS Reply
    August 1, 2019 at 12:30 pm

    @ Joseph N.

    And boasting about it!

    I remember a lot of airports had billboards outside or banners on their websites with lines like “ready for A380!”

    It was the future once.

  6. Pingback: Air France A380 Retirement Is Usually A Surprise - Matthew Klint - GENUINITY FOR LIFE

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