Air France may not bother to upgrade its outdated premium cabins seats on the A380. The exorbitant price tag is difficult to justify. But that creates a serious problem for the carrier’s five-year plan and may lead to an accelerated retirement timeline.
Speaking to Air Transport World at the recent Paris Air Forum, Air France/KLM CEO Ben Smith noted that three A380s are already slated for removal from service by 2021 and Air France may choose not to upgrade the remaining aircraft.
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.
Last November, Air France announced plans to return five leased A380s and retrofit the five it owns. Even then, the high price tag for retrofitting these aircraft invited a critical cost/benefit analysis as to the wisdom of this move. But at the time, the decision appeared final.
The Business Class Problem
And while it may not make sense to upgrade the A380s considering the hefty price tag, failing to do so would be contrary to Smith’s larger vision for the airline.
At the same Paris forum, Air France-KLM Executive Vice President – Strategy Angus Clarke outlined four pillars of Smith’s plan to turn around Air France:
- Simplicity around the fleet
- Efficiency of aircraft layouts
- Consistency of product
- Employee engagement and balance sheet strength
Those are laudable goals, but makes leaving the A380 alone quite problematic. The seat on the A380 isn’t even a true lie-flat seat. Is is woefully uncompetitive with most of the competition and is in desperate need of a refresh.
Thus, Air France will need to retrofit this plane or retire it early…the status quo is directly contrary to Smith’s vision for Air France.
CONCLUSION
Speaking as a consumer who loves the A380, I certainly hope Air France will retrofit at least five aircraft and keep them in the air. But with the high retrofit price tag and Air France’s plan for consistent product and fleet simplicity, I would not blame Air France for simply retiring the fleet earlier than planned.
> Read More: Air France A380 Decision Is Sad, But Smart
image: Air France
I flew the 380 from CDG-MEX. Thankfully, it was not full in J, so I had an empty seat next to me. That made a huge difference since the seats otherwise are poor.
They should do something. I just flew SFO CDG and the plane felt dated from top to bottom. The entrainment system was terrible, from broken parts to just slow. Does not hold up against the United’s Dreamliner
What are the original plan with regards to the 5 A3802 they plan on keeping? I mean, how long were they planning on keeping them in service?
Through 2027-28 at least.
Why not doing it right from the beginning when ordering a new plane. Lie flat seats have been around before…
Decisions to retire these planes as much as I like flying on them makes a whole lot of sense economically and operationally. The new generation 777x. 787 the 350ab makes much more sense. Take the hit now and move on. And much better for the environment as well and this is from a ex USAF F-4 affectionally called “smokey”
Mr. Smith would be fired by an attentive board of directors. His only pillar should be customer satisfaction. PERIOD. I have flown Air France once, because I was traveling over Arab air space – not a place to be in a US flagged airliner. Most pathetic travel experience of my life. Terrible 1st class seats on their 777. Cold food, rude cabin crew, terrible boarding process, on and on. ATL CDG DXB and return. Eastern Airlines in a 727 was better.
Mr. Smiths pillar needs to be to create a flying experience that people from all over the world of all ages cannot wait to repeat. That is THE GOAL. HIS NOTIONS ARE ACTIONS, AND NOT VERY GOOD ONES TO GET THEM THERE WHICH THEY WONT.
THE BENCH MARK IS JAL 747-400 ATL – NRT upper deck seating. For increased fun quotient, Virgin Atlantic, Baltimore to Heathrow. Cocktail lounge, masseuse, nail salon, and VA pajamas all in 1st and business.
Air France wanted to give you the authentic French tourist experience – rudeness, substandard service, talking to you in French when they speak fluent English, small portions of over-rated food and the smallest wine glasses made – this is what my wife and I experienced in Paris in 1971 on our honeymoon – sound familiar. And there are a lot of Franco-phones working for Air Canada based in Montreal and they provide the same French service.
The A380 remains the most comfortable aircraft in the air, so much better than a over-rated 787, which is really noisy, with poor air conditioning system and looks cheap!
I hope Air France will keep them flying for a long time! I wouldn’t mind paying a bit more, but still fly in the A380.
I live in France six months of the year and frequently fly Air France both within Europe and internationally. Not all my flights are great, but most of them are good to excellent. I find the cabin crews are immaculately groomed, polite and quick to smile. The food served is far better than average.
As for the A380 Business Class cabin, the decision to install angled rather than flat-bed seats was a big mistake that Air France – and its passengers – are paying for. I say fix the seats ASAP or ditch the planes.
As far as ‘Consistency of Product’ is concerned, Air France needs to standardize the Premium Economy seats across the fleet. They’re a dream on the new A350 and the (updated) 330 but a non-reclining nightmare on the 777; far less comfortable than the Economy seats.
I just flew Air France from MSP to CDG on their new 787-9 and I couldn’t have been more impressed. Quiet, fast and super comfortable. Zero jet lag!
The last Air France A380 I was on was so uncomfortable and the noises from rattles and loose OHBs and entertainment screens made it feel like I was on a city bus. I think it’s really sad that the A380 had such promise but now it’s clear that it’s been a giant money pit for Airbus and everyone that operates them. Except for Emirates they are all headed for the desert or low cost / charter flights.
I actually pay more of my hard earned money to fly a380s than Boeing crap ,they haven’t built a decent aircraft since 747-400er like Qantas operates. If one day I fly again Sydney to Johannesburg on Qf 63 I want a a380 not a Dream on liner.