The French Carrier First European Airline To Fly The Super-Jumbo

Air France is the first European airline to fly the all-new double-deck Airbus A380 on scheduled services. The aircraft, which was handed over in a delivery ceremony Friday in Hamburg, Germany, is the twentieth A380 delivered by Airbus.

The aircraft was presented to Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, Chief Executive Officer of Air France KLM, and to Jean-Cyril Spinetta, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Air France KLM, by Tom Enders, Airbus President and CEO, and in the presence of James Moravecek, Engine Alliance President.

“Each A380 will enable Air France to save 12 to 15 million euros ($18-$22 million) a year, which, in today’s depressed economic climate, provides the Company with the means to withstand the crisis” said Pierre-Henri Gourgeon Chief Executive Officer of Air France KLM.“Air France will therefore be able to offer customers even greater comfort, while keeping costs under control. Furthermore, the performance of the A380 is in line with our environmental commitments”, he added.

“This delivery marks another milestone in the longstanding history and partnership between Air France and Airbus," said Tom Enders, Airbus President and CEO. “It fills us with great pride that our first ever aircraft customer is now also the first European airline to operate the A380. We are convinced the A380 will greatly contribute to  Air France’ continued success”.

The aircraft is powered by four Engine Alliance GP7200 engines delivering up to 72,000 lbs of thrust each.

Air France’s first A380 will start its commercial service with inaugural flights on the 20th and 21st November on the Paris - New York - Paris route. As the largest Airbus operator in Europe with a fleet of 183 aircraft, the airline currently operates 34 A330 and A340 aircraft as well as 149 A320 family aircraft. Air France took delivery of the first Airbus aircraft in 1974 and was also the first carrier in the world to operate aircraft from the entire Airbus Single-Aisle A320 Family.

The new Air France A380 is the 20th A380 delivered by Airbus – 10 are already flying with Singapore, five with Emirates and four with Qantas. These aircraft are connecting four continents on 13 major international routes.  The A380 fleet has accumulated over 75,000 revenue flight hours in over 7,900 commercial flights. Over 2,5 million passengers have already enjoyed flying the A380.

Air France ordered 10 A380s in June 2001 and added another two in 2007.Airbus has won 200 firm A380 orders from 16 customers worldwide, including Air France.

FMI: www.airbus.com