France’s biggest airline Air France to permanently axe their grounded fleet after Coronavirus crisis impact on use

France’s biggest airline Air France to permanently axe their grounded fleet after Coronavirus crisis impact on use

AIR FRANCE has announced that it is permanently axing its grounded fleet pushing the Airbus A380, one step closer to the aviation archives.

The superjumbo is close to the end of its production run and airlines including Air France have been holding the double-decker temporarily because of the coronavirus crisis.  Air France announced a fresh €500 million reduction as it permanently retires its nine jets, just over a decade after becoming the first European airline to operate them.

The airline said in a statement, issued on Wednesday: “In the context of the current Covid-19 crisis and its impact on anticipated activity levels, the Air France-KLM Group announces today the definitive end of Air France Airbus A380 operations.”

Initially scheduled by the end of 2022, the phase-out of Airbus A380 fleet fits in with the Air France-KLM Group fleet simplification strategy of making the fleet more competitive, by moving forward with modern, high-performance aircraft.

“The €182 million A380 will be replaced by new generation aircraft, including Airbus A350s and Boeing 787s, whose deliveries are ongoing.”