ATW Daily News

Air France rolls out 'high-density' A380

Friday July 10, 2009

Air France yesterday rolled out its first A380, which was painted in the airline's updated livery and is scheduled to enter service in November on a daily Paris Charles de Gaulle-New York JFK service.

Powered by GP7200 engines, the A380 will be configured for 538 passengers in a three-cabin layout with 80 business and 106 economy seats on the upper deck and nine first class and 343 economy seats on the main deck. That compares with 450 seats on Qantas A380s, 471 on Singapore Airlines and 489 on Emirates.

Air France's A380 will not be fitted with its new long-haul premium economy class, which is set to debut on the CDG-JFK route on Oct. 25, although a spokesperson confirmed to ATWOnline that a retrofit would be possible at a later stage. All of AF's 777s, A340s and A330s will have the new cabin by the autumn of 2010 (ATWOnline, March 23).

"The A380, particularly well-suited to the current economic context, will enable Air France to offer its customers an even better quality of service whilst at the same time limiting costs," CEO Pierre-Henri Gourgeon said. In a recent conversation in Paris, He told this website that AF's A380s would not be equipped with special luxury features specifically designed for the double-deck aircraft like spas or spacious premium suites. "It's an aircraft, an aircraft offering high-density seating and thus offering lower unit costs," he said. "We will use it as such."

AF will be the first European airline to operate the A380 and the first to use it on transatlantic flights between Europe and the US. It has 12 on order, four of which will start operating this winter and next spring.

Meanwhile, Gourgeon said at the company's annual general meeting yesterday that "the improvement we might have imagined in May or June has not materialized," according to Bloomberg News, and that AF KLM remains committed to the employee reductions announced in April (ATWOnline, April 16). Reuters quoted him as saying, "I haven't excluded temporary layoffs. We will watch very closely. These measures should allow us to avoid affecting employment" with permanent layoffs.

by Cathy Buyck

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