Au revoir: Air France operates final A380 flight
Aviation Updates Philippines – On Friday, Air France bade goodbye to the Airbus A380 jumbojet
with a special two-hour flight over France to mark the end of an
era.
Flight AF-380 departed from Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris for a flight exclusively for Air France
executives, employees, and guests who worked on the Airbus A380 fleet over
the years. F-HPJH, an eight-year-old A380-861, flew the final flight around
France.
About a month ago, AUP reported about the French airline's plan to retire the nine-strong jumbojet fleet earlier as planned definitively. The Air France A380s should have two more years prior to its planned retirement; however, the COVID-19 pandemic happened.
Photos from the event showed great appreciation for the A380's service to
Air France. While it may not seem very economical for the airline, the
jumbojet surely has a special place for the airline. It will now join the
ranks of Concorde, another legend, as part of Air France's history.
Un avion emblématique d' #AirFrance a pris sa retraite aujourd'hui. Après le portrait de famille avec le A350 et le Concorde, le A380 s'est fait escorter pour son dernier vol avec passagers #AF380 pic.twitter.com/fpc6rgikIs
— Pierre Jbr (@Pierre_Jbr) June 26, 2020
The Airbus A380 will eventually be replaced by the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
and the Airbus A350-900. As of writing, Air France operates a fleet of
five Airbus A350 aircraft with 33 more on order. On the other hand, the
airline has 10 Boeing 787 aircraft.
The jumbojet fleet worldwide is at the brink of retirement, at least not for gulf carrier Emirates. The A380 proved to be too large for today's aviation industry, making it highly inefficient to operate. While it may be an engineering masterpiece, the aircraft came in too late back in 2007.
Photo from @Pierre_Jbr, Twitter
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