New blow for Air France KLM. The company, whose activity was almost shut down by the coronavirus crisis, decided to accelerate the exit of its fleet from the A380, two and a half years before the planned date.
"Faced with the Covid-19 crisis and given its impact on expected activity levels, the Air France-KLM group today announces the permanent cessation of operation of Air France Airbus A380s" , the group said in a statement on Wednesday.
Too greedy for kerosene
The Franco-Dutch carrier had already explained in July 2019 that for reasons of profitability of the aircraft, more greedy in kerosene and more polluting than the last generations of long-haul aircraft, it would stop flying the giant of the air at the end of 2022.
"With its four reactors, the A380 consumes 20% to 25% more fuel per seat than new generation long-haul aircraft and emits more CO2", justified the group.
A few months earlier, in February, Airbus had announced the end of production of the A380, which entered service in 2007, but shunned by the airlines due to its low profitability.
"Fleet simplification strategy"
Air France-KLM posted a net loss of 1.8 billion euros in the first quarter, affected by the first effects of the Covid-19 on air transport in March, and displays very bleak prospects until the third quarter.
The withdrawal of the Super Jumbo from the Air France fleet "is part of the fleet simplification strategy of the Air France-KLM group which aims to make it more competitive, by continuing its transformation with more modern aircraft , more efficient and whose environmental footprint is considerably reduced ”, continues the group.
"Five of the Airbus A380s in the current fleet are owned by Air France or under finance lease, the other four are under operating leases," he said, adding that the "Airbus A380s will be replaced by New generation aircraft, such as the Airbus A350 and the Boeing 787, whose deliveries are in progress ”.
Financial support
Terrified by the crisis caused by border closures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Air France was granted state support of 7 billion euros, including 4 billion bank loans guaranteed at 90% by the Government and 3 billion direct government loans, with commitments to improve profitability and the environment.
The French company must reduce CO2 emissions on its domestic flights by 50% by 2024 and initiate a reflection on its network in France, when rail alternatives of less than 2 hours 30 minutes exist.
The Dutch government also plans to help the KLM company with two to four billion euros.
For Air France-KLM, "the overall impact of the depreciation of the Airbus A380 fleet is estimated at 500 million euros and will be recognized in the second quarter of 2020 in non-current income", according to the group.
Since the end of March, Air France has been providing between 3 and 5% of its regular program and serving 43 destinations. She plans to "gradually resume flights" by the end of June "and subject to the lifting of travel restrictions".
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