Transport: Air France stops operating its Airbus A380s

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The A380 will no longer fly under the colors of Air France. The French company has just announced that the nine aircraft that remained in its fleet would not take off. Because of the coronavirus which destroys air transport, it thus accelerates their withdrawal by two years.

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It only made its first flight 15 years ago and the A380 is therefore retiring two and a half years ahead of Air France. The lifespan of an airliner is usually around thirty years to amortize its development costs. It amounted to 15 billion euros for the A380, but the large carrier of Airbus pays cash three major problems.

With four reactors, it consumes a quarter more fuel per seat than new generation aircraft and it emits more CO2. However, the French government has conditioned its rescue plan of 7 billion to efforts in terms of ecology.

An unprofitable plane

The plane is very large, it can carry more than 500 passengers for Air France. It must therefore be completed for it to be profitable. However, there are currently no more passengers. And then, with the A380, Airbus had bet on the development of mega-city “hubs”. However, the market went to direct links provided by medium-capacity jets such as the Boeing “Dreamliner”.

The A380 therefore costs more today than it reports. Proof again when Air France announces that the depreciation of its entire fleet will reach 500 million euros. However, this is the list price of a single aircraft!

Everything goes as for the Concorde which was as slender as the A380 belly. Two planes adored by their pilots, loved by their passengers but neglected by companies looking for profitability. In the end, therefore, two commercial failures.

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