Community
Wiki Posts
Search

Air France ordering Airbus 220's and phasing out 380's [merged]

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Jul 30, 2019, 10:02 am
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Switzerland
Programs: AFKL Flying Blue Platinum Ultimate, Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador Elite
Posts: 369
Air France ordering Airbus 220's and phasing out 380's [merged]

Corporate news ( here ) reports official order of 60 A220 to replace A318/A319 for short and medium haul routes.

Air France has committed to a firm order of 60 Airbus A220-300 aircraft, with an additional 30 purchase options and 30 acquisition rights. The first aircraft should be delivered in September 2021. They will join Air France's short- and medium-haul fleet.
With a capacity of 150 seats and an operating range of 2,300 nautical miles, the A220-300 is perfectly suited to replace the A318 and A319 on the Air France short- and medium-haul network. This aircraft will allow the company to increase its competitiveness by reducing its cost per seat by more than 10% compared to the aircraft it will replace.
Finally, its entry into the Air France fleet will contribute to the continuous improvement of the customer experience, thanks to seats offering more space, larger cabin baggage storage compartments, wide aisles and WiFi on board.
In the same news, AF confirms retirement of A380s (again).
glennhaak likes this.
Andy82 is offline  
Old Jul 30, 2019, 10:05 am
  #2  
Moderator: Flying Blue (Air France & KLM)
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Rotterdam, NL
Programs: Flying Blue (AF/KL)
Posts: 4,711
Originally Posted by Andy82
Corporate news ( here ) reports official order of 60 A220 to replace A318/A319 for short and medium haul routes.



In the same news, AF confirms retirement of A380s (again).
Last A380 to leave the fleet by 2022.
Andy82 likes this.
Gajan is offline  
Old Jul 30, 2019, 1:37 pm
  #3  
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Europe
Programs: UA:1K MM, AF:FB-Platinum; QR: PC Platinum, FI: Saga Gold
Posts: 2,934
Originally Posted by Andy82
Corporate news ( here ) reports official order of 60 A220 to replace A318/A319 for short and medium haul routes.



In the same news, AF confirms retirement of A380s (again).
Excellent news. The A220 is the best plane in its class - by far - in my opinion. I wonder if they would have bought it if it was still the Bombardier C-Series ;-)

Braniff is offline  
Old Jul 30, 2019, 8:17 pm
  #4  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: YYZ
Programs: AC*SE 2MM
Posts: 16,647
Air France ordering Airbus 220's and phasing out 380's

Air France-KLM has ordered 60 Airbus 220's to replace the Air France 318/319 fleet with deliveries starting in 2021 and also announced plans to phase out the A380 entirely by 2022. Good news from a comfort perspective with the A220, less so with the pending loss of the A380.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-a...-idUSKCN1UP1ZA

I'm surprised that Ben Smith is allowing Air France and KLM to maintain distinct fleet choices with this announcement and the recent announcement that they are ordering the E195-E2 for KLM. I guess we should expect 320neos for AF and 737MAX for KLM to be announced in the not too distant future.
The Lev is offline  
Old Jul 31, 2019, 1:13 am
  #5  
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: FRA/SXB
Programs: FB Gold
Posts: 1,994
That's excellent news, as the A318/A319s are getting rather long in the tooth.
mlin32 is online now  
Old Jul 31, 2019, 2:50 am
  #6  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Netherlands
Programs: KL Platinum; A3 Gold
Posts: 28,714
Quite funny the image you paint of A380s being replaced by A220s
Braniff and ATLCDG like this.

Last edited by JOUY31; Jul 31, 2019 at 7:10 am Reason: pre-merge reference removed for clarity
irishguy28 is online now  
Old Jul 31, 2019, 11:46 am
  #7  
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Programs: Eurostar Carte Blanche, SBB-CFF-FFS GA-AG, SNCF Grand Voyageur LeClub
Posts: 7,835
Which means no upgraded A380s until they are phased out. Who would have thought that one day the A380s would become the plane to avoid in the AF fleet?

Good news for the A220 as well, lovely plane. I only fear that AF will operate the J class on the A220 in a 2-2 config instead of a 1-2. And I hope that they'll put proper seats in them! Can't wait to see the horrible NEO seats go away!
San Gottardo is online now  
Old Jul 31, 2019, 12:11 pm
  #8  
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: SJC / SFO
Programs: Flying Blue Platinum; Marriott Bonvoy Platinum; Hilton Gold
Posts: 785
Originally Posted by San Gottardo
Which means no upgraded A380s until they are phased out. Who would have thought that one day the A380s would become the plane to avoid in the AF fleet?

Good news for the A220 as well, lovely plane. I only fear that AF will operate the J class on the A220 in a 2-2 config instead of a 1-2. And I hope that they'll put proper seats in them! Can't wait to see the horrible NEO seats go away!
Hmm, isn't A220 2-3 in Y and 2-2 in J?
Sjondorn is offline  
Old Jul 31, 2019, 12:25 pm
  #9  
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Programs: Eurostar Carte Blanche, SBB-CFF-FFS GA-AG, SNCF Grand Voyageur LeClub
Posts: 7,835
Originally Posted by Sjondorn
Hmm, isn't A220 2-3 in Y and 2-2 in J?
That exactly is my fear. It should be 1-2 in J. Otherwise you'll end up with someone sitting next to you when you are on the left side of the cabin. LX ooperates the A220 with 1-2 in J. But they also operate the E90 in 1-1 in J, whilst AF operates the E90 in 2-2 in J. Hence my fear.
San Gottardo is online now  
Old Jul 31, 2019, 1:36 pm
  #10  
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Programs: Flying Blue Platinum / Marriott Gold / Hilton Gold / IHG Platinum ... A former AA Platinum
Posts: 106
Thrilled to see the A380s leave!
Now, to avoid them for another 3 years, with their terrible J seats.... really hard to do when you do 36 NYC-Paris flights a year.
gaukuser is offline  
Old Jul 31, 2019, 2:07 pm
  #11  
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Programs: Eurostar Carte Blanche, SBB-CFF-FFS GA-AG, SNCF Grand Voyageur LeClub
Posts: 7,835
Originally Posted by gaukuser
Thrilled to see the A380s leave!
Now, to avoid them for another 3 years, with their terrible J seats.... really hard to do when you do 36 NYC-Paris flights a year.
Well, to be fair, even in summer there aren't more than two daily rotations on the A380. There are two other CDG flights on 777s with BEST Business Class (in summer the evening flight sometimes is a 789 also with BEST), and the ORY flight also has the BEST seats. And there is the DL flight on a 333, which at least from a seat point of view is OK (as for the rest ). Hence, 4 flights with acceptable Business Class seats vs.two flights with the NEV seats, that's a bearable situation I find. Unless of course your time constraints are such that you can only take AF 008 and AF 010.
San Gottardo is online now  
Old Jul 31, 2019, 6:11 pm
  #12  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: YYZ
Programs: AC*SE 2MM
Posts: 16,647
Originally Posted by San Gottardo
That exactly is my fear. It should be 1-2 in J. Otherwise you'll end up with someone sitting next to you when you are on the left side of the cabin. LX ooperates the A220 with 1-2 in J. But they also operate the E90 in 1-1 in J, whilst AF operates the E90 in 2-2 in J. Hence my fear.
I would be much happier with a 2-2 configuration and proper J seats and legroom as opposed to "1-2" using Y seats with one of them blocked off and no extra legroom. Obviously YMMV.
https://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Sw...dier_CS100.php
https://www.seatguru.com/airlines/De...s_A220-100.php
The Lev is offline  
Old Jul 31, 2019, 11:56 pm
  #13  
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Programs: Eurostar Carte Blanche, SBB-CFF-FFS GA-AG, SNCF Grand Voyageur LeClub
Posts: 7,835
Originally Posted by The Lev
I would be much happier with a 2-2 configuration and proper J seats and legroom as opposed to "1-2" using Y seats with one of them blocked off and no extra legroom. Obviously YMMV.
https://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Sw...dier_CS100.php
https://www.seatguru.com/airlines/De...s_A220-100.php
Oh sure, that's even better! But unfortunately not likely to happen in Europe. Hence, my comment was for airlines in Europe that have Y seats at the front of the plane.
San Gottardo is online now  
Old Aug 1, 2019, 12:17 am
  #14  
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: 🇸🇬 🇭🇰 🇫🇷
Programs: Many
Posts: 4,749
Originally Posted by San Gottardo
I only fear that AF will operate the J class on the A220 in a 2-2 config instead of a 1-2. And I hope that they'll put proper seats in them!
Where there is hope, there is life
bodory is offline  
Old Aug 3, 2019, 4:31 am
  #15  
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Sweden
Programs: Flying Blue, EuroBonus
Posts: 156
Originally Posted by mlin32
That's excellent news, as the A318/A319s are getting rather long in the tooth.
Many of the A318 feel brand new inside. And even the oldest A319 are much better maintained inside than KLM's older 737.

Glad Air France is not going for the MAX, as I am planning to avoid them for at least 4-5 years.
ticino is offline  


Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.