Air France-KLM Group Orders 10 Additional A350s

The Air France-KLM Group has firmed an order for an additional 10 Airbus A350-900s.

The orders are destined for Air France, allowing the French flag carrier to further streamline its fleet.

In a press release, the Air France-KLM Group say that in 2023, Air France will have 116 long-haul aircraft consisting of four different types.

Air France took delivery of its first Airbus A350-900 earlier this year. Photo by Airbus SAS.

Air France says that the new aircraft will allow it to replace its Airbus A380s which are set to be retired by the end of 2022 and also accelerate the retirement of its Airbus A340s. The carrier now hopes to phase out the A340 quad-jets by the first quarter of 2021.

Photo by Airbus SAS.

The new announcements brings Air France's total number of orders for the A350 to 38. The carrier has already received 3 of the type.

"The first results observed from Air France’s operation of the Airbus A350 are excellent in every way – customer satisfaction, operational performance, and a reduced environmental footprint. With an investment of over one billion euros per year, our fleet modernization is our main lever for meeting our objective to reduce our CO2 emissions by 50% per passenger/km by 2030," says Anne Rigail, CEO of Air France.

As for KLM, the group says that the Amsterdam-based airline will ultimately operate only Boeing 777s and 787s in terms of its long haul fleet.