BREAKING: Air France announces A380 withdrawal

Air France have announced the retirement of their entire Airbus A380-800 fleet effective immediately.

Air France has a fleet of 9 Airbus A380s. Photo by Matt Lino | AeroNewsX

The retirement was originally scheduled for 2022. The carrier says it will replace the double decker-aircraft with the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350.⁣ The move, according to the airline, will allow the fleet to become more “competitive, by continuing its transformation with more modern, high-performance aircraft with a significantly reduced environmental footprint”.⁣

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Air France says the withdrawal will cost approximately EUR500 million.⁣

In a press release, Air France said that the withdrawal "fits in the Air France-KLM Group fleet simplification strategy of making the fleet more competitive, by continuing its transformation with more modern, high-performance aircraft with a significantly reduced environmental footprint."

The aircraft, which will be removed from service effective immediately total 9 planes. This includes 5 which are owned directly by Air France and 4 which are on operating lease. Air France received its first Airbus A380 in October 2009 and heavily marketed the aircraft's luxury, comfort and more importantly, impressive size.