Air France A380 Update
Posted by Robert Wall at 6/12/2009 8:36 AM CDT
Air France will take delivery of its first A380 from Airbus's Hamburg delivery center.
"Duh!" some of you may sayHamburg is the delivery center for European and Middle Eastern A380 customers. Toulouse takes care of Asian customers and Qantas.
But given the "France" in Air France, there'd been some speculation that the airline might feel it should take delivery of the A380 in France, ergo from Toulouse.
Not so. Airline CEO Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, as an aside during a meeting with reporters this week, noted that when Air France gets its first aircraft in October, it will receive it in Hamburg. It's another sign Air France isn't the national carrier of old, even if not as important as when the airline committed years ago to buying the Boeing 777 despite much pressure from Paris (and of course Toulouse) not to do so.
Gourgeon says the A380 will be put into commercial operations quickly after the airline receives the aircraft. By early next year Air France will have three A380s in service. Initial service will be to New York, Dubai, and Johannesburg -- although the latter location isn't locked in, yet.
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blog...bdbbPost:d15f8bde-696a-40d6-8374-608f89771f0a
Posted by Robert Wall at 6/12/2009 8:36 AM CDT
Air France will take delivery of its first A380 from Airbus's Hamburg delivery center.
"Duh!" some of you may sayHamburg is the delivery center for European and Middle Eastern A380 customers. Toulouse takes care of Asian customers and Qantas.
But given the "France" in Air France, there'd been some speculation that the airline might feel it should take delivery of the A380 in France, ergo from Toulouse.
Not so. Airline CEO Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, as an aside during a meeting with reporters this week, noted that when Air France gets its first aircraft in October, it will receive it in Hamburg. It's another sign Air France isn't the national carrier of old, even if not as important as when the airline committed years ago to buying the Boeing 777 despite much pressure from Paris (and of course Toulouse) not to do so.
Gourgeon says the A380 will be put into commercial operations quickly after the airline receives the aircraft. By early next year Air France will have three A380s in service. Initial service will be to New York, Dubai, and Johannesburg -- although the latter location isn't locked in, yet.
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blog...bdbbPost:d15f8bde-696a-40d6-8374-608f89771f0a
