Evolution of the Air France-KLM fleet
30 Luglio 2019 - 5:38PM
Evolution of the Air France-KLM fleet
Roissy, 30 July
2019
Evolution of the Air France-KLM fleet
The Air France-KLM Board of Directors approved
several strategic decisions concerning the development of the Air
France fleet, following a meeting on July 30, 2019.
These decisions reflect the Group's focus on
simplification. Making the fleet more competitive, by continuing
its transformation with more modern, high-performance aircraft with
a significantly reduced environmental footprint is key to achieving
leading industry margins.
- Firm order for 60 A220-300s, with
30 options and 30 acquisition rights, which will gradually replace
Air France's A318 and A319 fleet
- Retirement of the 10 A380s from the
Air France fleet by 2022, and study of the
- replacement of A380s by new
generation aircraft
Renewal of Air France's short- and
medium-haul fleet
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.
This aircraft will enable Air France to reduce
its environmental footprint. The A220-300 generates 20% less CO2
emissions than comparable aircraft in its class, and is twice as
quiet.
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.
Retirement of the A380s from the Air
France fleet by 2022
The Air France-KLM Board of Directors today
approved the retirement in principle of the remaining seven A380s
from the Air France fleet by 2022, the phase out of three
additional aircraft having been decided previously. Five of these
aircraft are owned by the company, while two are leased.
The current competitive environment limits the
markets in which the A380 can profitably operate. With four
engines, the A380 consumes 20-25% more fuel per seat than new
generation long-haul aircraft, and therefore emits more CO2.
Increasing aircraft maintenance costs, as well as necessary cabin
refurbishments to meet customer expectations reduce the economic
attractiveness of Air France's A380s even further. Keeping this
aircraft in the fleet would involve significant costs, while the
aircraft programme was suspended by Airbus earlier in 2019.
The Air France KLM Group is studying possible
replacement options for these aircraft with new generation aircraft
currently on the market.
"These decisions support the Air France-KLM Group's fleet
competitiveness strategy," said Benjamin Smith, CEO of the Air
France-KLM Group. "They follow the recent orders for A350s and
Boeing 787s that Air France and KLM have placed. We are very
pleased to work with Airbus to add the A220-300 to our fleet, an
aircraft that demonstrates optimum environmental, operational, and
economic efficiency. The selection of the Airbus A220-300
supports our goal of a more sustainable operation, by significantly
reducing CO2 and noise emissions. This aircraft will also provide
our customers with additional comfort on the short- and medium-haul
network and will provide our pilots with a connected cockpit with
access to the latest navigation technology. This is a very
important next step in Air France's transformation, and this
evolution in Air France's fleet underlines the Group's
determination to attain European airline leadership.”
Air France-KLM operates a fleet of 541 aircraft
between its three main brands, Air France, KLM, and Transavia, to
318 destinations globally. In 2018, AFKL flew over 100
million customers.
Investor
Relations Marie-Agnès de Peslouan+33
1 49 89 52 59madepeslouan@airfranceklm.com |
Wouter van
Beek+33 1 49 89 52 60Wouter-van.Beek@airfranceklm.com |
Press +33 1 41 56 56 00 |
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