Air France-KLM chief executive Ben Smith says he has “no regrets” about his decision to remove the Airbus A380 from the group’s fleet, despite its popularity with passengers.
Air France had operated as many as 10 examples but in May 2020 – at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic – became the first airline to retire its entire A380 fleet.
Smith, speaking at the Paris Air Forum on 13 June, said that although the A380 was “really great from a customer perspective” the jets were due “a major investment in the cabins” to bring them to the required standard, alongside engine overhauls.
In total, this work would have cost €50-60 million ($57-69 million) per aircraft, he says.
On top of which, the A380s were “not producing profits for Air France” outside of the summer holiday peak.
Smith notes that a high-capacity aircraft like the A380 is also not necessary for Air France as its Paris Charles de Gaulle hub is not slot-constrained.
Instead, the carrier has introduced the A350 which has proved “extremely successful” and “makes much more money” than the double-deckers did.
Air France has also begun introducing its La Premiere first-class product on several Boeing 777-300ERs with the feedback so far “extremely positive”, adds Smith.
He also hit out at the European Commission for creating a “dangerous” situation for European carriers by burdening them with regulations – such as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) mandates and other environmental levies – that do not apply to global competitors.
“The way some of these challenges and taxes are imposed are really dangerous for European airlines. We cannot get law-makers to take this seriously.
“Someone has to take leadership and responsibility otherwise European airlines will be significantly weakened because of it,” he says.
Smith points out that although Air France-KLM has been one of the leading buyers of SAF in Europe in recent years, to meet its 10% target by 2030 “we have to able to afford it – we need to exist”.
Additionally, Smith calls restrictions to be imposed on those carriers – principally Chinese airlines – who are still able to serve Europe by overflying Russia.
Either they should be prohibited from landing in Europe or face a “safety charge”, he suggests, which would create a “level playing field” for European carriers.
European airlines have been banned from Russian overflights since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 forcing long and costly detours to serve Asian destinations.
