Air France is ordering up to 60 Airbus A220s to replace older smaller planes in its fleet, and has said that its A380 superjumbos will be gone within three years.
The A220, developed by Bombardier as the CS300 series, will replace older A318s and A319s. The A220 is a much more fuel-efficient plane, and has won wide praise for its comfortable seating and big overhead bins. Air France will fly the plane in a 149-seat configuration.
The decision to drop the A380 has been expected for some time. Air France has ten of them, and the oldest is ten years old. While some fliers love it, there have been few routes where traffic is dense enough for a superjumbo, and its fuel burn per seat is very high. The decision to drop them now will save Air France millions in required maintenance and upgrades that would be due.
Like many other airlines, Air France is looking to planes that are a bit smaller, but far more efficient with two engines. Air France is negotiating for a number of either A350s or 787s, both of which it already operates.
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