Air France, which had already planned to retire as much as half of its A380 fleet may be ready to accelerate the retirement of the rest rather than invest in an expensive upgrade for a plane with a limited future.
Qatar, too, has made a similar decision, and will not upgrade its A380s to its widely-praised QSuite business-class configuration. Qatar president Akbar Al Baker told the Australian Business Traveler that “We feel that the aircraft does not have very long future in Qatar Airways’ fleet. We would think about retiring those airplanes on their 10th anniversary, unless something untoward happens and we need them.”
Air France had previously confirmed that it would retire five of its ten gas-guzzling superjumbos later this year, and planned to give the rest upgraded interiors in both premium and economy sections to catch up with newest expectations, especially in business, where airline competition has been fierce.
With the arrival of new aircraft with new seating, especially 777s and A350s, Air France has been upgrading its older 777s and A330s. But the upgrade cost for a single A380 would run to about €30-40 million, far more than for other planes, and a questionable investment for a plane on the way out, observers suggest.
So, Air France will now have to decide whether to spend hundreds of millions on the upgrade, or be stuck with a plane whose cabins will be hard to fill since it will be the most dated seating in the fleet, and premium-paying customers like to choose the best. So, early retirement for the rest of the A380s is on the table.
