Air France introduces Airbus A380 aircraft on Paris-Dubai route

Air France recently introduced a new Airbus A380 aircraft on Paris-Dubai route to be operated on a daily basis. Besides deploying the new aircraft between Dubai and Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport, Air France also said that Airbus A380 aircrafts will serve four other destinations, which includes New York-JFK, Washington, Montreal and Johannesburg. The Airbus A330 aircrafts will serve these five destinations for the 2011-12 winter season.

Providing details about the new aircraft, Air France said that Airbus A380 is configured in four classes and can accommodate up to 516 passengers. The four classes include La Premiere (9 seats) on the main deck, Business Class (80 seats) on the upper deck, Premium Voyageur (38 seats) on the upper deck, and Voyageur (389 seats) between the two decks.

Pierre de Saint-Albin, Air France KLM general manager for the Gulf, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Pakistan, said that the first European airline to operate flights on the A380 was Air France. He said that the addition of Dubai as a new destination for A380 flights shows that Air France KLM considers it as an important region and also reflects the airline’s commitment to its Middle East customers.

Air France has been operating Airbus A380 aircraft since November 2009. The aircraft’s capacity is equivalent to the combined strength of a Boeing 777-200ER and an Airbus A340. The Airbus A380 aircraft has 20 percent lower operating costs and CO2 emissions.