Air France will use the aircraft on scheduled flights between Paris and Johannesburg from February next year.

Plans to bring the A380 to Johannesburg have been on the cards for some time but Air France has only now confirmed the date for its arrival in SA.  It will start with three flights a week using the A380 from February 3 and increase to a daily flight in March.  There has been huge interest in the aircraft since the first A380 was delivered in 2007 to Singapore Airlines.  Air France raised €300000 from an auction of seats on the first A380 flight between Paris and New York, last Friday.  The money will go to the Air France Foundation, which helps needy children. 

When the Air France A380 touches downs at OR Tambo International Airport next year, it will be only the second time that type of aircraft has been in SA and the first as a commercial flight.  The first A380 visited SA in November 2006 during Airbus’s global route development and airport compatibility programme.  With 538 seats, the A380 boasts equivalent capacity to that of a Boeing 777-200 and an Airbus A340-300 combined.

 It offers a 20% reduction in operating costs, saving Air France €12m-€15m 15m a year.  The aircraft produces less than 75g of carbon dioxide per passenger kilometre, a huge benefit to the airline which will from 2013 be forced by the European Commission to cut its carbon emissions.  Air France is the first European owner of Airbus’s biggest airliner, an aircraft already flown by Singapore Airlines, Emirates and Qantas. However, none of these airlines, all which have flights to SA, has yet committed to using its A380s to SA.  The A380 offers passengers some unique features, including six bars on board - one exclusively reserved for La Première customers, two in the Affaires or business class cabin, and three in the Voyageur or economy cabin.  Passengers can see live images throughout the flight taken from an external mini camera located on the tail fin.

Airbus has taken 200 orders from 16 customers for the A380, of which it has delivered 20.  The first superjumbo started operating in late 2007, after technical problems and management errors led to almost two years of delay and cost Airbus billions in penalties. With Sapa-AFP