The new Air France A380 arrives in New York on Nov.20 Photos: Air France Corporate
On Friday, Air France completed the first commercial flight for its new Airbus A380 from Paris to New York and marked the first transatlantic flight of the new aircraft. Onboard this double decker aircraft were 538 passengers, 2 captains and 22 flight attendants. The inaugural flight landed at JFK in New York at 1:20 p.m. EST to much fanfare. Air France is not the first to fly the new A380 but it is the first European Airline to do so and the first to cross the Atlantic as well. Currently, the aircraft is already in service by Singapore Airlines, Gulf Based Emirates and Qantas Airlines.
Air France offers three classes of service aboard its Airbus A380: “La Premiere” (First) consists of 9 seats on the main deck, “Affaires-Business” consists of 80 seats on the upper deck and “Voyageur-Economy” consists of 449 seats occupy the rest of the space on two decks. Check out the 360 views of each class of service.
Starting today, Air France will fly the new A380 on the following transatlantic flights:
- AF 006 Paris to New York departing at 1:30 and arriving at 3:45 p.m.
- AF 007 New York to Paris departing JFK at 7:15 p.m. and arriving in Paris at 8:35 a.m. the following day.
On February 3, Air France will operate regular daily flights to Johannesburg, marking the first airline to operate the A380 in Africa. Tokyo will follow later in the year. A total of 12 A380s have been ordered by Air France with three starting service right away followed by the fourth next spring.
But there’s something else that makes this inaugural flight particularly special other than the fact that it’s a first transatlantic flight of the A380 and the first for a major European Airline. Thanks to the proceeds of 380 lucky winning bidders, the lives of children around the world will be greatly improved. In August, Air France held an auction for the seats aboard this inaugural flight with all proceeds benefitting the Air France Foundation whose support benefits any number of humanitarian projects. This specific auction raised more than 300,000 Euros, far surpassing Air France’s goals, from the passengers of whom 90% were French and 10% were from 20 different nationalities.
The Air France Foundation selected the following three charities to receive the proceeds:
- In France: “Association Arts et Developpement” located in Marseille supports street art workshops in city neighborhoods and will open new workshops in 2010 in the Marseille region and other cities throughout France.
- In South Africa: “Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Association” whose mission is to help orphans affected by AIDS. These proceeds will fund the development of new villages in the Cape region.
- In India: “Association Plan France” in New Delhi works to improve the living conditions for child workers and in this case, more than 500 child workers will benefit.
Ready to book your next flight to Paris or to New York? Visit Air France.com today.
Check out this 2-minute video tour of the cabin and other highlights of what is sure to be an extraordinary and unforgettable experience while onboard:
Ready to book your next flight to Paris or to New York? Visit Air France.com today.
Follow me on Twitter today!
Comments
It's great that they used this event to raise money for worthy charities.
Thank you Leslie. I totally agree with you and it was one of the reasons I chose to write this article. Way to go Air France!
Great coverage on this with the info, 360 views, and video. It is really amazing - looks like a cruise ship inside!
It does look like a ship inside!
I flown on the Airbus A380 and it feels really cool I flew from Los Angeles, CA to Melbourne, Australia!!!!
The Airbus A380 looks something like a whale!
I agree with you it does look like a whale!
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!