Air France names the date for A380 launch

Air France’s first commercial A380 will take off from Paris to New York on 23 November. Bookings are already open.

Air France has ordered 12 of the aircraft and will be the first European carrier to operate A380 services. Lufthansa has 15 on order and plans to start services in the summer of 2010 and British Airways, with 12, is waiting until 2012.

Air France intends to use the A380 on the Paris – Dubai, Paris – Johannesburg and Paris –Tokyo routes in staggered launches. Emirates was the first airline to offer the A380 on the Dubai- New York run, but cancelled it last June. Those aircraft are deployed on the Dubai-Toronto and Dubai-Bangkok routes.

Air France is following a traditional configuration for the A380s with 538 seats in three cabins classes — 80 seats in business and 106 seats in Voyageur (economy) on the upper deck and nine seats in Première (first) and 343 in Voyageur on the lower main deck.

The inaugural A380 flight will leave from Terminal 2E of Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport, 1330, 23 November and arrive in New York JFK at 1545. The return flight will leave Terminal 1 in New York JFK Airport at 0710, arriving in Paris the next day at 0835.

Based on the schedule in the airline’s latest release, Thailand residents who plan to connect with the A380 services to New York will have to wait several hours in Paris, because the flight from Bangkok lands in Paris at 0540, while on the return leg they will have to wait all day to connect with the Bangkok service, which leaves late at night.

If flying the A380 is not a priority, AF offers services to New York five times a day and claims the shortest connecting time (European hub) of around two and a half hours for Thailand residents.