Airbus said it was “extremely grateful to the Air France-KLM group for the trust it continues to place in Airbus”, judging that this was “an important step in (their) long-standing partnership” .
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Air France-KLM continues to modernize its fleet. The Franco-Dutch group announced, Monday September 25, that it was going to hold a “large order” of 50 long-haul Airbus A350 aircraft, in order to “continue the renewal and rationalization of its fleet”.
This order, accompanied by acquisition rights for 40 additional aircraft, represents more than $16 billion at list price, never applied due to the discounts granted. Deliveries will take place between 2026 and 2030. It aims to replace the 33 Boeing 777-200s and 26 older generation A330s of the two companies. It will concern both A350-900s and A350-1000s, the distribution of which has not been finalized.
These aircraft, capable depending on the version of carrying up to 410 passengers over 16,000 kilometers, allow a 25% reduction in fuel consumption compared to previous generation aircraft, and a 40% reduction in their noise footprint. The A350 “will play a key role in achieving our ambitious decarbonization targets, including achieving -30% CO2 emissions per passenger/km by 2030” compared to 2019, according to group managing director Benjamin Smith.
A “long-standing partnership”
In a statement, Airbus said “extremely grateful to the Air France-KLM group for the trust it continues to place in Airbus”judging that it was “an important step in (their) long-standing partnership”.
As the newspaper points out The echoes, this order is the largest in the history of Air France-KLM, behind that of 100 medium-haul Airbus at the end of 2021.