Exceptional pieces and potential buyers from all over the world. Airbus and Toulouse auctioneer Marc Labarbe are organizing an auction exclusively dedicated to the A380 on October 13, 14 and 15.
The aircraft manufacturer recovered an aircraft that was reaching the end of its life: some parts were saved before dismantling. 380 lots and 500 pieces will thus be offered at Marc Labarbe’s auction house, in the St-Aubin district of Toulouse, and on the internet. Since Monday, the curious and aeronautical enthusiasts are invited to come and see what the objects on offer look like.
A sale for enthusiasts
Passionate people like Bertrand, who spent 40 years working in the quality department of Airbus. This retiree who crisscrosses the aisles in search of a new porthole: “I already have a porthole in my office, why not try to have a second one? I had the chance to travel on board the A380 during a flight organized for Airbus employees. It’s an amazing plane, seeing it from the outside you can’t imagine how quiet and comfortable it is. »
© Radio France
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Claudia Calmel
Luggage compartments, “emergency exit” signs, megaphones, the orange uniform of the test pilot of the 1st A380, piloting joysticks and many other objects will be on offer: there will be 500 in total. The bids will start at a few tens of euros and will exceed several thousand for the rarest pieces.
Isabelle works at Airbus and came to see the seats she already imagines at home, under her pergola: “These are the seats that I spotted, but I wouldn’t want to advertise them too much: I’m afraid of the competition! The A380 is a legendary aircraft, it made many people dream. »
© Radio France
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Claudia Calmel
Potential buyers from 47 countries
The piece that could panic the counters of this auction is a first class bar. An imposing piece estimated at around 30,000 euros.
A priori, this kind of piece does not seem very easy to fit into an interior, but Me Marc Labarbe, the auctioneer who will lead the sale is not worried: the Airbus A380 is a star plane, which has many fans: “When you look at it, you wonder how such a behemoth can hold up. It’s an oversized plane, but that’s what makes it so charming. It doesn’t have the design of the Concorde, but it has the beauty of the mastodon. And there are real A380 enthusiasts today. You have people who want to get married on board the A380, there are people who want to give conferences on board an A380. And for people who also work at Airbus, it’s also a benchmark aircraft. As I speak to you, we have 47 countries connected to sales. There is of course Italy, Spain, Austria, Denmark, the United States, China. But afterwards, we also have countries that are a little more “exotic” or unusual: Nepal, the Philippines, and of course we have Arab countries like Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates or Bahrain. But I think that by the start of the sale, other countries will join this list. »
The profits from this auction dedicated to the Airbus A380 will be donated to the Airbus Foundation
and to the association AIRitage,
who will use this money for its actions to preserve aeronautical heritage.
For find out more and get an overview of the parts
proposed.