Air France Launches its First Transatlantic Flight Using A380

New reports now show that an Air France A380, one of the world’s largest civilian airliners, made its first flights cross the Atlantic just recently. The flight was scheduled to leave Paris just shortly after noon with about 538 passengers aboard. The plane was scheduled to arrive in New York just after 1300 local time.

Some of the people that were on board the A380 were a bunch of A380 buffs who had placed bids for spots on the plane, which was all arranged by Air France. The auction was set up to benefit children oriented humanitarian programs. The total amount of money that was raised in the auction by Air France has yet to be disclosed.

Air France has now become the first European carrier to fly the A380. The aircraft has already been in use by Singapore Airlines, Gulf-based Emirates, and Qantas in Australia. However, as far as Europe goes, Air France is now the first.

Air France has also commented that regular commercial flights across the Atlantic are to start on November 23. The carrier, with its fleet of 12 A380’s, will serve Johannesburg, starting in February and then Tokyo soon after.

Despite this big launch by Air France, the commercial success of the A380 has yet to be secured. This is because the A380 had suffered major production delivery delays. The manufacturer was able to deliverer its 20^th A380 to Air France at the end of October. This was two years after the aircraft’s first commercial flight. Thus, it is easy to see why some airlines have become fed up with the wait.