The end of Air France A380'S ( LFBT )
Posted by Pixels417@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 89 comments
One of 10 A380's from Air france. All scrapped at Tarmac Aerosave in south of france ( LFBT Airpot ) since 2020.
I take this picture in October 2025.
shiftyjku@reddit
It’s funny, in my head it’s a new plane.
samgarita@reddit
Yeah in my head too. And what’s funny is, I shall never fly on one. I’m a faaairly frequent flyer (4-5x a year transcon / intl) and never ever have I flown on the A380. I was booked twice and both times the aircraft changed due to a mechanical problem and then Covid. But I am a regular on LH’s 747 which to me is also very special.
Maro1947@reddit
Living in Oz, we get multiple airlines to choose from who use it
Would always choose it over a Boeing
aurorasearching@reddit
I was lucky enough to get a flight on an A380 one way and a 747 the other. I’ll probably never get to fly an A340 though.
alettriste@reddit
Flew A340 (amongst countless 747s) and it was amazing. A 12hs flight if I remember well. Never in a 380.
Lengurathmir@reddit
I don’t think I’ve been on A340, I have flown A380 about 6 flights or more, just gotta pick the right routes and fly often I guess, even though I don’t get to fly nearly as often as I want to, 11 flights this year is not a normal year for me usually a lot less. 2 of the 11 was A380, and one I got changed to an old 777 instead of a newer A350 that was sad.
RedditAppSucksRIFftw@reddit
The long takeoff rolls, how I miss it. I'm not a fan of airbus but when I first started off it was a330 thrn to a340 before switching to Boeing. A340 is still the most fun I've had flying commercial airlines.
Nothing beats the f18 though 🫡
aurorasearching@reddit
A380 is the only airbus widebody I’ve been on, but I do prefer the A321 over the 737.
RedditAppSucksRIFftw@reddit
Using up every inch of runway on my vancouver to seoul flights, I still miss that 340 😔
Also not having to use reversers for most airports cuz the thing just did not like flying lmao
hudabuba@reddit
Me too, it was the London-Singapore-London flight some years ago. The Airbus was spectacular, but the 747 had more comfortable seats.
samgarita@reddit
The A340 was the replacement for said mechanical failure replacement. So I wasn’t event mad!
aurorasearching@reddit
Next year I’m planning on adding a 717. That’ll make 777 the only Boeing 7XX family I haven’t been on that’s been an option in my lifetime (no 707. 727 was technically available from US carriers, but I have zero idea if I would have been on one or not.)
n55_6mt@reddit
Lufthansa still flies the A380 and is apparently upgrading the cabins on a few so there might still be time.
I flew one over the summer and I can’t say that it feels especially different once you’re inside relative to any other wide body. I made a point to book business class so I could say that I flew up top on one, but was kind of let down on how “normal” it was after you’re out of the terminal and through the ramps.
sourcefourmini@reddit
Economy feels different than other widebodies imo. Certainly less like a sardine can than the 777 or 787, at least.
swift1883@reddit
The windows are almost straight, because of the height of the fuselage. That was a big difference.
H2SBRGR@reddit
I flew on an A380 once to Hong Kong- but never flew on a 747. Then again I was lucky enough to fly on A340, A350, 777-300ER and 787s so I’m kinda fine 🤣
shiftyjku@reddit
I have the idea to try to get to Europe on a LH 748 and come back on either a 346 or a 380 while it’s still possible. But yeah, probably won’t.
Pixels417@reddit (OP)
Older A380 from air france was delivered in October 2009. It's sad to see all of them already scrapped
FlatTyres@reddit
I built my first gaming PC in 2009 and it still sits under my desk as a secondary (well, third) system. It just feels so weird to me that A380s are already being recycled.
AdSquare3489@reddit
I figure your 2009 gaming PC requires substantially less maintenance to stay operational, compared to an A380.
FlatTyres@reddit
While this is true, I still feel it's such an early end for such a legendary giant. The A380 was such a huge part of my life as a young aviation enthusiast in the 2000s - I went to see the first scheduled departure of Singapore Airline's first A380 service to London Heathrow after school (I missed the landing as I was in school). Emotionally I struggle to accept that 2008 was a long time ago - even for the life of an airframe to come to an end.
alettriste@reddit
I still remember the Caravelle as a wonder of the airs (747 was too gross ) And I also have my 2007/2008 computer. Not my 1987 one. And my 70s "computer" (a programmable TI59) is in some box around the house. Where I programmed my first "flight simulator".
liverpoolFCnut@reddit
I can't even! I feel it was just yesterday when internet was full of images of the new A380, it must've been 2006-07, and it is already obsolete and being retired! The last 20 yrs has gone by in an absolute blink!
Clemdauphin@reddit
it is quite a new plane, less than 20 years.
airport-codes@reddit
I am a bot.
^(If you are the OP and this comment is inaccurate or unwanted, reply below with "bad bot" and it will be deleted.)
NotCook59@reddit
Bad bot! Who thought it was a good idea to have a bot interjecting airport code descriptions into posts? It’s just annoying.
Own-Inflation8771@reddit
Airbus needs to figure out a way to convert the 380 into a twin jet then convince the engine manufactures to develop a massive engine.
ttman05@reddit
Oof - the problem with that is that would it take a long time but more importantly cost a lot of money for little return on value.
HelloSlowly@reddit
I know the Air France CEO openly says they don’t regret the scrapping of these jets, but since BA, LH are talking about flying them into the 2030s, I’m sure AF does have a bit of remorse in retiring these giants
thphnts@reddit
AF couldn’t fill them, whilst BA and LH can. A CEO cares about the money they make, and if AF couldn’t make money from them, they won’t regret it. Most airlines don’t really get overly sentimental over planes.
GTOdriver04@reddit
I’m surprised they didn’t sell them to other carriers then. Why scrap when the birds can still fly?
Known-Associate8369@reddit
The airlines that can fill them already have all the A380s they want - and if they want more, they dont want the current generation, they want a NEO (looking at you, Emirates).
thphnts@reddit
An A380neo is very, very unlikely given that airlines want lower costs and efficiency.
SuperCuteRoar@reddit
Yeah, the only reason EK wants (on paper) to keep the A380 line going is because it’s currently the only plane where they can truly distinguish themselves from the competition. Their product gets less advantageous on the other jets, but even then it isn’t profitable for Airbus to do anything about it.
Sad to see such an amazing plane (and feat of engineering) being phased out so relatively quickly :(
thphnts@reddit
If you look at every airline, their fleets are pretty much identical. EK needs to move away from “look, A380!” and talk about their cabin product as they already stand above the majority of the competition there anyway.
The A380 was a plane that was sadly doomed for a short lifespan from the get go. Airlines were looking towards efficiency and lower running costs long before it entered service.
thphnts@reddit
Because other carriers didn’t want them. The A380 is notoriously difficult to fly profitably. It needs a near 100% load to turn a profit, and airlines want to make a profit in an already notoriously difficult industry to make a profit.
Also, quad jets are a thing of the past. Most airlines want lower costs and efficiency. Two engines can do the majority of what four engines used to only be capable of.
Far_Breakfast_5808@reddit
Lufthansa is really only keeping their A380s (and 747s for that matter) due to delivery issues with the 777X. Once those are online, their other VLAs are toast.
thphnts@reddit
Yup. Also a reason why they kept their A340's around, too.
-grenzgaenger-@reddit
LHR and FRA have more direct routes and are bigger transfer hubs than CDG. It is easier for LH and BA to make them financially viable than it was for AF.
Ouestlabibliotheque@reddit
However, CDG is by far the nicest of the three to transfer through.
554TangoAlpha@reddit
Debatable
GBValiant@reddit
Mm - I’d agree. Much rather do AMS than CDG when transiting. The lack of good food options in CDG is criminal for a country that prides itself on its food….
RdkL-J@reddit
Sadly, most airport food is fastfood-esque, even in France. As a Frenchman living abroad, I transit through CDG quite often, and I'm appalled by the food quality. It's not terrible, but it could be so much better with just a tiny bit of an effort.
Own_Place909@reddit
I've never been through an airport and be wowed by the food. By their nature that have to appeal to the broadest range of people within a limited amount of space and generic fast food tends to be that.
That being said, and I'm biased as a former resident, but shout out to WLG for being an airport that really showcases it's city with it's dining options. I think the only multinational fast good chain there was a subway and it's an airport with a lot of options for its size.
Ouestlabibliotheque@reddit
Agreed AMS over CDG, but both over LHR or FRA
Own_Place909@reddit
Without really knowing much about the economics of it at all, the fact BA and LH are still flying them probably makes it less viable for AF to be flying them too. That's already two major western European airlines flying the A380 to significant western European hub airports. AF flying them as well to a third hub airport in between the other two would be a losing battle (and obviously, it was).
Pixels417@reddit (OP)
Probably indeed. I unsterstand the rentability probem of A380's for a company like Air France but it would’ve been nice if they had kept at least one A380 for the major routes like Paris–New York.
PigSlam@reddit
Think of all the empty seat miles they could accrue!
sofixa11@reddit
Fill them up with La Première and Business class seats.
If the route has enough demand for even a business class only startup operating only A321s to thrive, they could have maybe pulled it off, today.
curiousengineer601@reddit
I am really struggling to understand how it’s possible the NY - Paris route wouldn’t be able to utilize this plane. I guess its my ignorance on plane economics
SubarcticFarmer@reddit
Normally as you go to larger aircraft the cost per seat mile decreases, making for an efficiency gain if you can fill it. The A380, however, wasn't designed for its size. Many times aircraft can be stretched as engineering and performance margins are realized. Airbus decided off the bat to make a larger one though so they engineered for a size increase. This meant the over engineering was for an even larger airframe and it suffers from the efficiency penalties normally applied to a shrunk design.
What this ends up meaning is that it's more cost effective to run two 777s than a single A380. The only time it really benefits is if there are slot limitations but the A380 is so large it basically takes up the space of two aircraft anyway. On top of that the downside to an empty plane is a lot more expensive. So you have a combination of a lot more costs per airframe with an airplane that requires you to sell more tickets just to break even.
SubarcticFarmer@reddit
One A380 isn't sustainable. How are you going to do maintenance? You'd need at least three.
The_Dom182@reddit
Sad 2 see
BankHottas@reddit
My only ever a380 flight was with Air France in 2020, right before everything shut down. The interior was clearly outdated already, but it was one of the most comfortable flights I’ve ever had. Makes me quite sad to think these AF beauties will never fly again.
NeedForM654@reddit
What is the plane on the left?
Pixels417@reddit (OP)
A340-500 From Emirates. Here since 2016
Icy_Mythical@reddit
hi, i am curious about the french registration on that plane
Pixels417@reddit (OP)
Probably an old lease from Emirates. Since it’s been parked, it was returned to the leasing company in France, so it now has French registration.
BankHottas@reddit
So they had to change the registration on the plane just for it to go to the scrapyard? I’d never even thought about that
NeedForM654@reddit
Thank you!
RevolutionaryAge47@reddit
How much money did Airbus lose making the A380?
FunClothes@reddit
I live in Christchurch NZ. Smallest place in the world to have a regular A380 service apparently. The airport authority widened the taxiway to deal with the wingspan, before that they had to taxi on the main runway. This was when it was thought the A380 was going to be the longhaul jumbo of the 21st century. There's one scheduled flight a day. There aren't any 747s - it's been a long time since any scheduled service. The last regular but not scheduled passenger was NASA's Sofia 747sp, flying at night to and from. A Chinese state visit last week used a 747-400 - the first 747 I've seen here in years.
Own_Place909@reddit
Christchurch is not only the smallest city to get a regular A380 service, but I think it also is responsible for one of the shortest routes on an A380, CHC-SYD. Not the shortest overall as there is/was several quite a bit shorter between Asian hubs and within the Middle East.
Taxi-Shinawat@reddit
As an economy flyer (mostly anyway) it'll suck going back to the 777, 787, A350 etc.
There's this strange thing in aviation where we can't have nice things. Concorde springs to mind.
Several-Eagle4141@reddit
The inability for this plane to be an efficient cargo bird is a massive fail.
LymePilot@reddit
UPS and FedEx care about wingspan. At 260+ feet it’s understandable why it hasn’t entered the question for the two giants.
JBN2337C@reddit
Got to ride one to Paris back in 2016. Kinda sad thinking it’s beer cans…
FrenchieTowel@reddit
As a French i can say Air France is a joke. Insanely overpriced tickets, stewards are rude and mean. Flew one time with them for Paris-Beijing round trip 10 years ago. Never again!
Price example:
Paris-Tokyo round trip next August Premium economy:
Air France: 2496 Euros on aging 777-300ER Lufthansa: 1917 Euros on 350-900 new Allegris cabin Vietnam airlines: 1394 on aging 350-900 but still
China airline: Same route but Business class on aging 777-300ER 2487 Euros
Air France🤡
NotLeeroy@reddit
As a French I don't have any bad thing about the stewards. I flew with them around once a month for 5 years and they where always at the very least polite and most of them really nice.
sofixa11@reddit
Damn.
Lufthansa are proposing a cheaper price because it includes a layover and they know all things equal, people will take the direct option (of which there are many for Paris - Beijing), so they have to do better on price.
Chinese and Vietnamese airlines can fly over Russia, saving multiple hours and lots of money in the process. Air France and Lufthansa cannot.
Soz you're misguided at best. AF are priced decently for the service, with lots of choice between Economy Basic and First class. Staff are usually nice (although some are grumpy), similar to comparable airlines (British, Lufthansa, Iberia). Food is better though.
Fibbs@reddit
I get the age, the bureaucracy, the economics, pre/post covid and cost of why this happens.
But it just seems like an awful waste. If it was an aircraft with a tired old beaten up frame from the 80s even 90s i'd understand it. But these airframes are what 14 years old? The first one scrapped was around 10years old?
Flipping that on it's head, from an investment and corporate management perspective, you'd have to ask, why then did you buy it in the first place?
Surely these could have been repurposed for something else?
My coffee induced ramble makes me wonder, is there a website that tracks this data? it would be interesting to see down to the, how many hours/cycles each airframe did over it's life to see if the industry is indeed becoming more efficient or not.
I don't want to make this a political opinion, It also makes me wonder if the industry is truly competitive as per the high profile cartel cases we've seen over the years combined with the fact that many airlines get generous government handouts.
Hadri1_Fr@reddit
Took*
UnderstandingNo5667@reddit
Wow, I guess it really has no cargo or troop carrying capability…I know the C5 and C17 are COMPLETELY different aircraft but to see an airframe this big have zero other options is wild.
rt80186@reddit
Its exceptionally poor cargo ability was its doom. An airline can make money on a 777 with half its seat empty due to its superior cargo capacity.
UnderstandingNo5667@reddit
It really is exceptionally poor planning and it’s a shame because she’s such big beautiful girl and a true feat of engineering 😔
ASX787@reddit
Do you know which A380s are scrapped or which one are going to fly again?
meshreplacer@reddit
I heard there is this new company that plans on buying up a bunch of A380s and starting a fleet of super luxury flights around the world even with a whole section for video gamers etc.
TheBouwman@reddit
Global airlines debuted this year. They touched up an old 380 and did a couple of maiden flights. After that it returned to storage for now. There is a very small chance they fly again, but I hope for the best.
d_maeddy@reddit
Even worse the A346 in the back :((
EVRider81@reddit
An AF 380 was scrapped at the facility at Knock Airport in ROI some years back, missed it's final arrival there but saw it on the ground...
meshreplacer@reddit
what was Airbus thinking when they thought the A380 was going to be a success. I remember Boeing getting criticized for not jumping on that bandwagon.
Evo_ukcar@reddit
I'm thinking Emirates are kicking themselves for not hoovering up any used supply of these before they started scrapping them. I made parts for these at the start of my career, it's mad to think that they are already being scrapped.
Pororino@reddit
Yeah, it's wild how airlines get sentimental over those old birds.
Unoriginell@reddit
So as a little side Note, scrapped A380s are usually those that were built very early.
When production starts there are still a lot of things during manufacturing that are not streamlined leading to NCs (Non Conformities). I have been told that early A380s are quite a bit heavier than the newer ones because some stuff had to be McGyvered.
Familiar_Fee_7891@reddit
I flew the first AF flight from CDG to IAD years ago. My window seat was in economy. I placed my carry on next to my seat. Between the seat and the window.
We will never see that kind of space again.
Nykeeo@reddit
pathetic
Kanyiko@reddit
People go on a pilgrimage to Lourdes for the Cave.
Spotters go on a pilgrimage to Lourdes for the A380s.
Clemdauphin@reddit
it is so a bummer that Aifrance retired the A380. before Covid it was so much a pride to have that kind of gigantic plane plying under the french colors, furthermore as part of the plane as well as the assembly were done in France.
in a way, the A380 is kinda like the concorde, although a little bit more succesfull.
Fickle_Force_5457@reddit
Seems to be a real downer on the A380 in any online stories just now, some even having ambiguous headlines or when you go in it seems to mention the 777X a lot. Looking at Emirates I think they may well go to Airbus and go for A380 Neo if there's any more delays to the 777X which will hopefully clear certification.