Up to 50 aircraft: Air France-KLM has secured bids for long-haul aircraft from Airbus and Boeing

The long-haul fleet of Air France-KLM is still very small. The average age of the aircraft is 12.1 years. It should stay that way. “We are constantly investing in new aircraft,” the Franco-Dutch group says in its strategy. In this way, we can “offer customers greater comfort and significantly reduce noise pollution in order to improve life in neighborhoods near airports.”

But as is known, the average hides the outliers at the edge. It is also available on Air France-KLM. The 21 Airbus A330-200s are 20 years old, while the 33 Boeing 777-200s are 21 years old. That’s why the leadership under CEO Benjamin Smith is now looking for replacements for the aging aircraft.

The roads are getting longer

Air France-KLM has asked Airbus and Boeing to submit offers for new long-haul aircraft, Bloomberg News reported, referring to informed circles. It’s about 30 to 50 planes. The leadership also takes into account the fact that routes to Asia have become much longer in some cases due to the closure of Russian airspace.

Until now, the group has relied on Airbus A350-900 (Air France) and Boeing 787-8 and 787-10 (mainly KLM) to replenish its long-haul fleet. CEO Smith had already said in the spring that, in addition to other examples of existing models, they were also looking at the Airbus A350-1000 and Boeing 777-9.