https://simpleflying.com/air-france-klm-swap/
Over two months ago we reported on a rumor that a swap between Air France and
KLM aircraft might take place. Now it has been confirmed that the two
airlines are trading their existing and ordered airplanes. Air France will
receive all of KLM’s A350 orders, while the airline’s remaining 787 orders
will be sent to KLM.
air-france-new-a350-painted
The Air France A350 after visiting the paint shop. Photo:Air France/Airbus
Two airlines, one company
Air France and KLM have been one united group since May 2004: the Air
France-KLM Group. With so much existing integration built up over the last 15
years, the swapping of aircraft and aircraft orders is almost as easy as
doing it within one airline.
According to FlightGlobal, the chief executive of Air France-KLM Group, Ben
Smith, said:
“This is the first step towards harmonising and simplifying the Air France–
KLM Group fleet at its two major airlines,”
Air France says that this move will allow the two airlines to “realise fleet
efficiencies through harmonisation and accelerated growth of similar aircraft
at both airlines”.
The trade
Here is the quick and simple summary of the swap: Six Air France 787-9s on
order will go to KLM and seven KLM A350s (also on order) will go to Air
France.
But we can look more closely at the numbers and how it will impact these
airlines’ fleets overall:
Air France has nine Boeing 787-9s currently in service and also has a 10th
scheduled to arrive in May 2020.
Air France will receive its first A350-900 in September 2019 with 20 more on
firm order.
KLM has seven A350s on order. These will go to Air France, for a total of 28.
KLM has 13 787-9s in service and will soon receive its first (of eight)
787-10 (see image below) This makes a total of 21 KLM Dreamliners.
The KLM Dreamliner number will increase to 27 because it is taking six from
Air France.
Fleet and airline comparison
According to Wikipedia, Air France has a much larger fleet with 207 aircraft
in service and 43 on order. KLM is smaller with 119 aircraft in-service and
16 on order.
The fleet size reflects well with passengers handled last year: Air
France-KLM reports that Air France and HOP! carried 51.4 million passengers
in 2018 while KLM carried 34.2 million passengers over the same period.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this will certainly mean more efficiencies for KLM as it will
no longer have any Airbus A350s in its fleet. This is because KLM will no
longer have to train its cabin and maintenance crew on the additional
aircraft type. However, Air France will still have some 787-9 aircraft in its
fleet in addition to its new A350s.
What do you think about this deal? Most frequent flyers will have an opinion
or preference regarding the 787 Dreamliner vs the A350 – the lines and sides
will probably be quite similar to the timeless Boeing vs. Airbus debate.
Will this swap change anything about the airlines you choose to fly? Let us
know by leaving a comment!
雖然兩家是同一個集團啦
但AF訂購的787會去KL
KL的A350會去AF
AF繼續達成空巴全機種制霸