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Air France auctions seats for inaugural A380 flights

6th October 2009 Print
The auction by Air France of 380 seats on each of its two inaugural flights by Airbus A380 is now underway, ending on 21 October 2009.

The auction sale concerning seats in the Voyageur (Economy) and Business class is open to all markets and will take place on the eBay.fr site, on a staggered basis, with each auction period lasting 3, 5, 7 or 10 days. The auction includes the return ticket on a scheduled Air France flight.

From the first day, 100 seats will be put on sale for a period between 7 and 10 days.

To take part, the bidder needs to register on the eBay site and go to the Air France boutique specially created for this event. The reserve price will be set in most cases at 380 euros in Voyageur (Economy) class and 1,380 euros in Business class. This reserve price may change during the sale period.

Once the first bid has been submitted, an email will be sent to the participants inviting them to follow the auction. At the end of the sale, the highest bidder will receive another email inviting them to settle their bid and will be subsequently contacted by Air France to fix the conditions of their trip (selection of return date, recording of personal data, etc).

To follow the auction, Air France has opened the mini-site af380.com containing a breakdown in real-time of the number of remaining seats.

To ensure passengers enjoy this unique experience in New York and Paris to the fullest, Air France has conceived a number of exclusive cultural and shopping events.

For the auction winners of the Paris to New York flight…

Three prestigious artistic experiences have been set up in New York: Sarah, the Colette boutique (trend setter), Jérôme Sans, the co-founder of Palais de Tokyo, and Narcisco Rodriguez, the fetish designer of the New York fashion scene, will accompany passengers of flight AF380 through their cultural and shopping experience, from Moss to Labo or Gagossian galleries to Deitch Gallery.

For the auction winners of the New York to Paris flight…

The hidden and unusual sights of Paris await travellers. The cream of Paris gallery owners will open their doors exclusively for the passengers of this flight: Yvon Lambert, Kamel Menour, Kréo, Emmanuel Perrotin, as well as the Maison Rouge and ‘hors axe’.

Luxury labels will also be involved in this exceptional tour: artisan luggage label (Pinel & Pinel), shoemakers (Pierre Corthay), fashion designers (Anne-Valérie Hash), as well as some 38 artists specialized in gourmet food, fashion and design.

For the auction winners…

- Air France hotel partners will offer the auction winners a preferential rate in their hotels in Paris and New York, for a limited number of places.

- Flying Blue programme members can earn miles according to the valid miles scale.

- Each winner will be able to take advantage of additional hold baggage (max. 23kg in Voyageur (Economy) class and 32kg in Business) on the outbound and return flights.

- Tickets can be reserved under a different name than that of the auction winner if the winner decides to offer their ticket to a third party. No name changes will be authorized once the ticket has been issued.

The Air France Foundation has selected three associated partners, to which the profits from the auction will be dedicated:

• In France (Marseille): Association Arts et Développement, street art workshops in city neighbourhoods. With the help of money collected through the auction, the association will open new workshops in 2010 in the high-risk areas of Marseille and in other towns in France.
• In South Africa François-Xavier Bagnoud Association, an after-school programme dedicated to orphans affected by AIDS. The profits from the auction will mean being able to finance new villages in the Cape region.
• And in India (New Delhi): Association Plan France, a project aimed at improving living conditions for child workers. Thanks to financing from the auction, the project will benefit over 500 child workers in Delhi.

As Europe’s first airline to offer customers the comfort of the Airbus A380, Air France will be the first carrier to operate transatlantic flights between Europe and the Americas on this very large bodied aircraft.

The Air France A380, which can carry 538 passengers is equipped with three cabins, 80 Business seats and 106 Voyageur-Economy seats on the main deck, and 9 Première seats and 343 Voyageur-Economy seats on the main deck.

Starting on 23 November 2009, the Air France A380 will leave from Terminal 2E of Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport at 1:30pm (local time) and arrive at New York JFK at 3:45pm (local time). The return flight will leave Terminal 1 in New York JFK at 7:10pm, arriving in Paris the next day at 8:35am. Boarding the A380 will be fast and comfortable thanks to the use of terminals fitted with double-deck bridges specially designed for this aircraft in Paris and New York.

Air France has 12 Airbus A380s on order. Powered by four GP7200 engines designed by Engine Alliance (50/50 joint venture between General Electric and Pratt & Whitney), the Air France Airbus A380 will fly a maximum distance of 13,000 kms. The A380 is the quietist aircraft of its generation, and presents one of the lowest fuel consumption and CO² emissions levels per passenger.