French parliamentarians went a bit crazy and became furious with Air France’s decision to accept bids from both Boeing and Airbus for 100 mid-sized widebody jets.

Boeing’s 787 and Airbus’ A350 are in the running and Air France officials have said that it is likely to be a split purchase.

France continues to own a stake in Air France and is also one of two major stakeholders in Airbus.

I find this ironic since Air France has found it very economical to use Boeing’s 777-200/300 aircraft and owns 60 at present.  The 787 fits nicely into their plans since the transition from a 777 to a 787 is short and easily accomplished.  The transition from an A340/330 aircraft to the A350 is sure to be similarly easy. 

Politics in the airline world inside France is always nationalistic but this move is just a bit too overt for our taste.

Filed under: Airline Fleets, Airline News by ajax
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