Journalist – Aaron is an aviation and travel journalist with 14 years of experience in the travel and tourism industry. His background spans airport operations, aviation infrastructure, and travel consulting, having worked with global organizations across New Zealand, Europe, and North America. Combining industry expertise with firsthand travel experience across more than 52 countries and five continents, Aaron covers airlines, airports, aviation policy, and the wider travel sector. He is based in Canterbury, New Zealand. His work has been published in Simple Flying and featured by MSN, SAM CHUI Aviation & Travel, EIN News, Pakistan Defence, and Climate Depot.
French flag carrier Air France has extended the shelf life of its Airbus A318-100 aircraft, with the airline now planning to operate the Baby Bus, the smallest and least numerous variant of the popular A320 family of planes. Air France is the sole remaining operator of the A318 with scheduled passenger flights, with all other operators being in charter or private aviation (more on operators later).
As reported by Aeroroutes, Air France will extend the operating period of the aircraft, which is set to be replaced by the A220-300, as the French airline will maintain services through March 27, beyond the expected retirement date of November 8.
Air France Is The Last Remaining Scheduled Operator Of The A318-100
Air France remains the last scheduled operator of the A318, with around 18 total airframes. Airbus fabricated a total of 80 airframes of the type, with just a handful of notable airlines flying the variant, including Avianca, British Airways, Frontier and TAROM. British Airways once flew the type in an all-business-class configuration between London City Airport (LCY) and New York JFK Airport (JFK) with a stopover in Shannon Airport (SNN) westbound for refueling.
While the A318 is now set to disappear from the Air France route map by March, it will not exit the skies altogether as corporate, charter and government aircraft continue to operate. The first A318 to enter service was by Frontier in 2003, and throughout the airline’s tenure it has not recorded any accidents involving the type.
Air France, which has close to 60 A220-300s in service already, is gradually receiving an additional 20 of the type, which are set to replace both the A318-100 and Airbus A319-100 to be more cost-efficient, well-positioned aircraft for regional services across Europe.
Air France Schedule Extended Out Until March 2027
To date, Air France has four remaining A318-100s in operation, which are configured in an all-economy class layout with a total of 131 seats. Onboard, the aircraft is equipped two pilots and three cabin crew.
As analyzed by Aeroroutes, Air France will now operate the A318 through March 27, with an extensive list of destinations across Europe. Currently, all routes to Barcelona, Berlin, Bologna, Bordeaux, Brest, Copenhagen, Dublin, Lisbon, Lyon, Madrid, Marseille, Milan Linate, Milan Malpensa, Montpellier, Munich, Nantes, Nice, Rome Fiumicino, Toulouse, Turin, Venice Marco Polo, and Warsaw will operate until March 27. Additionally, several services will operate for shorter periods of time, as detailed in the table below:
While the A318 has been a game changer for short-hops and executive business travel, the complexity and structural weight that the type inherited from the A320 has ultimately made the plane less cost-effective to run, and the scarcity of the global sub-fleet has made it increasingly difficult to obtain parts.
Air France’s final four A318s are just weeks away from retirement after 23 years of passenger service.
Using data from Planespotters, the remaining known A318-100 operators include Air France, Alpha Star, Business Aviation Asia (BAA), DC Aviation San Marino, Gama Aviation, Global Jet Luxembourg, MIHOT Investments, National Air Services (NAS), North-West Air Company, Private, Saudi Royal Flight, Star Jet, TAG Aviation San Marino, Turkey Government, Universal Entertainment, Want Want, and ZYB Lily Jet.
The majority of these are private, charter, or government operators. These have remained popular for these carriers as the plane is well equipped for short-haul, ultra-spacious corporate, government, and VIP transport. The remaining entities, apart from Air France, operate very small fleets of the type, with highly customizable airframes for both regional and intercontinental ranges.
Air France’s decision to retire the type comes as the SkyTeam carrier looks to integrate the A220-300 more extensively across its network, with the two-decade-old A318s set to exit operating commercial scheduled passenger flights. This sad day will see the A318 stop flying regular commercial airline services worldwide.
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