Air France takes delivery of a new Airbus A220 called ‘Bergerac’
The 41st Airbus A220 in the Air France fleet, registration F-HPNP, took to the skies for the first time. On December 29th 2024, this latest-generation 148-seater aircraft left the Airbus assembly plant in Mirabel (Canada) bound for the Air France hub at Paris-Charles de Gaulle. It is assigned to the airline's short and medium-haul routes and operated its first commercial flight on December 31st to Barcelona.
On the front of the fuselage is its name, ‘Bergerac’, in homage to this town of art and history located in the Dordogne region of France.
As a regional ambassador, Air France honours the regions of mainland France and the French Overseas Territories by naming its aircraft after towns and cities with a special link to aviation in the past and present, or to France's cultural heritage.
The tradition of naming aircraft, inherited from the world of shipping, has spanned the ages since the 1930s. The repertoire of names given to Air France aircraft has evolved over the years, highlighting provinces (Gascogne, Guyenne, Auvergne etc.), adjectives (Actif, Agile, Adroit etc.), constellations (Cassiopée, Altaïr etc.), birds (Albatross, Cigogne, Gypaète etc.) or the names of castles (Blois, Fontainebleau, Valençay etc.) until 1970.
In 2019, Air France decided to bring it back up to date, this time using only town and city names, to underline its commitment to connecting territories and promoting France around the world. Today, 162 towns and cities are honoured in the Air France fleet. Among them, the French capital has a special place, with an Airbus A350 named ‘Paris’, which joined the Air France fleet in summer 2024. This aircraft embodies the influence of the city, host of the last Olympic and Paralympic Games, of which Air France was an official partner. Similarly, Airbus A350s bearing the names of Narbonne, Bourges and Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, among others, have recently joined the fleet.
2024 was marked by 22 new names of aircraft already in service and refurbished, or of new latest-generation aircraft, the A220 and A350. The fuel consumption and CO2 emissions of these aircraft are reduced by up to 25%, and their noise footprint is also reduced by 25% to 50%.
The Air France-KLM group invests nearly €2 billion a year in the acquisition of latest-generation aircraft.
By 2030, the proportion of latest-generation aircraft in the group's fleet will reach 80%, compared with 5% in 2019 and 26% in 2024.
These many new names testify to the dynamic initiated by the Air France-KLM group in terms of reducing its CO2 emissions and continuing to move upmarket. These aircraft are equipped with the latest travel cabins, reflecting the airline's own ambition for excellence.
