The highest capability French airliner is delivered to Air Caraibes | EUROtoday

DThe second long-haul French service, the Dubreuil group, with its non-public firms Air Caraibes and French Bee, stands out for its quite a few technical and business initiatives which have resulted in nearly steady profitability of its operations since its creation. This relies on the bringing on-line of optimized newest technology Airbus plane.

When transatlantic flights began in 2003, Air Caraibes flew with three-class Airbus A330s, steadily supplemented from 2017 by A350-900s, then by A350-1000s, with greater capability. This plane, situated on the high of the long-haul Airbus vary, provides spectacular efficiency in comparison with the competitors. To date, 1,345 A350s have been ordered by 61 airways.

During a flight linking Paris to Pointe-à-Pitre, in Guadeloupe, the A350 consumes 55 tonnes of kerosene in comparison with 72 tonnes for a Boeing 777-300ER (underneath the Air France flag, for instance). Environmental impression, noise air pollution and CO emissions₂ are constant. To attain Reunion, the French Bee A350-1000 will burn 75 tonnes of gasoline in comparison with 100 tonnes for an Air France or Air Austral B777-300ER. Which represents greater than 20,000 euros distinction per flight, calculated on the premise of the 800 greenback ton of kerosene delivered to Paris.

A low value configuration

The new A350-1000, registered F-HAJP, delivered this Monday in Toulouse to the Dubreuil group, is displayed within the colours of Air Caraibes and can take off this Wednesday in direction of Pointe-à-Pitre. But the cabin, with 480 seats (440 in Soleil financial system class, 40 in premium Caribbean in addition to 20 tonnes of cargo within the maintain) is configured in line with the factors of the low-cost French Bee to move – just a little – extra passengers than the opponents. Air France’s “largest” plane, the Boeing 777-300ER devoted to the Antilles-Indian Ocean networks, can carry 468 passengers in three lessons. Not solely do Dubreuil group planes devour much less, however they transport extra passengers.

But the foundations of the sport additionally embody authorized constraints. The F-HAJP, at $360 million (record value), was acquired tax-exempt by the Vendée household group, which doesn’t authorize it to fly anyplace on the planet. So we won’t see it in American skies, even in Montreal, French Bee’s new 2025 vacation spot.

Interchangeable planes between the 2 firms

On the opposite hand, it’ll ski the sky routes from Paris to Fort-de-France (Martinique), Pointe-à-Pitre, Cayenne (Guyana) and Saint-Denis (Reunion). In excessive season, Reunion Island is served as much as 13 occasions every week, nearly two flights per day. This visitors peak is thankfully offset from that of the Antilles, the place Air Caraibes, with the arrival of this densified A350-1000, will be capable of maintain a 3rd Pointe-à-Pitre on the finish of the day departing from Orly.

Note that the planes of the 2 firms Air Caraibes and French Bee are “interchangeable”. With one hour’s discover, time to inform the supervisory authority (DGAC) and the insurers, the change of flag is carried out. A crew who leaves on the controls of a airplane of 1 firm can return with that of the opposite. We can think about the potential synergies if such a mechanism labored between Air France and KLM.

Comfort is greater than on earlier technology plane. In reality, the A350 flies greater, at stage 400 or 410 (12,500 meters) in comparison with 370, which permits it to flee sure storms and their turbulence.

Thanks to the composite fuselage, the cabin altitude of the A350 is lowered to six,000 ft in comparison with 8,000 ft for an plane with an aluminum fuselage, which corresponds to a mid-mountain resort in comparison with a excessive mountains. This helps scale back passenger fatigue after a long-haul flight. Noise and vibrations are additionally significantly lowered.

Improvements in safety

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Kangaroo of the day

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Security just isn’t neglected. With the A350, the icing of the velocity sensors, these Pitot probes on the origin of the crash of the A330 of flight AF447 Rio-Paris, is now not a priority. These sensors positioned on the nostril of the airplane which, blocked by ice, had disrupted the navigation system, the velocity data and the autopilot of the AF447, are relayed on the newest technology of Airbus by a sensor impartial situated within the air stream of Rolls Royce engines, the place the temperature prohibits icing. The velocity obtained is correlated with inertial and GPS data which supplies a velocity relative to the bottom and never relative to the air. On the pilots’ screens, this NAIADS (New Air and Inertia Automatic Data Switching) discreetly alerts its motion with a pink merchandise on the velocity indication. It disappears as quickly because the Pitot probes turn into operational once more.

The computerized emergency descent system appeared on the A350-1000, delivered as commonplace. If the crew on the controls doesn’t react inside 15 seconds throughout an unintentional depressurization, the autopilot triggers an emergency descent at a steep slope, engines lowered, airbrakes prolonged. When the airplane has reached a “breathable” altitude, the place the air density is adequate, of the order of 4,000 meters (or relying on the terrain flown over), horizontal cruise flight resumes, the crew equivalent to passengers now not being threatened by hypoxia. Oxygen masks are then now not mandatory.