Summary
- Parts of Air France’s first Airbus A380 are now on sale as bag tags by Aviationtag, marking the 100th edition of plane tags created by the German company.
- The tags, made from the aircraft’s skin, are selling for €39.95 ($42.27) and feature a unique 100 design on the back.
- F-HPJA, the sixth Airbus A380 turned into a tag by Aviationtag, was last flown in March 2020 and retired by Air France after accumulating 41,725 flight hours over 4,942 flight cycles.
Parts of the 1st Air France Airbus A380, F-HPJA, have gone on sale 3.5 years after the aircraft’s last flight. The jet was scrapped in Tarbes, France after Air France decided to ditch the type at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, parts of the former giant’s fuselage have been turned into bag tags by Aviationtag, becoming the 100th aircraft to partially upcycled by the German company.
Own part of Air France’s 1st Airbus A380
September appears to be a month of “1st Airbus A380 sales”. Hot on the tail of Emirates tags, Aviationtag is selling tags made from the first Air France A380. However, unlike the Emirates tags, these have been made in-house by the German company.
Photo: Aviationtag
Upcycled from the former aircraft’s skin, the tags are retailing at €39.95 ($42.27) on Aviationtag’s website. This edition of plane tags, however, is a particularly special one for Aviationtag. It is the 100th edition of plane tags that the company has created itself for sale on its website. In celebration of this, a special 100 design is etched into the back of the tag.
Photo: Aviationtag
This is not the 1st Airbus A380 to have been turned into a tag by Aviationtag either. F-HPJA is the 6th Airbus A380 to have been featured in the Aviationtag store and the first from Air France. The other aircraft were 9V-SKA, 9V-SKB, 9V-SKD, and 9V-SKE from Singapore Airlines, along with A6-EDA from Emirates (though the later wasn’t created by Aviationtag, so it doesn’t feature in the 100).
About the aircraft
The aircraft in question is F-HPJA, bearing the manufacturer serial number 33. According to data from ch-aviation, the aircraft was ordered by Air France in June 2001 and first flew on February 12th, 2008. It would go on to be delivered to the French flag carrier on October 29th of that same year.
Photo: Aviationtag
The aircraft last flew passengers in March 2020 before being ferried to its final resting place at a Tarmac Aerosave facility in Tarbes in August 2020. The aircraft hasn’t flown since. During its time with Air France, the double-decker jet clocked a total of 41,725 flight hours (equivalent to 4.76 years flying) across 4,942 flight cycles, giving an average flight length of 8h26m.
Air France wasn’t the 1st airline to retire an Airbus A380. That title is held by Singapore Airlines. However, the French flag carrier did become the first airline to retire its entire fleet of the giant. In total, Air France took delivery of 10 aircraft between October 2009 and June 2014. The youngest aircraft, F-HPJJ (MSN 117), flew for less than six years before its retirement.
What do you make of this Airbus A380’s fate? Let us know what you think and why in the comments!