Air France becomes last operator of Airbus' least popular model

Frontier Airlines was the launch customer for the A318 in 2003 but retired it after a decade in favor of larger models like the A320 and A321 due to better economics and capacity.

As of now, Air France operates six A318s that can seat up to 131 passengers or 118 in a two-class setup. These aircraft have logged over 35,000 flight hours each.

In December, Air France's schedule includes over 30 short-haul European destinations from Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG), Paris Orly (ORY), and Nice (NCE). Top routes include Paris CDG to Florence and Amsterdam and Paris Orly to Toulouse.

While no firm retirement date has been set by Air France for its remaining A318s, expansion of their A220 fleet suggests that it may happen soon. The airline plans to operate 60 Airbus A220s by late 2025 due to their superior capacity and fuel efficiency compared to the older model.

Though largely phased out as a commercial jetliner, around 20 Airbus A318s remain active today primarily as VIP jets operated by governments such as those of Brunei, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia.

TAROM's four retired planes were sold to UK-based firm 3TOP Aviation Services for parts—a fate shared by several former Air France units.