To enable Dedicate to be launched quickly, Air France has added an A319LR on a three-year contract with French corporate jet operator Aero Services to operate intial services. Paris Le Bourget-based Aero Services, which began flying the A319 Corporate Jetliner in 2001, has sourced the LR from CIT Aerospace on a three-year operating lease.
Air France has also ordered four A319LRs, plus one option, for Dedicate. Two of the orders are being transferred from the airline's A319 order backlog. The first two new aircraft will be delivered in May, with the third arriving in September and the fourth in April 2005.
Equipped with auxiliary fuel tanks in the lower deck cargo hold, the A319LRs have a range of 6,500km (3,500nm). The A319LRs will be configured with 28 business-class and 54 economy class seats. The carrier's 39 standard A319s are configured with 142 seats.
Source: Flight International
