Passengers of A380 Inaugural Flight Will Help Kids of Brazil and Madagascar
Air France Foundation collected 300,000 euros for the benefit of children in difficulty
On Friday, 20 November 2009, the first Air France Airbus A380 left from Paris-Charles de Gaulle to New York with 380 passengers on board, who took part in the auction organized last October for the benefit of the humanitarian projects sponsored by the Air France Foundation. Nearly 90% of the bidders are French and 10% from 20 different nationalities.
"On behalf of the Air France Foundation, I am delighted to announce that the proceeds from this operation amount to 300,000 euros (USD450,000), which is far higher than we expected. So in addition to the three charities already chosen, the Air France Foundation has decided to select two new projects in Brazil and Madagascar," declared Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, Chief Executive Officer of Air France-KLM, during his speech just before boarding the flight.
"So my warmest thanks go to these auction bidders, thanks to whom this operation has been a resounding success. It is original and innovative both in its purpose and in the method we used to sell the tickets," added Pierre-Henri Gourgeon.
The Air France Foundation
The Air France Foundation has therefore selected three partner charities, to which the proceeds from the auction will be donated:
♦ In France (Marseille): «Association Arts et Développement», street art workshops in city neighbourhoods. With the help of funds collected through the auction, the association will open new workshops in 2010 in the underprivileged areas of Marseille and in other cities in France.
♦ In South Africa «François-Xavier Bagnoud Association», an after-school programme dedicated to orphans affected by AIDS. The profits from the auction will mean being able to finance new villages in the Cape region.
♦ And in India (New Delhi): «Association Plan France», a project aimed at improving living conditions for child workers. Thanks to financing from the auction, the project will benefit over 500 child workers in Delhi.
Flight AF 380
♦ 538 passengers, 2 pilots, 22 flight attendants
♦ Registration: F-HPJA
♦ Schedule: Paris-CDG 11:15 am New York-JFK 1:20 pm (local time).
