The Assembly of the aircraft can then begin

Miraculously, the rain which fell drue since the day before left place in the Sun, rare thing in Seattle. On the tarmac of the centre for delivery of Boeing in Everett, the long white fuselage of the B777-300 ER of Air France, still just passing, is that more sparkling. At the foot of the aircraft, the French company teams, come take receipt of their Boeing 200, take the time to be photographed, before returning to the final preparations for departure for Roissy CDG. No time to lose: the delivery ceremony has just been completed and the take-off for Paris is planned in the half-hour. A $ 270 million the plane, the catalogue price, a B777-300 ER is a precious asset too to remain long without work. The aircraft, registered F-GZNH, a rendez-vous with its first passengers on 20 December next to a first commercial flight to Montreal, then Ho Chi Minh City, from January.

To get this far, Boeing and Air France teams will have to work hard for two years. The time necessary to the definition of the configuration of the Mastodon, capable of carrying 383 passengers and 23 tons of cargo over more than 14,000 km. A long and tedious, work which is also a race against the clock, until the date of commissioning. "The countdown started in 2008, says Nicolas Bertrand, the long-haul fleet head of Air France. The first phase is to define in detail the development of the device, since the choice of Headquarters, to the positioning of labels or cradle bindings. "This first phase, bordered of many meetings with people from Boeing and aviation equipment suppliers, lasted ten months. "It is a collective work, which involves multiple business units, such as maintenance, marketing, operations aériennes, stresses Nicolas Bertrand." It is not only to choose equipment; the number of seats, the choice of the configuration will depend on markets and roads on which the aircraft will be put into service. "In this case, this definition phase was much more complex that the B777 is the first to receive the new tri-classe configuration, without first, but with a"business"and a"passenger premium"class", he added.

Once selected, the equipment must be negotiated by the purchases of Air France service. Three additional months, glazed meetings with Boeing and other services of the company, to monitor the progress of the certification of new products, before the MITC (Initial Technical Coordination Meeting), the ultimate summary meeting with Boeing and selected providers, in which the specific characteristics of the aircraft are arrested. At the end of this meeting, the Air France client provides the manufacturer the specifications of the aircraft. On its side, the company is committed to providing to the constructor the necessary equipment and time hour, by current October, for the installation of the cabin.

The Assembly of the aircraft can then begin. It starts late July under the gaze of the permanent representative of Air France in Seattle, Thomas Sonigo. At each step of the construction of the aircraft, Air France industry engineers come also from Paris conduct their inspection to monitor operations. "We take this opportunity to inspect the parts of the plane which will then be inaccessible, check sheet are riveted correctly, that there is no FOD "foreign object debris", Editor's note forgotten here!". ", explains one of them. A little more than three months will be needed to assemble the B777-300 ER in the giant factory Everett, large enough to house all Disneyland, to the "roll out", end of October.

After a few days of testing on the ground, is then the time of the first flight, said "B1" (Boeing 1), directed by Boeing test pilot. At this stage, the aircraft is still under the responsibility of the manufacturer, but teams of Air France on the ground and on Board did lose not a crumb on the lookout for the slightest noise or suspicious behavior. If in doubt, the "b1" flight may be followed by a "B2". This is not the case this time. In early November, the B777 is also offers a stay of a week in Portland, to be painted. approximately two tonnes of white paint will be needed. Here again, the result is verified scrutiny by a specialist of Air France for any inequality which would require a recovery.

A week before the scheduled delivery date then begins the complex process of "technical acceptance" of the aircraft. A team of 10 people arrives in Paris to verify everything that can be on the device. It is the "customer walk" (the Tower of the client), which will last three days. The first two are dedicated to test all of the features of the cabin, since the video to the toilet flushing. A small team of hostesses, stewards and

pilots involved. The plane is inspected thoroughly, in all seams. Everything must be tested, which is not a sinecure. The third day is one of the first test of three-hour flight, said "C1" for "customer 1", with, for the first time, a pilot of Air France in command. The opportunity for the latter - qualified for this type of exercise - a little "push" the aircraft, including testing the main emergency procedures.

Nothing should be overlooked. "Our inspectors have a roll of red tape to mark the found defects, explains Nicolas Bertrand." There is always something: carpet evil wedges stuck, of improperly installed seat cushions, traces of shock "F-GZNH is no exception to the rule. Thus, the armrests, expected to be able to otherwise Dodge between seats in economy class, remains slightly prominent when the seat is inclined. A problem of rings, which will be settled once the plane returned to Roissy.

All the defects observed on the ground or in flight are listed in a "reserve letter" stating how Boeing must address. "It discusses sometimes hard", recognizes Nicolas Bertrand. Is that once all of these "redeemed" imperfections that the device can finally be delivered.

The procedure can then give way to the rituals. The eve of the return of the aircraft, the traditional "delivery dinner" brings together teams of Air France and Boeing all at a great restaurant in Seattle. This begins with speeches, punctuated of "cheers" well watered and followed at the end of meals for a few gifts. In addition to the usual photo poster of the aircraft and the inevitable model, the representative of Air France will leave this time with a beautiful statue of Aviator in bronze, go join the Museum of the company.

Finally the day arrives (J) of the delivery of the aircraft itself and the signing in great pomp, the "Bill of Sale" and the "Aircraft Receipt", the certificate of sale of the aircraft signed by Boeing and the receipt of signed by Air France aircraft. But before that, a final chore expects representatives of Air France: check all technical documentation - manual flight, manual techniques, service - delivery with the aircraft. Either the equivalent of several cardboard boxes, headed with the aircraft. Meanwhile, teams of Air France and Boeing are still on to ultimate small patches in the aircraft. And it was only after ensuring that everything is in good standing that Thomas Sonigo can pick up the phone to call the Air France Bank in New York and have funds on the account of Boeing. The amount is still a well-kept secret, discounts negotiated in the command, two years earlier, being sometimes considerable. Part of the sum was paid to the command, as well as in the months before the delivery. But the balance still represents the major part of the regulations. It was only after receiving its own bank assurance of payment of the funds that the manufacturer will present to his client the "Bill of sale", in exchange for the "Aircraft Receipt." At this moment only Air France officially becomes the owner of his 61 B777, which is also its 200 Boeing.

Arrived at Roissy, fleet management teams in will not to be finished with the formalities. In addition to passing through customs, since it's an import, a few days will be still necessary to obtain the final certification of the aircraft by the Directorate General of civil aviation and its final registration F-GZNH: F as France, followed by some letters which the choice is not always due to chance. It is sometimes simply the initials of this or that head of the company involved in its delivery. Before his release online, the newcomer will be also a few days to the ground in "VIP" ("post delivery modification") for the latest changes. The opportunity for flight personnel of Air France in Roissy, come discover the new bird.

History could stop there. But in the case of F-GZNH, must be added an epilogue unusual, although increasingly more frequent: in a few weeks, it will be indeed sold air Lease Corporation, a young American aircraft hire company founded by Steve Udvar-Hazy, the former boss of the world leader in the sector, ILFC. A way for the company to recover its implementation, while continuing to operate the aircraft rental. "This operation of"sale and lease back"is a now classic way to finance a purchase of aircraft by preserving our cash," explains Bruno Delile, the Director of the fleet of Air France. It also allows to adjust our capacity upward or downward, in renewing or not we leases on the situation of the market. But the plane will remain in our fleet for a good decade.