French Air Force sells both A340-200s

The French Air Force (Armée de l’Air (CTM, Paris Villacoublay-Velizy)) has put its two A340-200s up for sale with viewings at Paris CDG airport scheduled for between December 15 and December 22, and the auction itself planned for December 22. The reserve price for each of the aircraft, sold as-is with engines and cabin interiors, has been set at EUR80,000 euros (USD96,800). F-RAJA (msn 75) has accumulated 70,320 flight hours and 12,257 flight cycles while F-RAJB (msn 81) has racked up 68,102 hours and 12,112 cycles. Both quadjets are 25.9 years old and were initially delivered to Austrian Airlines (OS, Vienna). They were retired by the carrier in 2004 and 2006 and inducted for military service in 2006, the ch-aviation fleets history module shows. Both aircraft are airworthy, although it is impossible to verify when they were last active as they are blocked from public ADS-B tracking services. The aircraft have been used primarily for troop transport and evacuation flights, but not for VIP operations. The military will require the buyer to remove all markings associated with the French Air Force within a month of the completion of the transaction. The French Air Force recently added its first non-VIP A330-200 intended to replace the outgoing A340s. The second A330-200 will deliver later this month while the third, a new-build, is expected in mid-2021. The A340s are not the only quadjet aircraft still operated by the French Air Force. It also operates four early warning and control (AEW&C) B707-300(E-3F)s.