Shoppers connected in 50 different countries to get their hands on a piece of the A380 legend. Since Thursday and until Saturday, 380 lots and more than 500 pieces in all of a copy of the super jumbo are auctioned by Airbus In Toulouse. There are seats, portholes, a cabin access door, cockpit elements and even a toilet seat.
The parts, taken from an A380 operated by the airline Emirates and dismantled in 2021, are of interest to aviation lovers, nostalgics who have worked for Airbus and art lovers, because some parts have been revisited by street artists.
Unconventional souvenirs or decor
And if American, Armenian or Nepalese buyers have opted for online auctions, some enthusiasts have chosen Thursday to dawdle live in the auction room. This is the case of Charles Koeck, 69, a retired aeronautical engineer. This former Airbus Defense and Space wanted to acquire “souvenirs” that could fit into an apartment to offer them to his eldest son, also an engineer for Airbus, and having “worked for a long time on the A380”. Benoît Dumay was interested in larger pieces. The designer architect thus left with several pieces including fuselage side panels, acquired at 1,500 euros to make works of art.
Of the 380 lots, the majority of the pieces are estimated at a few hundred euros, but some imposing elements, like a business class bar are estimated at several thousand or tens of thousands of euros. And their prices “could soar”, assures the auctioneer Marc Labarbe, in charge of the sale.
The profits will be donated to the Airbus Foundation to finance humanitarian missions, as well as to the AIRitage association which works to safeguard aeronautical heritage.