If you’ve ever wanted to display the cockpit escape rope of an Airbus A380 in your living room, you’re in luck.
Several hundred items from the iconic Airbus A380 will be available for the public to bid on during a three-day auction set to take place from 13-15 October in Toulouse, France.
The vast majority of the parts are from an ex-Emirates A380 (MSN 13 / Reg: A6-EDB). However, various items from other A380s will also be up for auction.
Proceeds from the event will go to charity.
The A6-EDB Backstory
A6-EDB, the 13th A380 built by Airbus, entered revenue service on 23 October 2008 with Dubai-based Emirates. It became the second A380 to join the Emirates fleet.
An early victim of the downturn in air travel amid the coronavirus pandemic, A6-EDB was parked in February 2020. Her last flight was a ferry flight from Dubai (DXB) to Tarbes, France (LDE) on 27 October 2020, according to FlightAware. It would then undergo decommissioning at Tarmac Aerosave, an aircraft maintenance center and Europe’s largest storage facility, located in southern France, roughly 100 miles southwest of where the aircraft was built in Toulouse.
What Kind of Items Will Be Up for Auction?
Most of the items – divided into 380 lots – available for auction will be from A6-EDB’s cabin. Some items available for bidding include parts of the cabin itself, such as stairs, handrails, emergency exit signs (in English and Arabic), windows, lamps, seats, seatbelts, and even a bar. Other parts include beverage trolleys, baby bassinets, flashlights, and – yes – even a cockpit escape rope. Business class seats from a different A380 will also be up for auction at the event.
Additionally, thanks to a collaboration between Airbus and prominent street artists, you can bid on unique pieces of artwork created from different parts of the aircraft, such as engine blades and trolleys.
The auction will take place in Toulouse; however, anyone from anywhere in the world can bid online.
How Much Will I Have to Shell Out?
So, what are some of the estimates for these pieces? Bilingual emergency exit light panels start at around $80. A three-piece set of a side panel of the fuselage starts out at just under $400. How about a faux marble sink from the first-class cabin? It could be yours for just under $2,000.
If you would like to take part in this unique opportunity to own a piece of the world’s largest commercial airliner, you can do so beginning on 13 October by registering online.
- LOT 1 – Bidding begins at 0800 ET on Thursday, 13 October
- LOT 2 – Bidding begins at 0830 ET on Friday, 14 October
- LOT 3 – Bidding begins at 0830 ET on Saturday, 15 October
Most of the proceeds will go to the Airbus Foundation, which “facilitates philanthropic initiatives worldwide,” according to the organization’s website. Some of the foundations’ recent missions include responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters. Additional proceeds will be donated to the AIRitage Association, a French-based organization that works to preserve aviation heritage.
