The first Air France Airbus A380 left from Paris-Charles de Gaulle to New York last week 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 percent of the bidders are French and 10 percent are from 20 different nationalities. The auction raised 300,000 euros, or nearly $450,000, more than the airline expected, according to Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, chief executive officer of Air France-KLM. So the Air France Foundation decided to select two new projects in Brazil and Madagascar.
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 neighborhoods. 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 program 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. For more information, call 800-237-2747 or visit www.airfrance.com/us.