A380 Air France under the lens of Pol Bacquet – Portrait
With these COVID times, we are all having to cope with tough conditions. Stay safe. Aviation is also suffering from these hectic times. Earlier in May 2020, we got the news : “Air France has accelerated plans to phase out its Airbus A380 fleet and will retire the aircraft immediately rather than in 2022 as previously scheduled. Air France grounded its A380s on 16 March as the coronavirus pandemic began to take a toll on operations…” (Source Flight Global “Air France terminates A380 fleet with immediate effect”.) We published at the time (May 20th) a blog post on that topic : “Air France immediately phases out entire Airbus A380 fleet”.
Well-known photographer Pol Bacquet, an Air France Geek (also referred by himself as ‘AFGeek’), had multiple opportunities to join Air France in illustrating these beautiful birds taking us to places. Among the Air France fleet, Pol has been captivated by the Gorgeous Giant, namely the A380. We got the news that Pol was publishing a wonderful tribute to the A380 with his next book. We met Pol during the first international trip of Solar Impulse back in 2011. Ever since, we kept contact with Pol. We are truly amazed by his photography skills and composition. When we got the news on this new book, we wanted to learn more about this Project and we reached out to him to find out the details.
(Aviation24.be) Pol can you introduce yourself to our readers?
(Pol) “I am an architect by profession passionate about Photography and Aviation to the point of being part of the “AFGeeks” community or … passionate about Air France planes. I had the opportunity to work with Air France for a few years, at the Caracas stopover (Venezuela), and to be close to the most beautiful planes including the Boeing 747 and the Concorde. It was from this period that I began to observe these beautiful flying machines in great detail, and to photograph them, but it is only in the last eight years that I have devoted myself more deeply to professional photography. planes from all angles.
With more than six Exhibitions of my photos (including the one at the Palais des Congrès in Paris for Air France) and two other self-published books (“Heure de Pointe à Roissy CDG” and “AFGeek (*) – Une affaire de passion”) I succeeded to make myself known in the world of aviation and I prepare new projects !”.
(*) AFGEEK = Passionate about Air France planes.
(Aviation24) Pol, your next book is a tribute to the wonderful A380, can you tell us more about it?
(Pol) “The idea of ??preparing a book on Air France’s Airbus A380 had germinated in my head some time before the arrival of the Covid-19, which drastically changed all sectors of the aviation industry. Far from discouraging me in its preparation, hostile reactions to the advancement of aviation have encouraged me to go further.
It is my great pleasure to present here the first volume of photos of this magnificent aircraft which marked an indelible milestone in the history of aviation. The unquestionable success of creating a flying megastructure thanks to the impeccably coordinated efforts of European teams who have demonstrated that with willpower it is possible to achieve unimaginable projects.
As a confirmed AFGeek, I must admit that I felt great pride when Air France became the first European company to operate the A380 in 2009. A pride that can be seen in the eyes of all the working staff. with this legendary aircraft… Sales agents, Technical ground staff, Engineers, Technicians, Hostesses, Stewards, Pilots,…
Times have changed in unpredictable ways and it is imperative to adapt very quickly to this new and rapidly changing context. The A380 no longer flies in the Air France fleet, but the highly professional teams of our national company remain motivated and responsive to adversity as they are when a flight is in difficulty”.
Book Printing Details
The printer is ESCOURBIAC “Made in France”, which is one of the best printers of fine books in France tells us Pol Bacquet. Book can be pre-ordered on collaborative platform, starting at 50 EUR (plus shipping) along with some ‘goodies’ such as a poster. Pre-ordering ends at the end of October 2020 as printing is scheduled mid of December 2020.
Buyer’s name will also be added to the Thank You section.
No doubt, this is a special treat, perhaps a must have, for the Aviation Geek library or just to offer as a gift during the holidays period. Readers will enjoy the size of the book, allowing the multiple photos pages to open up and reveal the A380.
Foreword is written by Captain Thierry Fontaine, Chief Pilot Air France A380 Fleet).
Book Specifications are as follow :
– Interior size: 32 x 24 cm
– Edged cover dressing on 30/10th cardboard
– Paper: Modern semi matt coated 150 g / m2
– Finish: R ° soft touch mat lamination + R ° selective U.V. varnish
– Inside 96 pages (6 notebooks of 16 pages)
– 69 photos (full page)
– Paper: Modern matt coated 170 g / m2
– Printing: Quadri recto / verso
– Blank guards reported (2×4 pages)
– Paper: Sirio Color Iris Blue 170 g / m2
– Shaping: Hardcover, sewn notebooks, straight spine repined, head and foot thread slice
(Aviation24) The conversation continues. How can our reader reach out to you and follow you? Are you on social media?
(Pol) “I am very active on social networks where I have a large number of followers for some time. I am mainly present on Twitter, Instagram and Linkedin (a little less on Facebook). On Twitter I post information that I consider important and that may be of interest to the aviation industry. On Instagram I share some of my photos which can give an idea of ??my product”.