Air France says it will auction 380 of the 538 seats it has available on each of its first two A380-passenger-carrying flights.

[Credit: Air France]

The airline plans for its first A380 to leave Paris on Nov. 20, with the turn flight planned for Nov. 21. Regular commercial operations would commence on November 23.

The plan for day-to-day flights sees the A380 depart terminal 2E at Paris Charles de Gaulle at 1:30 p.m. local time and arrive at New York JFK at 3:45 p.m. The return flight is scheduled to depart at 7:10 p.m. and arrive in Paris at 8:35 a.m. At both ends, Air France will take advantage of the ability to board the aircraft on the upper and main deck.

The airline will start service with two A380s and grow the fleet to four through the spring of 2010. After New York, Dubai, Johannesburg and Tokyo are set to be the next destinations.

The seat auction is planned for October, with proceeds to go to three designated charities: a street art workshop in Marseille, a project to combat child labor in India, and an after-school program for orphans infected by AIDS.