Fifteen years ago the A380 entered commercial service completing its first commercial flight with Singapore Airlines from Singapore to Sydney. Now as the world's largest passenger plane I take a look back at how this wonder of engineering came about, how it's doing today and the plans for its future.
It was as far back as 1988 that engineers began looking at the possibility of an aircraft that could carry 600-800 passengers. Studies concluded that compared to Boeing's 747, a new plane should have more capacity, increased range, be more efficient (up to 80% less operating cost), burn less fuel and be quieter. As a result, the A380 was built to compete with the B747 which was very successful. The name 'A380' was chosen as '8' represents the two decks and it was also considered a lucky number in some Asian countries where the plane was being marketed. Initially, Airbus received 50 form orders from 6 launch customers. It was unveiled in Toulouse on 18th January 2005 with it taking its maiden flight on the 27th of April 2005. Airbus hoped this new plane could alleviate traffic congestion at busy airports and transport more passengers on fewer flights. Overall this was a $25 billion investment on behalf of Airbus.
The A380 has a length of 72.72m, a height of 24.08m and a wingspan of just under 80m. It could hold more than 500 passengers over its two decks-with the two decks the same size as 3 tennis courts. The horizontal stabiliser is 30.4m wide - this was just under the wingspan of an A320. It had a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of 575 tonnes and a maximum landing weight (MLW) of around 394 tonnes. The plane had a 22-wheel array of landing gear. Two wing landing gears with a 4-wheel bogie assembly, 2 body landing gears with a 6-wheel bogie assembly and a nose landing gear with 2 wheels.
Many airlines looked into the A380 and operators are shown in the table below as well as the number of aircraft.
Emirates 123
Singapore 24
Lufthansa 14
British Airways 12
Airfrance 10
Etihad 10
Korean 10
Qantas 10
Asiana 6
Malaysia 6
Thai 6
ANA 3
Other airlines also looked into purchasing the A380 including Virgin Atlantic which I believe would have opened up interesting competition with British Airways.
Today, Emirates is by far the largest operator of the A380 ordering 123. The second largest order was 24 with Singapore Airlines. At the time of writing, Emirates is operating 121 A380s. Emirates has committed to the aircraft with it forming the backbone of its fleet along with the B777.
Airbus had planned to introduce other versions of the plane. At the 2017 Paris air show, Airbus announced a 'neo' version called the 'A380 plus'. This version would include winglets and other wing refinements for up to 4% in fuel burn savings. It would have an increased MTOW of 578 tonnes and carry up to 80 more passengers or fly 300nm further. Additionally, there would be longer maintenance check intervals which would lessen aircraft maintenance costs and increase aircraft availability. As well as an A380 plus, Airbus planned a cargo version initially launched with FedEx and UPS. It originally had 27 orders but the idea was shelved in 2007.
Despite promising signs, the A380 is not as successful as thought it would be. The plane entered service at a time of a global recession with the financial crisis and rising oil prices making airlines reluctant to buy a 4-engine aircraft. The order book was not what Airbus was hoping for as airlines prefer smaller, more fuel-efficient twin jets flying point to point. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic has meant that many airlines have put aircraft in storage and for some airlines, the plane may never return to the skies.
For airlines having the A380 can cause more problems than it solves. The A380 is restricted to only a few airports and in the US and Canada, only 16 airports are capable of accommodating it. Airports have to have wider runways and taxiways, duel boarding bridges and more gate space. It is estimated that New York JFK spend $175 million on airport upgrades. Additionally, the airline market is not the same all year round. While in the summer airlines have no problem filling up the big plane it is hard to fill a double-decker plane in off-peak seasons such as winter meaning the A380 is only truly beneficial to airlines for part of the year. Airlines are looking for more fuel-efficient options such as the B787 or A350. While the A380 can carry 34% more passengers than the B777, it costs 60% more to fly meaning airlines could operate two B777s instead of 1 A380.
Overall although with some airlines the future of this big plane looks bleak it truly is a marvel of modern engineering. With current world problems, it may soon be that Emirates is the only A380 operator left in the skies.
Have you ever flown on an A380, if so what airline was it with? Do you think there will ever be another plane like the A380?
Thanks for reading. Please feel free to contact me at geekofairlines@gmail.com
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