A380: up, up, and away

[NismoZ]

As far as avoiding A380s on the ground...airports that can accommodate them makes for a pretty short list, I think.

[Steve99]

so when are they going to require the things to have "WIDE LOAD" painted all over them?
So the buildings can get out of the way?

[stroker]

So the buildings can get out of the way?

good point.

[indyfan31]

A friend of mine (at Boeing oddly enough) suggested these ...

http://www.cruisermotorsports.com/Curb%20Feelers.jpg

[devilmaster]

I kinda liken this situation to the couch and the door argument.

Two guys try and work a big couch through the door. They try, then try again, then try a different way, and in the end accept that maybe they have to remove trim off the door to get it in.

This plane is so big it doesn't just require a new jetway, it requires new airports. It hits stuff on the taxiways, it hits stuff in the terminal area. When announced, I'll bet that at least 90% of airports where she would be supposed to fly couldn't accomodate it.

Thinking outside the box, I suppose looking back on it, could the 380 have been built with carrier style folding wingtips? (prob not, but i'm not an aircraft engineer).

I don't feel sorry for airbus if the 380 hurts them because I'm sure in this design somewhere, someone said, 'this doesn't fit at current airports' and then someone said, 'well, we'll force the airports to fit them'.

I would suspect that the improved 747 will sell better in the long run. Tested airframe, established mechanics and parts, fits airports that the original 747 did...

final thought, the 380 probably fits nicely into Carlin's whole 'Bigger d**k theory' bit.

[devilmaster]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/52/Giant_planes_comparison.svg/429px-Giant_planes_comparison.svg.png

[G.]

Thinking outside the box, I suppose looking back on it, could the 380 have been built with carrier style folding wingtips? (prob not, but i'm not an aircraft engineer).

How about hardpoints with missile pods. Take care of those pesky buildings.

[TravelGal]

From today's agent briefing.

Another Engine Problem With An A380 Superjumbo

An A380 superjumbo operated by Singapore Airlines was forced to return to Singapore airport after experiencing engine problems about 20 minutes into the flight, a spokeswoman for the airline said Tuesday.

One of the plane's four engines shut down after encountering 'surge and high vibration' as the plane was ascending on its way to Hong Kong late Monday. The A380 with 368 passengers and 21 crew on board returned to Singapore and landed safely about one hour after takeoff and no one was injured. This is the latest in a series of troubles involving the A380 superjumbo equipped with engines by Rolls-Royce. In November, an A380 flown by Australian airline Qantas was forced to a safe emergency landing in Singapore after an engine explosion. Qantas took their A380's out of service until they were satisfied the the engines were safe.

[dando]

Ruh-roh:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2084242/Airbus-A380-Worlds-biggest-planes-sky-worthy-say-engineers.html

-Kevin

[Don Quixote]

Ruh-roh:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2084242/Airbus-A380-Worlds-biggest-planes-sky-worthy-say-engineers.html

-KevinNothing to see here. Just a few pesky cracks.

[KLang]

Later this year Lufthansa will start flying those things into Houston. :yuck: Of course first the airport needs to make at least $30 million in 'improvements' to support them.

[dando]

Here we go again...or not if yer flying on one of these pigs.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/bd40545c-780a-11e1-b437-00144feab49a.html#ixzz1qQRVwhEZ

NOTE: I was going to include some text from the article, but the following text magically appeared in the excerpt I copied:


Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/bd40545c-780a-11e1-b437-00144feab49a.html#ixzz1qQS0QZr0

Interesting.

-Kevin

[cameraman]

The Financial Times wants their money...

[nrc]

Right, then the link says "no you may not see this".

I assume that this is the story you're talking about. New engine shutdown issue, crack problem will take years to sort out.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/27/uk-singaporeair-a-idUSLNE82Q01V20120327

[dando]

Right, then the link says "no you may not see this".


Niiiice. :shakehead Shoulda checked the linky. :saywhat:

I was actually linking to a story about the Who Deys re-signing Manny Lawson... :gomer: ;)

-Kevin

[SteveH]

The truth about the Airbus A380: Things you didn't know about world's first 'superjumbo' (http://www.msn.com/en-nz/travel/news/the-truth-about-the-airbus-a380-things-you-didnt-know-about-worlds-first-superjumbo/ar-AArefHI)

[chop456]

He's dead, Jim.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-47231504

[nrc]

Wow. The sweet irony of the 747 outlasting the 380. I think it will be interesting to see if they have a decent service life or if carriers abandon them because the operational costs go up after the production line shutdown.

[SteveH]

Didn't airports have to invest in infrastructure upgrades to service this plane? Obviously the planes will continue in service for several years, but at some point they will begin to disappear.

[cameraman]

Didn't airports have to invest in infrastructure upgrades to service this plane? Obviously the planes will continue in service for several years, but at some point they will begin to disappear.

Better part of a 20 year life span on those planes

[gjc2]

Wow. The sweet irony of the 747 outlasting the 380. I think it will be interesting to see if they have a decent service life or if carriers abandon them because the operational costs go up after the production line shutdown.

I remember reading that Boeing's original plan was to build about 600 units total of the 747; now, fifty years later they've build over 1,500 and and still counting.

[gjc2]

As far as avoiding A380s on the ground...airports that can accommodate them makes for a pretty short list, I think.

The A380 doesn’t seem to need extra runway. I work about five miles from the end of JFK runways 22 left & right. They’re the two shortest runways at the airport and we see A380s on final all the time.

[SteveH]

From 2007

Denver Would Need Improvements to Handle the A380 (https://www.aviationpros.com/home/news/10391142/denver-would-need-improvements-to-handle-the-a380)

[SteveH]

Private cabins, flying bars, and hundreds of seats—farewell, Airbus A380 (https://arstechnica.com/cars/2019/02/private-cabins-flying-bars-and-hundreds-of-seats-farewell-airbus-a380/)

[gjc2]

Private cabins, flying bars, and hundreds of seats—farewell, Airbus A380 (https://arstechnica.com/cars/2019/02/private-cabins-flying-bars-and-hundreds-of-seats-farewell-airbus-a380/)

The ideal of a $20,000 plane ride is a fad, it will get old.

[TravelGal]

Hadn't noticed this thread. It's not like they aren't going to be flying. Two different articles from last week's ARTA ENews for Travel Agents and an overview. Sorry for the length.

February 14. IRLIVE reports Qatar Airways reveals A380 retirement plans. Akbar Al Baker, Qatar Airways' CEO took delivery of their first A380 in 2014. Qatar Airways has a total of 10 Airbus A380s in their fleet. Currently Qatar Airways uses the A380s for their flights to Bangkok, Frankfurt, Guangzhou, London, Melbourne, Paris, Perth, and Sydney. Aviation Analyst reports that Qatar Airways plans to retire their A380s at the ten year mark, meaning that they'll start to retire A380s in 2024. Qatar Airways has one of the youngest fleets in the world. Qatar Airways' average fleet age is under six years, and their average A380 age at this point is under 3.5 years, meaning they have the youngest A380 fleet of any airline. Their A380s have been delivered between September 2014 and April 2018. So it's not like retirement for Qatar Airways' A380s is imminent, but it is interesting to see that as of now the plan is for them to retire these planes at the 10 year mark, and they don't see much chance of the plane being picked up on the secondhand market. Qatar Airways' plan is to replace the A380s with the 777X. Qatar Airways has 60 of these on order, including 10 777-8s and 50 777-9s. These planes will be high capacity and long range, and should work well for the airline.
Qatar Airways has the world's best business class, and by comparison their first class is just alright. It's only available on the A380, and it's actually less private than their Qsuites business class.

Previously:
Qantas Cancels Its Remaining A380 Order February 13, 2019
Airlineratings reports Qantas has formally canceled its eight remaining Airbus A380 orders, leaving it with a fleet of 12 as technology and fuel economy catch up with the superjumbo. The long-expected cancellation had been flagged previously and comes as Airbus looks to end the production of the giant of the skies after key customer Emirates indicated it would swap orders for more fuel-efficient Airbus aircraft such as the twin-engine A350 or A330. The move means Airbus will update its order book to reflect the cancellation. "Following discussions with Airbus, Qantas has now formalized its decision not to take eight additional A380s that were ordered in 2006," Qantas said in a statement. "These aircraft have not been part of the airline's fleet and network plans for some time. "Qantas remains committed to a major upgrade of its existing A380s, which begins in mid-calendar 2019 and will see us operate the aircraft well into the future." In the long-term, Qantas is expected to replace the A380 and the Boeing 747 with a mix of Boeing 787s and either the Boeing 777X or A350. Another 747 will leave the fleet this month, leaving it with nine, and the last aircraft is scheduled to leave in 2020. The problem for the A380 is that technology has flown past it and while passengers love it, accountants don't. Possibly that is the simplest explanation as to why the A380 superjumbo appears to be struggling to stay in production.
Only one airline, Emirates, has really made the aircraft work the way its builders intended with flash bars and showers. And that interior has been driven by one man, Emirates president Sir Tim Clark, whose vision of mass travel, has propelled Emirates to the world's largest international airline. But technology has left the A380s behind and changing traffic patterns have also thrown out the business case of giant hubs. Since the A380 was designed in the late 1990s, much lighter, all-composite aircraft have emerged like the 787 and A350 that burn about 34 percent less fuel per passenger. As of December 2018, 234 had been delivered and of those 109 were for Emirates. The remaining firm order book is 53 for Emirates and 3 for ANA. The balance of 31 is considered lapsed.

From an excellent overview at https://www.aviationcv.com/aviation-blog/2019/airbus-cancels-airbus-a380-program, "no more orders are going to be accepted. Emirates reduced their order of the A380s by 39 aircraft and Airbus will end the production of the A380 in 2021. Airbus cited this reason why the program is not sustainable anymore, as no more airlines placed orders. They will deliver the final Super Jumbo to Emirates. When production ends, the manufacturer will still maintain and support existing A380s."

[chop456]

Up to Four Airbus A380’s to be Scrapped in Knock (https://flyinginireland.com/2020/02/up-to-four-airbus-a380s-to-be-scrapped-in-knock)

One in the air right now. :deadmanwalking:

[SteveH]

You Can Now Own Part Of The First Airbus A380 To Be Retired (https://simpleflying.com/own-part-of-airbus-a380/)

[SteveH]

https://twitter.com/ilove_aviation/status/1666460144832503814?s=20

[TravelGal]

https://twitter.com/ilove_aviation/status/1666460144832503814?s=20

Brett Snyder AKA The Cranky Flier has his "Cranky Dorkfest" every year. You go to "the famous In-N-Out Burger" (actually the park across the driveway) and watch planes like this arrive. It's thrilling actually. Next one is scheduled for September 9. It's grown a lot over the years. Airline execs are there. There are usually other events surrounding it. People come from all over the country. I can give you his email if you're interested in more information. :thumbup: