The A380: A New Way to Travel?

Congratulations to Emirates!

Of course, all old hat to us in Australasia. We've had, dealt with, and forgotten the A380 hype over the last year already.

Sorry, when I fly I want to be on a smaller plane. I prefer a smaller plane from 20+ years of flying weekly. Faster on, faster off and shorter wait for luggage. I will, if the option is there, schedule around a larger plane to take something smaller. This, of course, is an opinion.

The UAE will trip and fall hard like every other developing nation has in history after a prolonged boom. After all, when the oil runs out, all you are left with is sand and a ghost town.

I flew the SIA A380 Sydney-Singapore-Sydney last January. I was in economy; both downstairs and upstairs. The A380 is terrific; passengers will love it. The more you know about the plane, the more you will appreciate it.

Nice airplane but will Airbus ever make a cent off this thing? NO, NO, NO!!! To date, it would take the sale of 515 airplanes to cover the R&D cost and late payment penalties that Airbus has paid, not to mention the future late payments they will continue to make. This airplane is no more than a farce in the business world and yet the media seems to play it up to be much greater than it is. No American airlines are buying it, that should tell you something right there. To date, Airbus has only sold 200 of these behemoth, unnecessary aircraft and will NEVER reach the goal of at least 515 to break even. And in these days and times of exhorbitant fuel prices, unless Emirates or Singapore or Quantas fills these airplanes to capacity on each and EVERY flight, they will lose money hand over fist. Sorry, but your article is way off base and to keep touting this airplane as something special is a joke. We in the industry know and understand that an airplane is not successful unless it makes money. The A380 will NEVER make a cent and will only suck the investment dollars and euro's right out of the pocket of those investors.

Erik

US airlines cannot afford the 380 at the moment even if they want to....
Even the 747 when it came out almost 40 years ago was regarded as a white elephant,too big, etc...
Well the rest is history...
I would not write the A380 off...

Regarding Erik's comments that the A380 project is currently a loss forgets that both the parent company of Airbus (EADS) and Emirates are both heavily linked to their respective governments, where the idea of profit/loss takes a very different shape. I can't be sure if the breakeven point is 515 although I recall that it's a very large number such as that. I think that the strength of the A380 will come from its long term sales and operations. After all, there was a recent study that due to rising congestion, the A380 will become more popular. This is a very similar argument to the Boeing 747 upon its entry into service. I still think it's a beautiful plane and I can't wait to try it out. That and the Boeing 787.

Ref: Frequent Flyer:

To claim EADS is allied to its associated goverments is undeniable as it is to say the same of Boeing & the US goverment. Importantly it's a collaborative technically advanced project that's finally gone well. Congratulation to LAX being ready to handle this next stage in long range four engined travel, thank you.

I know that the A380 is the place with latest technology. But my question is: Is it sufficient enough? I am planning to fly with Emirates this fall ....

With the number of passengers increasing annually and airports around the world becoming increasingly congested, I think that every international airline will benefit from having a few A380s on their fleet especially for flights on their busiest routes and into busy hubs. I think the A380 will break even and will be around for a long time,... until something bigger (and much more efficient) comes along.

When was the last time you boarded a jumbo jet and said, "You know, what this plane needs in 400 more passengers."?

Imagine the queues for luggage as 4 land concurrently.

No thanks!

As expected, most Americans can't stand the fact that Europe will lead the way in this industry. Imagine if Boeing had come up with a 'B380' first. I guess then that would have been the best that the industry ever got. Losers...you Americans....

Lets see...I want to wait for 550 more people to board or de-plane vs. 400.

I don't care if they have a car lot on board, you can HAVE IT!

I would go for small and SPEED every time. The company that launches Supersonic...again. Will be the winner. The technology is there. When I need to be in Rome from LA I want to go as fast as possible, not lumbering along on a big fat Blimp.

Keep it, not interested!

Will Keiler...you are sadly mistaken and your inferiority complex is on display. Big is not always better.

Do you actually think that IF...America wanted a VLA and believed that was were the profits will be, would not have built one?

Do not forget, Airbus is currently trying to be all things to everybody. That does not bode well for business savvy.

It's very sad to see US vs Europe. The A380 is a beautiful plane and people should be in awe as we were with Concorde.

America should understand that good engineering is not limited to the USA and that without German engineers they would not have had a space program.

I'm from the UK by the way.

It is interesting that there is no mention in the article or comments on what the A380 or other airliners are going to use for fuel as the avtur derived from the declining supply of oil becomes really scarce.

Nice article and very interesting comments.

I think very large aircraft are good because they can carry a large number of people at a lesser cost. In this period of downturn, when people who have to travel are looking for the most value-for-money options, planes like A380s will only become more popular.

Some people said that they'd rather travel in smaller planes. Such planes are only suited for smaller routes. And they are costly on a per km basis.

And we're a long way from the supersonic jet phase.

And the US vs EU thing. Just appreciate the plane leaving this issue aside.

Wishing Airbus a great luck for its A350 and Boeing for its B787. I really hope it flies next year.

re "Do you actually think that IF...America wanted a VLA and believed that was where the profits will be, would not have built one?"

Free market capitalism is not that simple. The development costs are so huge, and potential market so small, only one manufacturer can profit from a plane this size.
If Boeing had built one too and got into a price war with Airbus, they would both have lost their shirts.

There are ~1,405 747s in operation which will need to be replaced eventually, and almost nobody wants to buy Boeings 'new' 747-8. And the A380 Freighter is yet to be built.

Erik raises some valid points about the business argument for a plane like the A380, several of which have been addressed in the comments.

True, no U.S. airline has ordered any but that is because they are so cash-strapped and still enamored of small-jet frequencies over big-jet density, despite the troubles caused by the Northeast U.S.'s severe congestion. Still, beyond the airlines' cash crunch, the A380 doesn't work economically in the U.S., right now, and maybe it never will. As for whether the plane is profitable, have no doubt that it will be for the major international carriers who craved it: Emirates, Singapore, Qantas and Lufthansa. It will be a boost to their bottom lines.

As for the deep costs Airbus/EADS is suffering on the thing, I think we often forget how much pride people, ie, governments, experience in engineering feats. It is a jet, but it is also a proud achievement for the countries who contributed to its creation. That counts far more than money to many.

A-380 is a passing fad. As we enter the era of space tourism, we will develop faster craft for getting us from Earth to the Moon. That technology will trickle down to faster pasenger jets ala the Concorde. Rather than ferrying a huge number of people all at once, we will have more frequent flights to more places making life more convenient for business travellers. As the economy takes a nosedive, leisure travellers will look at cost effective options such as cruise lines.

Where is the beef for passengers, passengers, and passengers like me? Is is going to be cheaper to fly, more convinient to board, more space to sit, and easier to pick up the luggage and leave early? Where is the innovative solution for travellers?

If it ain't Boeing, I ain't going! The 747 was conceived and designed almost 40 yrs to go and still rules the skies. Airbus should've made a SST learning off the Concorde experience, instead, they publicly displayed their inferiority complex!

The A380 has been on sale for 9 years and sold barely 200. Do the math. Boeing had a double decker on the drawing board in the late 60's and discovered that it would not sell. They were right and Airbus will painfully learn that too. European taxpayer will pick up the tab, but they don't seem to mind.