Airbus Industrie A380...... ....... .....................................................................Specifications
The prototype Airbus A380, registered appropriately F-WWOW, first flew on the 27th of April 2005..
The 5 uble deck Airbus A380 is the most ambitious civil aircraft program yet. W It provides seating for 525 people in a typical three-class configuration or up to 853 people in an all-economy class configuration.hen first flew on the 27th of April 2005 it ening ervice in March 2006, the A380 will be the world's largest airliner, easily eclipsinghe world's largest airliner, easily eclipsing Boeing's 747, although both the Airbus 340-600 and Boeing 747-8 are longer.
Airbus first began studies on a very large 500 seat airliner in the early 1990s. The European manufacturer saw developing a competitor and successor to the Boeing 747 as a strategic play to end Boeing's dominance of the very large airliner market and round out Airbus' product line-up. Airbus began engineering development work on such an aircraft, then designated the A3XX, in June 1994. Airbus studied numerous design configurations for the A3XX and gave serious consideration to a single deck aircraft which would have seated 12 abreast and twin vertical tails. However Airbus settled upon a twin deck configuration, largely because of the significantly lighter structure required. Key design aims included the ability to use existing airport infrastructure with little modifications to the airports, and direct operating costs per seat 15-20% less than those for the 747-400. With 49% more floor space and only 35% more seating than the previous largest aircraft, Airbus is ensuring wider seats and aisles for more passenger comfort. Using the most advanced technologies, the A380 is also designed to have 10-15% more range, lower fuel burn and emissions, and less noise. The A380 features an advanced version of the Airbus common two crew cockpit, with pull-out keyboards for the pilots, extensive use of composite materials such as GLARE (an aluminium/glass fibre composite), and four 302 to 374kN (68,000 to 84,000lb) class Rolls-Royce Trent 900 or Engine Alliance (General Electric/Pratt & Whitney) GP7200 turbofans now under development. Several A380 models were planned: the basic aircraft is the 525 seat A380-800 (launch customer Emirates). The 590 ton MTOW 10,410km (5620nm) A380-800F freighter was to have been capable of carrying a 150 tonne payload and was to have entered service in 2008 with launch customer FedEx.The entry into commercial service of the first A380-800 with Singapore Airlines, which had been scheduled for March 2006 was posponed some what due to manufacturing problems and this in turn lead to the freezing of further development of the A380F Freighter. Customer order cancellations were the logical follow on.
Potential future models may include the shortened, 480 seat A380-700, and the stretched, 656 seat, A380-900. On receipt of the required 50th launch order commitment, the Airbus A3XX was renamed A380 and officially launched on December 19, 2000. In early 2001 the general configuration design was frozen, and metal cutting for the first A380 component occurred on January 23, 2002, at Nantes in France. In 2002 more than 6000 people were working on A380 development. On January 18, 2005, the first Airbus A380 was officially revealed in a lavish ceremony, attended by 5000 invited guests including the French, German, British and Spanish president and prime ministers, representing the countries that invested heavily in the 10-year, 10 billion+ ($13 billion+) aircraft program, and the CEOs of the 14 A380 customers, who had placed firm orders for 149 aircraft by then. The out of sequence A380 designation was chosen as the "8" represents the cross-section of the twin decks. Apart from the prime contractors in France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain, components for the A380 airframe are also manufactured by industral partners in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States. A380 final assembly is taking place in Toulouse, France, with interior fitment in Hamburg, Germany. Major A380 assemblies are transported to Toulouse by ship, barge and road. On July 24, 2000, Emirates became the first customer making a firm order commitment, followed by Air France, International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC), Singapore Airlines, Qantas and Virgin Atlantic. Together these companies completed the 50 orders needed to launch the programme. Later, the following companies also ordered the A380: FedEx (the launch customer for the A380-800F freighter), Qatar Airways, Lufthansa, Korean Air, Malaysia Airlines, Etihad Airways, Thai Airways and UPS. Four prototypes will be used in a 2200 hours flight test programme lasting 15 months.
In 2010 Airbus announced a new A380 build standard, incorporating a strengthened air frame structure and a 1.5° increase in wing twist. Airbus will also offer, as an option, an improved maximum take-off weight, thus providing a better payload/range performance. Maximum take-off weight is increased by 4 t (8,800 lb), to 573 t (1,263,000 lb) and the range is extended by 100 nautical miles (190 km); this is achieved by reducing flight loads, partly from optimising the fly-by-wire control systems. British Airways and Emirates are the first two customers to have received this new option in 2013. Emirates has asked for an update with new engines for the A380 to be competitive with the Boeing 777X around 2020, and Airbus is studying 11-abreast seating. In 2012 Airbus announced another increase in the A380's maximum take-off weight to 575 t (1,268,000 lb), a 6 t hike on the initial A380 variant and 2 t higher than the increased-weight proposal of 2010. It will stretch the range by some 150 nautical miles (280 km), taking its capability to around 8,350 nautical miles (15,460 km) at current payloads. The higher-weight version was offered for introduction to service early in 2013.
On 11 December 2014, after slower than expected orders for the aircraft in 2014, Harald Wilhelm, the company's Chief Finance Officer, voiced the possibility to end the program in 2018. His statement was met by protests from customers and a fall in share prices. Airbus responded to the protests by playing down the possibility the A380 would be abandoned, instead emphasizing that enhancing the airplane was a likelier scenario. On 22 December 2014 the cancellation of the A380 program was ruled out completely. Airbus reported that it would break even in 2015 but also that the A380 was introduced a decade too early. While no longer losing money on each plane sold, Airbus admits that the company will never recoup the $25 billion investment it made in the project. As of June 2015 , Airbus had received 317 firm orders and delivered 165 aircraft; Emirates has the most A380s on order with 140 and 60 delivered. The break-even for the A380 was initially supposed to be reached by selling 270 units, but due to the delays and the falling exchange rate of the US dollar, it increased to 420 units. As of March 2010[ the average list price of an A380 was US$375.3 million (about €261 million or £229 million), depending on equipment installed. As of July 2012 this list price was US$390 million, but negotiated discounts made the actual prices much lower, and industry experts questioned whether the A380 project would ever pay for itself.
As of mid-2015, several airlines have expressed their interest in selling their aircraft, partially coinciding with expiring lease contracts for the aircraft. Several A380 which are in service have been offered for lease to other airlines. The suggestion has prompted concerns on the potential for new sales for Airbus.
On June 15, 2015, it was reported that Airbus was discussing a stretched version of the A380 with a half dozen customers, offering 50 seats more than the original series 800. This aircraft, which could also feature new engines, would accommodate an additional fifty passengers. Were this "A380neo" to be built, it would be delivered to customers sometime in 2020 or 2021. On July 9, 2015, Business Insider reported that Airbus had filed a patent application for an A380 "combi" which would offer the flexibility of not only carrying both passengers and cargo, but being rapidly reconfigurable to expand or contract the cargo area and passenger area as needed for a given flight.
Singapore Airlines was one of the first arlines to order the A380, with the first delivery scheduled for October 2006. Actually this aircraft seen here with it's French Registration F-WWSA (it became 9V-SKA) was the first delivered in October 2007. The delay was due to development and manufacturing problems. The aircraft is a series 841 and has the C/N 3. She entered service on the Singapore to Sydney route in October 2007 as the first A380 to fly commerically, tickets having been sold on the internet.
Emirates, the launch customer for the A380-800, has firm orders for 140 aircraft, of which as of June 2015, 60 have been delivered. This aircraft with the French registration F-WWSH first flew in September 2007 and is a series 861.
VH-OQB (C/N 15) is the second aircraft of the type for Qantas Australia and is a series 842. She was delivered on the 15th od December 2008 and entered service on the 22nd of December 2008 on the Sydney to Los Angeles route. She has been named after Qantas' first managhing director, Hudson Fysh. The airline has 20 aircraft on order.
Korean Air is one of only two airlines to have ordered the A380-800 and the Boeing 747-8, the other being Lufthansa. This aircraft, a series 861, HL7611, C/N 39 first flew on the 01.11.2010 and was finally delivered to the airline in June 2011. Note the missing two windows in the forward fuselage. The aircraft is seen here as she appeared at Tokyo Narita airport on 19.06.2011.