"Love at first flight"

The A380

The AIRBUS A380, is the first full length double decker passenger cabin aircraft ever. With 54 deliveries and 236 orders from airline carriers all over the world, this aircraft is without question making history, and is definitely a game changer for the airline industry. The very first A380 was delivered to Singapore Airlines 18 months behind schedule. According to Singapore Airline officials, the delay in the delivery of their A380 was worth the wait.


In the three class configuration the A380 has room for 525 people, or up to 853 people in the economy class configurations. The A380's seating capacity, and range of 8,300 nautical miles out hauls the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner at 210-250 seats with a comparable range of 8,000-8,500 nautical miles. My thoughts are that Airbus has built a winner in the A380 and that it will be a major player in the future of the industry.

  On April 27 2005 the Airbus A380 took it's first flight.

What Airbus has banked on in the design of the A380 is the reduced weight that will be seen by the use of advanced composite materials such as carbon fiber. More than 20% of the A380 is made of these advanced materials. The A380 is 15 tons lighter than it would be if it were made entirely of metal.

The following is a list of composite materials used:

• Carbon fiber reinforced plastic 
• Glass fiber reinforced plastic
• Quartz fiber reinforced plastic
• GLARE - GLass REinforced metal laminate

The reduced weight and increased seating capacity along with it's quieter more fuel efficient engines makes this aircraft something to take notice of. However for airports to accommodate the A380 modifications will have to be made. I believe that the A380 will be taking the spotlight that Boeing's 747  has enjoyed since its introduction in the early 1970's.

How will this super jumbo effect Airbus in terms of profitability? This article explains how increased profit margins have been seen by the airlines that have taken delivery of the A380. The gamble to build the super jumbo is proven good through the airlines that are seeing increased bottom line profits by putting it into service. This increase shown by the actual service time of the A380 will drive the demand from airlines for Airbus to build more super jumbos in the future.

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