Emirates Airbus A380
Emirates
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The Airbus A380 is the largest passenger airliner in the world, with Emirates as its biggest customer.
However, Airbus stopped production of the jumbo jet at the end of 2021 due to low demand from carriers.
Emirates president Sir Tim Clark wants Airbus to build a next-generation A380 with improved economics.
The iconic Airbus A380 is the world’s largest passenger plane and was supposed to be a revolutionary addition to the industry.An Emirates Airbus A380.
Arnold Aaron/Shutterstock.com
However, the plane’s inefficient design and high operating costs have forced airlines around the world to abandon the double-decker plane in favor of smaller, two-engine widebody aircraft, like the Airbus A350 and the upcoming Boeing 777X.Boeing 777X.
Taylor Rains/Insider
However, Emirates, which is the world’s biggest operator of the A380 and the customer most loyal to the plane, worries the A350 and B777X are too small for its business model.Delta A350-900.
Oleh Yatskiv/Shutterstock
Source: CNN
“The math tells you that you need a big unit, much bigger than we’re getting at the moment,” Emirates president Sir Tim Clark said in an August interview with CNN Travel.Crew and passengers reported hearing a large bang around 45 minutes after the Airbus A380-800 departed Dubai.
SOPA Images / Contributor / Getty
Source: CNN
“The biggest one will be the 777-9, whenever that comes to market, which in our configuration [will seat] 364 people against 484 on the A380s with our new premium economy,” he continued. “And it was 519 before, so you get where I’m coming from.”Boeing 777X flying display at the Farnborough International Air Show 2022.
Taylor Rains/Insider
Source: CNN
According to the International Aviation Transport Association (IATA), demand for air travel is expected to reach 93% of 2019’s demand in 2023. The forecast increases to 103% in 2024 and 111% in 2025.Photo taken on July 1, 2022 shows passengers at Sydney Airport in Sydney, Australia. Australia’s national airline, Qantas, and its subsidiary, Jetstar, are expecting to fly more than 350,000 domestic passengers during the first few days of July as school holidays begin in much of the country.
Hu Jingchen/Xinhua/Getty Images
Source: IATA
As demand rises, Clark wonders if airlines will be able to keep up without a plane as big as the A380, saying, “I still don’t get how you will pick up that growth curve.”Lufthansa’s Airbus A380.
Lufthansa.
Source: CNN
He specifically pointed to London Heathrow’s indecision on a third runway and Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport reducing its allowed landings and takeoffs. “So, one wonders, how would this demand be accommodated?” he said.Concept drawing of London Heathrow’s third runway.
London Heathrow
Source: CNN
Clark told CNN Travel that if the industry continues on the path it’s on with planes like the A350 and 777X, then demand will outpace supply, and fare increases will be “inevitable.”Etihad’s first A350 flight to JFK.
Etihad Airways
Source: CNN, Etihad just flew its new $366 million Airbus A350 to the US for the first time, shuttling passengers 14 hours from the UAE — see inside
However, Clark says he has a solution — he wants Airbus to make a next-generation jumbo plane that is as big, or bigger than, the already mammoth A380.
Tobias Schwarz/AFP via Getty Images
Source: CNN
“Imagine a composite wing and a predominantly composite fuselage, he said. “Imagine engines that are giving you a 20 to 25% improvement compared to what you get today. So you get a lighter aircraft, far more fuel-efficient, which ticks all the boxes as far as the environmentalists are concerned.”
Belish/Shutterstock
Source: CNN
The engine is one of the most important pieces of a new design — if Airbus decides it’s up for the challenge. Currently, the plane’s four engines are one of its biggest downfalls because they are inefficient and costly.
Airbus
Source: CNN
However, in July, Airbus revealed a new “open fan” engine on its A380 demonstrator aircraft that could slash carbon emissions by up to 20%. The A380 is the testbed for the concept, but, if successful, would be equipped on smaller jets.Airbus open fan engine.
Airbus
Source: Airbus, Airbus has chosen its A380 superjumbo jet to test a hydrogen-powered engine it hopes will fuel future zero-emission aircraft
“We’re trying to get everybody working on the big fans for the bigger aircraft as well,” Clark said.Airbus open fan engine.
Airbus
Source: CNN
“If you can get them to do what I think they could do in terms of fuel efficiency and power, then you have the makings of an airplane that would match or beat the economics of the [twin-engine aircraft] that we see today, by quite a long way,” he continued.Singapore Airlines A350-900.
KITTIKUN YOKSAP/Shutterstock
Source: CNN
Clark does not believe airlines are ready to take on this challenge after the money-losing pandemic but said, “things are starting to look a lot better, demand is back,” and “they have the ability to think hard about the future,” but Emirates is up for it.Passengers are seen at Edinburgh airport.
Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
Source: CNN
Geoff Van Klaveren, an aviation analyst and managing director of advisory at independent aviation consultancy IBA, told CNN Travel that getting Airbus to build a new jumbo just for Emirates will be challenging, but agrees the industry needs bigger planes.Boeing 777X parked at Paine Field in Everett, Washington.
AP Photo/Elaine Thompson
Source: CNN
“A very large plane is key to Emirates’ business model because 70% of their passengers connect to other flights, but I don’t think Airbus or Boeing will build one just for them,” he said.Airbus A380 MSN1.
Ben Birchall/PA Images/Contributor via Getty Images
Source: CNN
Airbus has been reluctant to invest the kind of money needed to develop a new version of the A380. In 2017, Airbus offered its customers a moderately updated version of the plane, called the A380 Plus, with room for 80 more people and new winglets for better fuel economy. So far, there have been no takers.
Airbus
Clark hopes to one day convince Airbus of the viability of a new superjumbo, but the current iconic A380 is still in service around the world.
EQRoy/Shutterstock.com
Source: CNN
During the 1970s, Airbus’ A300B was the new kid in the world of commercial airliners.
Airbus
By the early 1990s, Airbus was in a much different position. Its narrow-body A320 family, which helped pioneer civilian fly-by-wire technology, was well on its way to becoming the second-best-selling jetliner in history.
Airbus
At the same time, the company unveiled its new A330 …
Reuters/Jean Philippe Arles
… and A340 family wide-body jets. The two jets offered viable alternatives to Boeing’s 767 and 777 wide-bodies. But Airbus has set its sights on a bigger target …
AP
… the Boeing 747-400. Airbus wanted to produce an aircraft even bigger than Boeing’s latest jumbo jet — with lower operating costs.
Boeing
The result was a double-decker concept called the A3XX.
Airbus/AP
The A3XX would eventually morph into the A380 superjumbo.
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty
Before Airbus ended its production in November 2021, the A380 was built in a 1.6-million-square-foot assembly plant at Airbus’ headquarters in Toulouse, France.
Reuters/Jean Philippe Arles
At 239 feet long, 79 feet tall, and 262 feet from wingtip to wingtip, it’s a big plane.
REUTERS/Kieran Doherty
Only the Boeing 747-8 is longer, at 250 feet and two inches (although the A380 can carry many more passengers).
Boeing
According to Airbus, in a typical four-class seating arrangement, the superjumbo can carry as many as 544 passengers, with a range of more than 9,400 miles. In a high-density configuration, the A380 is certified to carry as many as 868 passengers — 538 on the main deck, 330 on the upper floor.
REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz
Power for the A380 comes from a quartet of engines from suppliers Rolls-Royce and Engine Alliance.
Hollis Johnson
The A380’s flight crew operates from a state-of-the-art glass cockpit. Like all modern Airbus jets, the aircraft is flown using a side stick, with a fly-by-wire control system.
Reuters / Nir Elias
After its maiden flight, the A380 completed a flight-test program before entering commercial service in 2007.
Getty Images
As an airliner, the A380 promised luxury and comfort on an unprecedented scale.
Hollis Johnson
The Airbus jumbo delivered, at least to airlines that wanted to take advantage of luxurious options. Premium features, such as walk-up bars…
REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer
…private lounges…
Hollis Johnson
…and bathrooms with showers set the superjumbo apart from its rivals.
Emirates
And then there are the first-class suites that Emirates offers…
AP
…the even larger first-class suites that Singapore unveiled…
Singapore Airlines
…and Etihad’s The Residence.
Etihad
It’s a 125-square-foot flying home.
Hollis Johnson
On October 15, 2007, Singapore Airlines took delivery of the first production A380.
REUTERS/Jean Philippe Aries
Soon, other global airlines took delivery of the plane, such as Korean Air…
AP/Airbus, C. Brinkmann
…Lufthansa…
Lufthansa
…Qantas…
Qantas
…British Airways…
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…Malaysia Airlines…
Malaysia Airlines/OneWorld
…Thai Airways…
Thai Airways
…Air France…
Airbus
…Qatar Airways…
REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol
…Asiana Airlines ..
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…China Southern Airways…
Airbus
…and Etihad Airways.
Etihad
Portugal’s HiFly became the first airline to operate a second-hand A380 when it took delivery of an ex-Singapore Airlines jet in the summer of 2018.
HiFly Press Kit
Japan’s All Nippon Airways became the latest airline to introduce the A380 in 2018.The livery is painted to look like a sea turtle.
JIJI PRESS/Getty Images
But no customer is more important than Emirates and its CEO Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum.Emirates CEO Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum and former Airbus CEO Tom Enders.
Emirates
Emirates accounts for 118 of the 274 total A380s ordered by airlines.
REUTERS/Christian Charisius
Emirates is a predominantly long-haul international airline. Its business is built around funneling millions of passengers through its palatial central hub in Dubai and then on to destinations around the world.
REUTERS/Jumana El Heloueh
As a result, Emirates needs an aircraft that can carry a lot of passengers for very long distances — a perfect job for the A380.
REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz
But few airlines use Emirates’ strategy. These days, the trend in the industry is to offer direct flights using smaller long-range aircraft.
REUTERS/Phil Noble
Instead of Emirates’ dedicated hub-and-spoke route model, most airlines have moved towards more point-to-point flying. This has allowed smaller, more efficient twinjets like the Boeing 777…
Boeing
…and the Airbus A330 to become the dominant forces in long-haul flying.
Hawaiian Airlines
Smaller next-generation composite wide-bodies like the Boeing 787 Dreamliner offer airlines more flexibility and less risk. According to the CEO of Qantas, Alan Joyce, it costs less to operate two Dreamliners than it does to fly a single A380.
Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider
As a result, the A380 never developed into a true workhorse like the 747. Instead, it has been relegated to a niche aircraft economically feasible only on routes with heavy airport congestion.
Qantas
Similarly, Boeing has similarly all but given up on the 747-8 as a passenger jet, which will end production in 2022.
Boeing
Unlike the Boeing 747, the A380 freighter never came to fruition, so Airbus was never able to subsist on sales of a cargo variant while it waited for passenger-plane sales to rebound.
REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer
In January 2018, Emirates ordered 20 additional A380s that would have kept the A380 production line moving for the next decade.
Airbus
However, that deal fell apart. In the end, even the A380’s most loyal customer couldn’t hold on any longer. Emirates cut 39 A380s from its original order of 162 planes and bought smaller twin-engine Airbus A330neos and A350s instead.Emirates A330.
InsectWorld/Shutterstock
In 2017, Singapore Airlines became the first airline to retire an A380, the first of five to be taken out of service. One has been scrapped so far, while another has entered service with leasing company Hi-Fly.
REUTERS/Tim Chong
In November 2019, Air France became the second. The airline quietly took the plane out of service after a flight from Johannesburg to Paris. The airline previously announced it would retire its 10 A380s by 2022.
DANIEL SLIM/AFP/Getty Images
Through March and April 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic has led to sharply reduced travel demand all around the world, numerous airlines grounded their A380 fleets, including Korean Air, Lufthansa, and Qantas. Other airlines have grounded most of the planes, electing to keep just one or two in service.
AP/Airbus, C. Brinkmann
Air France decided to speed up its retirement of the fleet due to the pandemic, pulling them from service in May 2020, two years earlier than it had planned. It was the first airline to retire the plane type due to the pandemic.FILE PHOTO: Air France Airbus A380 retirement flight near Paris
Reuters
Malaysia Airlines, Thai Airways, and Etihad Airways also decided to stop flying the A380 after the pandemic.An Etihad Airways Airbus A380.
Fasttailwind/Shutterstock.com
Source: Insider
However, not all airlines were ready to say goodbye to the iconic double-decker just yet. China Southern only briefly grounded the jet between February 10 and March 24, 2020, according to Cirium data.
STR/AFP/Getty Images
Source: Insider
Meanwhile, Emirates unsurprisingly relaunched the jet soon after, flying the jet from London to Paris in July 2020.An Emirates Airbus A380 and an American Airlines A321.
Philip Pilosian / Shutterstock.com
About a year and a half later, the Dubai-based operator received the last-ever A380 to be produced, marking a significant milestone for the airline.The final Airbus A380 bound for Emirates.
Airbus-Lutz Borck
The final A380s will have a 4-cabin configuration with Emirates’ sophisticated Premium Economy section, complete with wide, spacious seats, a leg rest, and greater recline.Emirates A380 Premium Economy
Emirates
In addition to China Southern and Emirates, Korean Air has also decided to unretire the double-decker jet, flying it for the first time since the pandemic from Seoul to New York-JFK on June 27.
David Slotnick/Business Insider
Source: Insider
Meanwhile, Qatar relaunched operations of the A380 in December 2021…
Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto/Getty
Source: Insider
…and Singapore Airlines, which relaunched the plane in November 2021…An Airbus A380-841 airplane of Singapore Airlines takes-off from Zurich airport
Thomson Reuters
Source: Insider
…Qantas in January 2022, with CEO Alan calling the A380 the “perfect vehicle” for high-demand cities like Heathrow and Los Angeles…A Qantas Airbus A380.
TIM WIMBORNE/Reuters
Source: Insider
…British Airways, flying overseas from London to places like Los Angeles and Dubai…
Airbus
Source: Insider
…All Nippon Airways, which relaunched flights from Tokyo to Honolulu on July 1.An All Nippon Airways Airbus A380.
Airbus
Source: Insider
Germany-based Lufthansa announced in June that it was bringing the plane back in 2023.A Lufthansa Airbus A380.
Thomas Pallini/Business Insider
Even though the A380 program ended in 2021, and the first few have already been retired, the planes are expected to fly on for years to come. So, if you’re still hoping to fly on one, you have plenty of time left.
Airbus
Previous versions of this story were written by Benjamin Zhang and David Slotnick.
Read the original article on Business Insider
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