Airbus 380

**minnow** · 09-13-2009, 07:32 PM

Wow, almost a year with no new posts, thought I'd spruce things up a bit

Has anybody flown on or seen the new Airbus 380 ? I saw a Qantas A380 at Los Angeles a while ago. From airport hotel area, I caught a rear quartering view of one on approach to landing. From that angle, it really didn't look that much different from a 747, save for more distinctive double deck, and a pointier tailcone. I was rather surprised, given that A380 has a 50' wider wingspan, and is ~ 1/3 heavier than a 747. I guess that a direct head on or side view would be more impressive.

Your experiences?

**minnow** · 10-31-2010, 06:27 PM

Sound of crickets..........................................

I guess no SWers have flown on or seen Airbus A380. Nor are they likely to, unless going to/from UAE , Singapore, or Australia. The other 2 countries airlines operating the A380 France and Germany, comprise a very small fraction (4 and 3, respectively) of the total fleet there.

Its an interesting commentary on the times ( though, admitedly a narrow slice look) that the primary countries operating the worlds largest airliner are the United Arab Emirates ( Emirates Airlines- 11 aircraft), and Singapore (13 aircraft) out of the 37 currently operating. None are operated by USA, nor do any US airlines have any on order. (ILFC, a US based aircraft leasing company has some on order, but won't get the first one until 2014, that could be leased anywhere).

By now, there's plenty of You Tube clips on the A380, the most interesting ones I've found: (YT search words, rather than typing link): "Singapore Airlines Interior Cabin Video", "Emirates A380 Pilot Cockpit", "A380 KLAX 24R Manual Landing", "Qantas A380 takeoff viewed from tail fin camera".

Comment about last one: A380 has tail mounted camera that runs, and can display on individual passenger screen as well as cockpit screen. Additionally, cockpit screen can display a nose gear mounted camera sight in conjunction with the former for assistance in taxiing around tight spots.

Finally, a link to a 360 degree panoramic display of A380 cockpit: http://www.gillesvidal.com/blogspano/cockpit1.htm

**gatre** · 11-03-2010, 10:57 AM

2 threads in the same year?
everybody calm down.

**gatre** · 11-04-2010, 08:07 AM

clearly you jinxed the plane.

Mention it no more.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/as_singap...ntas_emergency

**minnow** · 11-06-2010, 08:36 PM

Originally Posted by gatre

2 threads in the same year?
everybody calm down.

Originally Posted by gatre

clearly you jinxed the plane.

Mention it no more.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/as_singap...ntas_emergency

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

IMO, you're the jinxer- Jinxed both the plane and the airline. Especially your mention of 2 threads in same year= 2 incidents on 2 different types of aircraft on same airline in same area. I'll be watching your posts carefully

from now on.

Seriously, several aircraft events happen daily worldwide with a good outcome that don't get the publicity that these 2 got. Built in safety margins do work. www.avherald.com for incident recaps.

The Jackal · 12-11-2011, 07:57 AM

That is a nice aircraft. I have always liked the 2-story feature of Boeing-747. So it is nice to see Airbus-380 accommodating that. It seems like the 2nd story of Airbus-380 has more room than that of Boeing-747.

**minnow** · 12-13-2011, 07:51 PM

Originally Posted by The Jackal

That is a nice aircraft. I have always liked the 2-story feature of Boeing-747. So it is nice to see Airbus-380 accommodating that. It seems like the 2nd story of Airbus-380 has more room than that of Boeing-747.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

So, have you been on one, or seen one in your neck of the woods? Update to Oct 2010 post: 64 A380's in service now (been ~ 4 years since 1st service). Only USA airports with A380 service, afaik: Los Angeles, New York, and Miami. Destinations : LAX to Sydney, Melbourne Australia , or Seoul, JFK to Dubai or Paris, MIA to Frankfurt.

For comparison, over 1400 Boeing 747's have been produced, and 1st 64 in service took probably < 2 years. This worlds largest airliner is still very scarce, but interesting just like a mega large boob feature act. (I digress). Still plenty of YT clips on A380.

The Jackal · 12-13-2011, 09:14 PM

I think I have been in an Airbus but not specifically in Airbus-380. The largest plane I have been inside is Boeing-747. But for some reason (compelled by economic factors), I do not see many Boeing-747s in action. Airlines are switching towards smaller planes.

I recall about 7 years ago or so my trip between India and US/Europe used to be in Boeing-747s but now I often find myself inside Boeing-777 or Airbus (not the 380).

**Cheo_D** · 12-17-2011, 06:36 PM

I fly into or out of or connect at JFK with some frequency and that has given me a few chances to check out a 380 (usually Air France) on the ground or in motion, but I have yet to fly a route that would put me in this aircraft. Quite an impressive piece of work.

**minnow** · 01-09-2014, 10:15 AM

>>> UPDATE- On post #7 (12-13-2011)- 119 A380's have been deliverd now, as of Nov. 2013. That is an increase of 55 aircraft in a ~ 2 year period. Afaik, 2 USA destinations (Washington Dulles service by Air France, San Francisco service by Air France and Lufthansa. New operators since last post include Korean, Thai, Malaysia, China Southern, and most recently, British Airways.

The 3 airlines with larget A380 fleet are Emirates(33), Singapore(19), and Qantas(12). Still no USA operators of this aircraft. Anyone flown on one yet ? I've heard that they're very quiet.

**minnow** · 07-09-2014, 07:39 PM

Update: As of May 2014, 135 deliveries out of 324 firm orders have taken place. The largest 4 operators of the A380 are: Emirates(49), Singapore(19), (tie) Qantas(12), and Lufthansa(12).

Some new US services include Dallas/Ft Worth to Sydney (Qantas), and Los Angeles to Dubai (Emirates). To put some things in perspective: Boeing recently delivered its 1500th B747 to Lufthansa Airlines. (The newest version -800 model of the aircraft.) This after 44 years in airline operation. Airbus 380's 6-1/2 years of operation, 135 deliveries seems a lesser accomplishment to 165 Boeing 747's delivered in their 1st two years of operations. Still be interesting to see how much beyond the 324 order book the A380 goes, and how long production line will last.

On another note, Emirates has 91 more A380s on order (total of 140)

Which leads to the question of, what the hell is a country the size of South Carolina (and ~93% of the population of North Carolina) doing ordering so many of the worlds largest airliner ? As in over 6 times more than the second largest A380 operator (Singapore, with 24 total orders, 19 delivered so far). I'm afraid some answers may infringe into politics too much. OTOH, I don't recall seeing Mel or Eric posting in the basement, so I may be safe here.

**minnow** · 05-30-2019, 07:58 PM

www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmHjl9Z_vbl

Old news announced several months ago has Airbus ceasing A380 production in 2021 after the last delivery is made. A nickname going around for the A380 is "Vagina". Reasoning being that it is ugly on the outside, comfortable on the inside. I've seen the A380 taking off, landing, and sitting on the ground. It is one of the more ungainly looking airplanes, but draws rave reviews from passengers. Enjoy the video link (hope it works), I may post more links.

Edit- Shoot, link n/g, may have to manually type it in. If still n/g, (maybe the l is really a 1, hate those), just type "a380 stop production" in YT search.

**Bahuba** · 05-31-2019, 07:12 AM

I think I've flown every plane long haul. I used to care and obsessively check stats, now I shamble like a zombie into my seat and binge watch, read, and listen to music. I don't even try to work. The only thing that scares me anymore are flights above 15 hours, like the one I've got coming up in 3 weeks.