05.13.07
Posted in Uncategorized
at 10:12 pm
This, Airbus insists, will change forever the market for long-haul flights.
But even if the aerospace giant is right in its assertion that tomorrow’s long distance air travel will be from hub to hub - or large airports that can cope with the A380’s size, as opposed to direct long-haul flights between smaller airports - there are no guarantees that it will be able to recoup the $12bn invested in the aircraft.
Similar financial concerns could play on the mind of airlines which have ordered the aircraft.
There are real concerns that rather than being a giant luxury transporter that brings greater comforts to customers, the A380 might be used as a ‘cattle-class’ transporter for the masses by airlines struggling to recoup their costs.
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Posted in Uncategorized
at 10:06 pm
Thirty-eight years after launch of Boeing 747, as hundreds of journalists watched the brand new Airbus A380 descend onto runways in the United States for the first time, they were encouraged to compare it with the Boeing 747. My advice to Airbus: Don’t go there.
There are similarities between the A380 and the 747 of course. Both airplanes have shattered beyond imagination the limits of how much weight can be safely lifted off the ground and flown around the world. And like the 747, the A380 with its $300 million price tag is a high-stakes gamble.
But the A380 cuts a lumbering silhouette with its unrelentingly bulbous fuselage and large vertical stabilizer. Inside, the wide staircase connecting the two seating decks is the only flourish to an otherwise conventional passenger cabin.
Ironically, the French-British government consortium that produced the Concorde beat Boeing to the goal. The SST plane flew from 1976 until 2003 and was not a financial prize for its makers.
An economically successful supersonic commercial airplane remains aviation’s Gordian knot, but the Boeing 747 is still being produced in Everett, with more than 1,500 sold.
In some ways the A380 is better than the 747. It generously incorporates lighter composite materials. Its jet engines produce more thrust and lift more weight. By minimizing fuel consumption, the A380 gives its operators slight but much appreciated wiggle room in the binding that ties them to oil prices.
Those are the kinds of benefits the accountants appreciate. The intangible factors that turned the 747 into the “Queen of the Sky,” while a Lockheed L-1011 is relegated to a footnote in aviation history are harder to understand.
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05.05.07
Posted in Uncategorized
at 2:41 pm
Nearly 30,000 spectators watched the massive white plane with blue tail take off from an airport in Blagnac, France, and after a flight of almost 4 hours, touch down, 101 years after the Wright Brothers took to the sky at Kitty Hawk. Aviation certainly has come a long way since then! Before landing at the airport from where it had taken off initially, the A380, with it’s lights shining, did a slow, beautiful flyby of the airport. “A new page in aviation history has been written,” French President Jacques Chirac said in Paris. “It is a magnificent result of European industrial cooperation.” In a joint effort, European governments put up about a third of the $13 billion spent in developing this huge aircraft, which weighs in at 308 tons. The A380 is scheduled to enter service for Singapore Airlines in mid-2006, three months behind the previous schedule. Part of this delay stems from the superjumbo having a weight problem. This consumed month’s of engineering time, and pushed the cost overruns up to $1.88 billion.
Overview
Designed in close collaboration with major airlines, airports and airworthiness authorities, the A380 superjumbo is the most advanced, spacious and efficient airliner ever conceived. Launched in December 2000 and now in its detailed definition phase, the A380 will enter airline service in 2006.
While meeting the most stringent international certification requirements, the A380 embodies the very latest technologies for materials, systems and industrial processes. Offering about a third more seating and far more available floor space than its closest competitor, the A380 will deliver an unparalleled level of comfort, with wider seats and aisles, open spaces for passengers to stretch their legs and access to lower-deck amenities. The A380’s modern technology and economies of scale provide 15 per cent lower seat-mile costs than today’s most efficient aircraft. Consequently, the A380 will offer passengers luxury travel at much more affordable prices.
The A380 will help cope with growing passenger numbers without negatively impacting the environment thanks to significantly reduced noise and emissions levels. Thanks to new generation engines and advanced wing and undercarriage design and technology, the A380 will not only comply with current noise limits but will be quieter than today’s largest airliner, meeting strict local regulations such as QC2 for departure at London airports. The A380 will generate half the noise level at take-off and carry 35 per cent more passengers than its competitor over distances such as London-Singapore.
And the A380’s environmental friendliness does not stop at noise reductions. The economic fuel consumption of the A380 – around 13 per cent lower fuel burn than its closest competitor – will also help reduce the impact of exhaust gases on the atmosphere. Indeed, the A380 will be the first long-haul aircraft to consume less than three litres of fuel per passenger over 100 kilometres (95 miles per imperial gallon) – a fuel burn comparable with the best of small modern turbo-diesel cars.
landing at the airport from where it had taken off initially, the A380, with it’s lights shining, did a slow, beautiful flyby of the airport. “A new page in aviation history has been written,” French President Jacques Chirac said in Paris. “It is a magnificent result of European industrial cooperation.” In a joint effort, European governments put up about a third of the $13 billion spent in developing this huge aircraft, which weighs in at 308 tons. The A380 is scheduled to enter service for Singapore Airlines in mid-2006, three months behind the previous schedule. Part of this delay stems from the superjumbo having a weight problem. This consumed month’s of engineering time, and pushed the cost overruns up to $1.88 billion.
While offering all the advantages of a completely new design, the A380 will extend the benefits of Airbus family commonality to the very large aircraft sector. Thanks to the same cockpit layout, procedures and handling characteristics, pilots will be able to transition to the A380 from other Airbus fly-by-wire aircraft with only minor additional training.
Designed in collaboration with some 60 major airports to ensure airport compatibility and a smooth entry into service the A380 provides the smartest and most economical solution to growing air traffic and airport congestion. The only alternative, an increase in frequencies of existing aircraft, would not only require billions of dollars of investment by airports (in new runways, terminals and even airports) but would also contribute to greater congestion and a significantly increased impact on the environment. Airbus’ analysis of this issue has been irrefutably confirmed, both implicitly, through industry-wide participation in the programme from its outset, and explicitly, through the already immense success of the A380 on the market. To date, nine customers have announced firm commitments for a total of 97 A380s, including 17 freighter versions.
The A380 Family starts from a baseline passenger aircraft, the A380-800 with a capacity of 555 passengers in three classes, and a range of up to 14,800km/8,000nm. The freighter version, the A380-800F will carry a payload of 150 tonnes (330,000lbs) over 10,400km/5,600nm. Stretch, shrink and extended range variants of the baseline version will become available as and when the market requires them. The A380 can be powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines or GP7200 engines from The Engine Alliance (a General Electric and Pratt & Whitney joint venture).
landing at the airport from where it had taken off initially, the A380, with it’s lights shining, did a slow, beautiful flyby of the airport. “A new page in aviation history has been written,” French President Jacques Chirac said in Paris. “It is a magnificent result of European industrial cooperation.” In a joint effort, European governments put up about a third of the $13 billion spent in developing this huge aircraft, which weighs in at 308 tons. The A380 is scheduled to enter service for Singapore Airlines in mid-2006, three months behind the previous schedule. Part of this delay stems from the superjumbo having a weight problem. This consumed month’s of engineering time, and pushed the cost overruns up to $1.88 billion.
Cabin layouts
The A380’s twin-aisle twin deck passenger cabin offers the long distance traveller a whole new level of comfort. A cabin designed around a large sample of today’s real passengers providing more space regardless of class of ticket, wider seats and aisles. Optional lower deck use for rest areas, business, bar or other amenities can further enhance the A380 travel experience.
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