Airbus A380

The Airbus A380 - WOW what an aircraft! This airplane is awesome to say the very least.

It would appear that everything about this aircraft is brand new from the ground up - yes it even has four more wheels than the Boeing 747.

Nicknamed the Superjumbo the A380 (or the A3XX as it was initially branded) has been on the drawing board since 1991.

Airbus knew that to compete against Boeing they were going to have to come up with something big. At one stage a twin fuselage aircraft was being considered. These fuselage would be the same as the A340 which was Airbus' largest aircraft at that time. However this design never eventuated.

The A380 Design Completed

In December 2000 Airbus agreed to set aside 8.8 billion Euro (approx 13.8 billion US Dollars) to build the now designated A380. This pleased six of Airbus' customers who placed orders for this aircraft i.e Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Qantas, Air France, Qatar, and Korean Air ordered a total of 207, A380 Airbus aircraft. By the time the first aircraft was completed the original figure had increased to 11 billion Euro (17.2 billion US Dollars).

First Airbus A380 Purchased

The first customer to receive the A380 Airbus was Singapore Airlines. This aircraft registered 9V-SKA was received on 15 October 2007 and flew commercially for the first time on 25 October 2007 form Singapore to Sydney Australia.

More recently Singapore Airlines received it's fourth A380 aircraft on the 26 April 2008 and now flies these aircraft to London.

After actual use of these aircraft Singapore Airlines has discovered that fuel consumption is 20% lower per passenger than the existing Boeing 747-400 fleet.

Emirates Airlines and Qantas' A380s have both had their maiden flights and will receive their aircraft in July and October 2008 respectively.

The Layout of the A380

The A380 is a double deck aircraft capable of carrying 853 passengers in a single class format. This would comprise 315 passengers on the upper deck and 538 on the lower or main deck. In a three class format only 555 passengers would fly.

For airline companies wishing to provide premium class on their aircraft a trade off of 525 passengers for an extra 370km distance would need to be made.

Airbus has also created the A380 to be used as a freighter. Designated the A380-800F customers such as FedEx and UPS would purchase this particular model.

Passenger Comfort on the Airbus A380

To reduce passenger fatigue Airbus has lowered aircraft noise by as much as 50% of that in a 747-400. Also cabin pressure has been improved.

The A380 is overall the largest commercial aircraft today. This means that there are more and larger seats, more room inside the aircraft per passenger, larger windows, storage bins and head room beneath the bins.

Some airlines such as Singapore Airlines are adding to their passenger comfort with 27cm LCD screens situated in the back of each seat. Also available are various fully enclosed suites in their first class service including a full size bed, desk, personal storage, a 58cm LCD screen, one full and one secondary seat.

Virgin Atlantic Airways will offer a bar and is likely to add casinos, double beds and gymnasiums as a part of their "Upper Class" service.

Dimensions of the Airbus A380

The dimensions and specifications of the A380 aircraft are as follows:-

Aircraft Length 73m or 239 feet
Aircraft Height 24.1m or 79 feet
Wing Span 80m or 262 feet
Cross Section 6.6m or 21 feet 7 inches
Passengers 525 to 853 people
Fuel Up to 310,000 liters or 81,890 US gallons
Cruising Speed 1062 km/h (.89 Mach)
Top Speed 1146 km/h (.96 Mach)
Range Up To 15,200 km or 8,200nm

A380 Airbus Seating

The seating arrangements in the Airbus A380 are:-

First Class: The seating chart is in a 1 - 1 - 1 format.
Business Class: The seating chart is in a 1 - 2 - 1 format on the upper deck.
Economy Class: The seating chart is in a 3 - 4 - 3 format on the main deck. The upper deck seating chart is in a 2 - 4 - 2 format.

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