Airbus A380
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A380
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Role
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National origin
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Multi-national
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Manufacturer
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First flight
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27 April 2005
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Introduction
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Status
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In production, in service
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Primary users
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Produced
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2004–present
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Number built
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78 as of 20 October 2011
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Unit cost
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The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, wide-body, four-engine jet airliner manufactured by the European corporation Airbus, a subsidiary of EADS. It is the largest passenger airliner in
the world. Many airports had to modify and improve their facilities to
accommodate its large size. Designed to challenge Boeing's monopoly in the
large-aircraft market, the A380 made its maiden flight on 27 April 2005 and
entered commercial service in October 2007 with Singapore
Airlines. The aircraft was known as the Airbus A3XX during much of its
development, before receiving the A380 designation. The nickname Superjumbo has since become associated
with it.
The A380's upper deck
extends along the entire length of the fuselage, and its
width is equivalent to that of a wide-body aircraft. This allows for an
A380-800's cabin with 478 square metres (5,145.1 sq ft) of floor
space; 49% more floor space than the current next-largest airliner, theBoeing 747-400 with 321 square metres
(3,455.2 sq ft), and provides seating for 525 people in a typical three-class configuration or up to 853
people in all-economy
class configurations. The A380-800 has a design range of 15,400 kilometres
(8,300 nmi; 9,600 mi), sufficient to fly from New York to Hong Kong
for example, and a cruising speed of Mach 0.85 (about
900 km/h or 560 mph at cruising altitude).
As of November 2011 there had been 238 firm
orders for the A380, of which 64 have been delivered. The largest order, for 90
aircraft, was from Emirates.
Development
Background
In the summer of 1988, a
group of Airbus engineers led by Jean Roeder began work in secret on the
development of an ultra-high-capacity airliner (UHCA), both to complete its own
range of products and to break the dominance that Boeing had enjoyed in this market
segment since the early 1970s with its 747. McDonnell Douglas unsuccessfully offered its
smaller, double-deck MD-12 concept for sale. Roeder was given approval
for further evaluations of the UHCA after a formal presentation to the
President and CEO in June 1990. The megaproject was announced at the 1990Farnborough
Air Show, with the stated goal of 15% lower operating costs than the
747-400. Airbus organised four teams of designers, one
from each of its partners (Aérospatiale, Deutsche Aerospace AG, British Aerospace, CASA) to propose new
technologies for its future aircraft designs. The designs would be presented in
1992 and the most competitive designs would be used.
In January 1993, Boeing and
several companies in the Airbus consortium started a joint feasibility study of
an aircraft known as the Very Large Commercial Transport (VLCT), aiming to form
a partnership to share the limited market. This joint study was
abandoned two years later, Boeing's interest having declined because analysts
thought that such a product was unlikely to cover the $15-billion in
development costs. Despite the fact that only two airlines had expressed public
interest in purchasing such a plane, Airbus was already pursuing its own large
plane project. Analysts suggested that Boeing instead would pursue stretching
their 747 design, and that air travel was already moving away from the hub and spoke system that consolidated
traffic into large planes, and toward more non-stop routes that could be served
by smaller planes.
The first completed A380 at
the "A380 Reveal" event held in Toulouse, France, 18 January 2005
In June 1994, Airbus began
developing its own very large airliner, designated the A3XX. Airbus considered several
designs, including an odd side-by-side combination of two fuselages from the A340, which was
Airbus’s largest jet at the time. The A3XX was pitted against
the VLCT study and Boeing’s own New Large Aircraft successor to the 747. From
1997 to 2000, as the East Asian financial crisis darkened the market
outlook, Airbus refined its design, targeting a 15 to 20% reduction in
operating costs over the existing Boeing 747–400. The A3XX design converged on
a double-decker layout that provided more passenger volume than a traditional
single-deck design, in line with traditional hub-and-spoke theory as opposed to the point-to-point theory of the Boeing 777, after conducting an
extensive market analysis with over 200 focus groups.
On 19 December 2000, the
supervisory board of newly restructured Airbus voted to launch a €8.8-billion
programme to build the A3XX, re-christened as the A380, with 50 firm orders from
six launch customers. The A380 designation was a break from
previous Airbus families, which had progressed sequentially from A300 to A340.
It was chosen because the number 8 resembles the double-deck cross section, and
is a lucky number in some Asian countries
where the aircraft was being marketed. The aircraft’s
configuration was finalised in early 2001, and manufacturing of the first A380
wing box component started on 23 January 2002. The development cost of the A380
had grown to €11 billion when the first aircraft was completed.
Production
Major structural sections
of the A380 are built in France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Due to
their size, they are brought to the assembly hall (the Jean-Luc Lagardère Plant) in Toulouse in France by surface
transportation, though some parts are moved by the A300-600ST Beluga aircraft used in the
construction of other Airbus models. Components of the A380 are
provided by suppliers from around the world; the five largest contributors, by
value, are Rolls-Royce, Safran, United Technologies, General Electric and Goodrich.
Transporting A380
components from the port of Bordeaux.
For the surface movement of
large A380 structural components, a complex route known as theItinéraire à Grand Gabarit was developed. This
involved the construction of a fleet of roll-on/roll-off(RORO)
ships and barges, the construction of port facilities and the development of
new and modified roads to accommodate oversized road convoys. The front and rear sections
of the fuselage are loaded onto one of three roll-on/roll-off (RORO) ships in Hamburg in northern Germany, from
where they are shipped to the United Kingdom.
The wings, which are
manufactured at Filton in Bristol and Broughton in North Wales, are
transported by barge to Mostyn docks, where the ship adds
them to its cargo. In Saint-Nazaire in western France, the ship
trades the fuselage sections from Hamburg for larger, assembled sections, some
of which include the nose. The ship unloads in Bordeaux.
Afterwards, the ship picks up the belly and tail sections by Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA in Cádiz in southern Spain, and
delivers them to Bordeaux. From there, the A380 parts are transported by barge
to Langon, and by
oversize road convoys to the assembly hall inToulouse.
After assembly, the
aircraft are flown to Hamburg Finkenwerder Airport (XFW) to be furnished and
painted. It takes 3,600 L (950 US gal) of paint to cover the 3,100 m2 (33,000 sq ft)
exterior of an A380. Airbus sized the production facilities and supply chain for a production rate of
four A380s per month.
Testing
Five A380s were built for
testing and demonstration purposes. The first A380, serial
number MSN001 and registration F-WWOW, was unveiled at a ceremony in Toulouse
on 18 January 2005. Its maiden flight took place at 8:29 UTC (10:29 am local time)
27 April 2005. This plane, equipped withTrent
900 engines, flew from Toulouse Blagnac International Airport with a crew of six headed
by chief test pilot Jacques Rosay. After
landing three hours and 54 minutes later, Rosay said flying the A380 had been
“like handling a bicycle”.
On 1 December 2005 the A380
achieved its maximum design speed of Mach 0.96 (versus typical cruising
speed of Mach 0.85), in a shallow dive, completing the opening of the flight envelope. In 2006, the A380 flew its
first high-altitude test at Bole International Airport, Addis Ababa. It
conducted its second high-altitude test at the same airport in 2009. It arrived in North America
on 6 February 2006, landing in Iqaluit, Nunavut in Canada for cold-weather
testing.
On 14 February 2006, during
the destructive wing strength certification test on MSN5000, the test wing of the A380 failed at
145% of the limit load, short of the 150% necessary to meet the certification.
Airbus announced modifications adding 30 kg to the wing to provide the
required strength. On 26 March 2006 the A380 underwent
evacuation certification in Hamburg. With 8 of
the 16 exits blocked, 853 passengers and 20 crew left the aircraft in 78
seconds, less than the 90 seconds required by certification standards. Three days later, the A380 receivedEuropean Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval to carry up
to 853 passengers.
The maiden flight of the
first A380 using GP7200 engines—serial number MSN009 and registration F-WWEA—took place on 25 August 2006. On 4 September 2006, the
first full passenger-carrying flight test took place. The aircraft flew from Toulouse with 474 Airbus employees
on board, in the first of a series of flights to test passenger facilities and
comfort. In November 2006 a further series of route
proving flights took place to demonstrate the aircraft's performance for 150
flight hours under typical airline operating conditions.
Airbus obtained type certificates for the A380-841 and A380-842 model from the EASA and FAA on 12 December 2006 in a
joint ceremony at the company's French headquarters. The A380-861 model obtained its type
certificate on 14 December 2007.
Production and delivery delays
Initial production of the
A380 was troubled by delays attributed to the 530 km (330 mi) of
wiring in each aircraft. Airbus cited as underlying causes the complexity of
the cabin wiring (100,000 wires and 40,300 connectors), its concurrent design
and production, the high degree of customisation for each airline, and failures
of configuration management and change control. Specifically, it would
appear that German and Spanish Airbus facilities continued to use CATIA version 4, while
British and French sites migrated to version 5. This caused overall
configuration management problems, at least in part because wiring harnesses
manufactured using aluminium rather than copper
conductors necessitated special design rules including non-standard dimensions
and bend radii; these were not easily transferred between versions of the
software.
A380 in original Airbus
livery
Airbus announced the first
delay in June 2005 and notified airlines that deliveries would be delayed by
six months. This reduced the total number of planned
deliveries by the end of 2009 from about 120 to 90–100. On 13 June 2006,
Airbus announced a second delay, with the delivery schedule undergoing an
additional shift of six to seven months. Although the first delivery was still
planned before the end of 2006, deliveries in 2007 would drop to only 9
aircraft, and deliveries by the end of 2009 would be cut to 70–80 aircraft. The
announcement caused a 26% drop in the share price of Airbus's parent,EADS, and led to the departure of
EADS CEO Noël Forgeard,
Airbus CEO Gustav Humbert, and
A380 programme manager Charles Champion. On 3 October 2006,
upon completion of a review of the A380 program, the CEO of Airbus, Christian Streiff,
announced a third delay, pushing the first delivery to October 2007,
to be followed by 13 deliveries in 2008, 25 in 2009, and the full production
rate of 45 aircraft per year in 2010. The delay also increased
the earnings shortfall projected by Airbus through 2010 to €4.8 billion.
As Airbus prioritised the
work on the A380-800 over the A380-800F, freighter orders were
cancelled by FedEx and UPS, or converted to A380-800 by
Emirates and ILFC. Airbus suspended work on the freighter
version, but said it remained on offer, albeit without a service
entry date. For the passenger version Airbus negotiated a revised delivery
schedule and compensation with the 13 customers, all of which retained their
orders with some placing subsequent orders, including Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Qantas, Air France, Qatar Airways, and Korean Air.
On 13 May 2008 Airbus
announced reduced deliveries for the years 2008 (12) and 2009 (21). After further manufacturing
setbacks, Airbus reduced plans to deliver 14 A380s in 2009, down from the
previously revised target of 18. A total of 10 A380s were
delivered in 2009. In 2010 Airbus delivered only 18 of the
expected 20 A380s, due to Rolls-Royce engine availability problems. Airbus plans to deliver
"between 20 and 25" A380s in 2011 before ramping up to three a month
in 2012.
Entry into service
The first aircraft, MSN003,
(registered as 9V-SKA) was delivered to Singapore
Airlines on 15 October 2007 and entered service on 25
October 2007 with flight number SQ380 between Singapore and Sydney. Passengers bought seats in
a charity online auction paying between $560 and $100,380. Two months later, Singapore
Airlines CEO Chew Choong Seng said that the A380 was performing better than
both the airline and Airbus had anticipated, burning 20% less fuel per
passenger than the airline's existing 747–400 fleet.
Emirates was the second airline to
receive the A380 and commenced services between Dubai and New York in August 2008. Qantas followed on 19 September
2008, starting flights between Melbourne and Los Angeles in October 2008. By
the end of 2008, 890,000 passengers had flown on 2,200 flights totalling 21,000
hours.In February 2009, the one millionth passenger was flown with Singapore
Airlines and by May 2009 1,500,000 passengers had
flown on 4,200 flights totalling 41,000 hours. Air France received their first A380
in October 2009. Lufthansa received its first A380 in
May 2010. By July 2010, the 31 A380s then in service
had transported 6 million passengers on 17,000 flights totalling over 156,000
hours between 20 international destinations.
Korean Air received its first A380,
becoming the sixth airline to fly it, and began services in June 2011. By June 2011 over 12
million passengers had flown on 33,000 flights totalling almost 300,000 hours. China Southern became the seventh airline
to operate the aircraft, and the first to use it on scheduled routes in China,
commencing operation between Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai on 17 October
2011. By late October 2011, A380s have flown some
16 million passengers.
Design
Overview
The new Airbus was
initially offered in two models. The A380-800 original configuration
carried 555 passengers in a three-class configuration or 853 passengers (538 on
the main deck and 315 on the upper deck) in a single-class economy
configuration. In May 2007 Airbus began marketing a configuration with 30 fewer
passengers, now 525 passengers in three classes, traded for 370 km
(200 nmi) more range, to better reflect trends in premium class accommodation. The design range for the
−800 model is 15,400 km (8,300 nmi); capable of flying for
example from Hong Kong to New York, or from Sydney to Istanbul non-stop. The second model,
the A380-800F freighter, would carry
150 tonnes of cargo 10,400 km (5,600 nmi). The −800F development was
put on hold as Airbus prioritised the passenger version and all cargo orders
were cancelled. Future variants may include an A380-900 stretch seating about 656
passengers (or up to 960 passengers in an all economy configuration) and an
extended range version with the same passenger capacity as the A380-800.
The
lack of engine noise—it's 50% quieter than a 747–400 on takeoff—was downright
eerie. The A380 is so big it's difficult to sense its speed, and its upper deck
is so far away from the engines the noise dissipates.
TIME
The A380's wing is sized
for a maximum take-off weight (MTOW) over 650 tonnes
in order to accommodate these future versions, albeit with some strengthening
required. The stronger wing (and structure) will be
used on the A380-800F freighter. This common design approach sacrifices some fuel efficiency on the A380-800 passenger
model, but Airbus estimates that the size of the aircraft, coupled with the
advances in technology described below, will provide lower operating costs per
passenger than the 747-400 and older 747 variants. The A380 also featureswingtip fences similar to those found on
the A310 and A320 to alleviate the effects of induced drag, increasing
fuel efficiency and performance.
Engines
The A380 can be fitted with
two types of turbofan engines: either the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 (variants A380-841, −842 and −843F) or with the Engine Alliance GP7000 (A380-861 and −863F). The Trent 900 is a
derivative of the Trent 800, and the
GP7000 has roots from the GE90 and PW4000. The Trent 900 core is a scaled version of the Trent 500, but incorporates the swept fan technology
of the stillborn Trent 8104. The GP7200 has a
GE90-derived core and PW4090-derived fan and low-pressure turbo-machinery. Noise reduction was an
important requirement in the A380's design, and particularly affects engine
design. Both engine types allow the aircraft to
achieve QC/2 departure and QC/0.5 arrival noise limits under the Quota
Count system set byLondon Heathrow Airport, which is a key destination
for the A380.
The A380 was initially
planned without thrust reversers,
being designed to have enough braking capacity to do without them. However Airbus elected to
fit the two inboard engines with thrust reversers in a late stage of
development. The two outboard engines do not have
reversers, reducing the amount of debris stirred up during landing. The A380
has electrically actuated thrust reversers, giving them better reliability than
their pneumatic or hydraulic equivalents, in addition to saving weight.
The A380 was used to
demonstrate the viability of a synthetic fuel comprising standard jet fuel with
a natural-gas-derived component. On 1 February 2008, a three hour test flight
operated between Britain and France, with one of the A380's four engines using
a mix of 60% standard jet kerosene and 40% gas to liquids (GTL) fuel supplied by Shell. The aircraft
needed no modification to use the GTL fuel, which was designed to be mixed with
normal jet fuel. Sebastien Remy, head of Airbus SAS's alternative fuel
programme, said the GTL used was no cleaner in CO2 terms than standard fuel
but it had local air quality benefits because it contains no sulphur.
Advanced materials
While most of the fuselage
is aluminium, composite
materials comprise more than 20% of the A380's
airframe. Carbon-fibre reinforced plastic, glass-fibre reinforced plastic and quartz-fibre reinforced plastic are used extensively in
wings, fuselage sections (such as the undercarriage and rear end of fuselage),
tail surfaces, and doors. The A380 is the first commercial
airliner to have a central wing box made of carbon fibre reinforced plastic. It
is also the first to have a smoothly contoured wing cross section. The wings of
other commercial airliners are partitioned span-wise into sections. This
flowing, continuous cross section optimises aerodynamic efficiency. Thermoplastics are used in the leading
edges of the slats.
The new material GLARE (GLAss-REinforced fibre
metal laminate) is used in the upper fuselage and on the stabilisers' leading
edges. This aluminium-glass-fibre laminate is lighter and has better
corrosion and impact resistance than conventional aluminium alloys used in aviation. Unlike earlier composite
materials, it can be repaired using conventional aluminium repair techniques. Newer weldable aluminium alloys are also
used. This enables the widespread use of laser
beam weldingmanufacturing techniques — eliminating rows of rivets and resulting in a lighter,
stronger structure.
Avionics
The A380 employs an Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA) architecture, first
used in advanced military aircraft, such as the F-22 Raptor, F-35,[117] and Dassault Rafale. The main IMA systems on the
A380 were developed by Thales Group. Designed and developed by Airbus, Thales and
Diehl Aerospace, the IMA suite is first used on the A380. The suite is a
technological innovation, with networked computing modules to support different
applications. The data communication networks use Avionics Full-Duplex Switched Ethernet,
following the ARINC 664 standard. The data networks are switched, full-duplex, star-topology and based on 100baseTX fast-Ethernet. This
reduces the amount of wiring required and minimises latency.
Front fuselage view of A380
Airbus used similar cockpit
layout, procedures and handling characteristics to other Airbus aircraft,
reducing crew training costs. The A380 has an improvedglass cockpit, using fly-by-wire flight controls linked to side-sticks. The cockpit displays
feature eight 15-by-20 cm (5.9-by-7.9 in) liquid crystal displays, all of which are physically
identical and interchangeable; comprising two Primary Flight Displays, two navigation displays, one
engine parameter display, one system display and two Multi-Function Displays. The MFDs were introduced on
the A380 to provide an easy-to-use interface to the flight management system—replacing three
multifunction control and display units. They include QWERTY keyboards and trackballs,
interfacing with agraphical "point-and-click"
display system.
The Network Systems Server
(NSS) is the heart of A380's paperless cockpit; it eliminates bulky manuals and
charts traditionally used. The NSS has enough inbuilt
robustness to eliminate onboard backup paper documents. The A380's network and
server system stores data and offers electronic documentation, providing a
required equipment list, navigation charts, performance calculations, and an
aircraft logbook. This is accessed through the MFDs and controlled via the
keyboard interface.
A380 flight deck
Power-by-wire flight control actuators
have been used for the first time in civil aviation to back up primary hydraulic actuators. Also, during
certain manoeuvres they augment the primary actuators. They have self-contained
hydraulic and electrical power supplies. Electro-hydrostatic actuators (EHA)
are used in the aileron and elevator,
electric and hydraulic motors to drive the slats as well as electrical backup hydrostatic
actuators (EBHA) for the rudder and some spoilers.
The A-380's 350 bar
(35 MPa or 5,000 psi) hydraulic system is a significant difference
from the typical 210 bar (21 MPa or 3,000 psi) hydraulics used
on most commercial aircraft since the 1940s. First used in military
aircraft, higher pressure hydraulics reduce the weight and size of pipelines,
actuators and related components. The 350 bar pressure is generated by
eight de-clutchable hydraulic pumps. Pipelines are typically
made fromtitanium; the system
features both fuel- and air-cooled heat exchangers.
Self-contained electrically powered hydraulic power packs serve as backups for
the primary systems, instead of a secondary hydraulic system, saving weight and
reducing maintenance.
The A380 uses four
150 kVA variable-frequency electrical generators, eliminating constant speed
drives and improving reliability. The A380 uses aluminium
power cables instead of copper for weight reduction. The electrical power
system is fully computerised and many contactors and breakers have been replaced
by solid-state devices for better performance and increased reliability.
Passenger provisions
The cabin has features to
reduce traveller fatigue such as a quieter interior and higher pressurisation
than previous aircraft; the A380 has 50% less cabin noise than the 747-400 and
is pressurised to the equivalent of 1,520 m (5,000 ft) altitude
versus 2,440 m (8,000 ft) on the 747-400. The A380 has 50% more cabin
area and volume, larger windows, bigger overhead bins, and 60 cm
(2.0 ft) extra headroom versus the 747-400. Seating options range from
4-abreast in first class up to 11-across in economy. On other aircraft, economy
seats range from 41.5 cm (16.3 in) to 52.3 cm (20.6 in) in
width, A380 economy seats are up to 48 cm
(19 in) wide in a 10-abreast configuration; compared with the
10-abreast configuration on the 747-400 which typically has seats 44.5 cm
(17.5 in) wide.
The A380's upper and lower
decks are connected by two stairways, fore and aft, wide enough to accommodate
two passengers side-by-side; this cabin arrangement allows multiple seat
configurations. The maximum certified carrying capacity is 853 passengers in an
all-economy-class layout, Airbus lists the typical three-class
layout as accommodating 525 passengers, with 10 first, 76 business, and 439
economy class seats. Airline configurations range from Korean Air's 407
passengers to Air Austral's 840
passengers. The A380's illumination system uses bulbless LEDs in the cabin, cockpit, and
cargo decks. The LEDs in the cabin can be altered to create an ambience
simulating daylight, night, or levels in between. On the outside of the
aircraft, HID lighting is used for
brighter illumination.
Airbus's publicity has
stressed the comfort and space of the A380's cabin, and advertised onboard
relaxation areas such as bars, beauty salons, duty-free shops, and
restaurants. Proposed amenities resembled those installed
on earlier airliners, particularly 1970s wide-body jets,[ which largely gave way to
regular seats for more passenger capacity. Airbus has acknowledged
that some cabin proposals were unlikely to be installed, and that it was ultimately
the airlines' decision how to configure the interior. Industry analysts suggested
that implementing customisation has slowed the production speeds, and raised
costs. Due to delivery delays, Singapore Airlines
and Air France debuted their seat designs on different aircraft prior to the
A380.
Bar on board an Emirates
A380.
Initial operators typically
configured their A380s for three-class service, while adding extra features for
passengers in premium cabins. Launch customer Singapore Airlines debuted
partly-enclosed first class suites on its A380s in 2007, each featuring a
leather seat with a separate bed; center suites could be joined to create a
double bed. A year later, Qantas debuted a new first
class seat-bed and a sofa lounge at the
front of the upper deck on its A380s. In late 2008, Emirates
introduced "shower spas" in first class on its A380s, along with a
bar lounge and seating area on the upper deck, and in 2009 Air France
unveiled an upper deck electronic art gallery. In addition to lounge
areas, some A380 operators have installed amenities consistent with other
aircraft in their respective fleets, including self-serve snack bars, premium economy sections, and redesigned business
class seating.
Integration with infrastructure and
regulations
Ground operations
An A380 served by three
separatejetways at Frankfurt Airport in 2007: two for the main
deck and one for the upper deck.
In the 1990s, aircraft
manufacturers were planning to introduce larger planes than the Boeing 747. In a
common effort of the International Civil Aviation Organization,
ICAO, with manufacturers, airports and its member agencies, the "80-metre
box" was created, the airport gates allowing planes up to
80 m (260 ft) wingspan and length to be accommodated. Airbus designed the A380
according to these guidelines, and to operate safely on
Group V runways and taxiways, and while the U.S. FAA opposed this at an early
stage, in July 2007, the FAA and EASA agreed to let
the A380 operate on 45 m runways without restrictions. The A380-800 is
approximately 30% larger in overall size than the 747-400, and can land or take off on
any runway that can accommodate a 747. Runway lighting and signage may need changes
to provide clearance to the wings and avoid blast damage from the engines and
taxiway shoulders may be required to be stabilised to reduce the likelihood of foreign object damage caused to (or by) the
outboard engines, which overhang more than 25 m (82 ft) from the
centre line of the aircraft.
Airbus measured pavement
loads using a 540-tonne (595 short tons) ballasted test rig, designed to
replicate thelanding
gear of the A380. The rig was towed over a section
of pavement at Airbus' facilities that had been instrumented with embedded load
sensors. It was determined that the pavement of most runways will not need to
be reinforced despite the higher weight, as it is distributed on more wheels
than in other passenger aircraft with a total of 22 wheels. The A380 landing
gear is in a similar layout as the 747, except for four more wheels via the
incorporation of six wheels on each main body gear.
The A380 requires service
vehicles with lifts capable of reaching the upper deck, as well as tractors capable of handling the
A380's maximum ramp weight. Using two jetway bridges
the boarding time is 45 min, using an extra jetway to the upper deck it is
reduced to 34 min. The A380 test aircraft have participated in a campaign of
airport compatibility testing to verify the modifications already made at
several large airports, visiting a number of airports around the world.
Takeoff and landing separation
A video of an A380 taxiing
In 2005, the ICAO
recommended that provisional separation criteria for the A380 on takeoff and
landing be substantially greater than for the 747 because preliminary flight test data suggested a stronger wake turbulence. These criteria were in
effect while the ICAO's wake vortex steering group, with representatives from
the JAA, Eurocontrol, the
FAA, and Airbus, refined its 3-year study of the issue with additional flight testing. In
September 2006, the working group presented its first conclusions to the ICAO.
In November 2006, the ICAO
issued new interim recommendations. Replacing a blanket 10 nautical miles
(19 km) separation for aircraft trailing an A380 during approach, the new
distances were 6 nmi (11 km), 8 nmi (15 km) and 10 nmi
(19 km) respectively for non-A380 "Heavy", "Medium",
and "Light" ICAO aircraft categories. These compared with the
4 nmi (7.4 km), 5 nmi (9.3 km) and 6 nmi (11 km)
spacing applicable to other "Heavy" aircraft. Another A380 following
an A380 should maintain a separation of 4 nmi (7.4 km). On departure
behind an A380, non-A380 "Heavy" aircraft are required to wait two
minutes, and "Medium"/"Light" aircraft three minutes for
time based operations. The ICAO also recommends that pilots append the term
"Super" to the aircraft's callsign when initiating communication with
air traffic control, in order to distinguish the A380 from "Heavy"
aircraft.
In August 2008, the ICAO
issued revised approach separations of 4 nmi (7.4 km) for Super
(another A380), 6 nmi (11 km) for Heavy, 7 nmi (13 km) for
medium/small, and 8 nmi (15 km) for light.
Future variants
Improved A380-800
From 2013, Airbus will
introduce a new A380 build standard incorporating a strengthened airframe
structure and a 1.5° increase in wing twist. Airbus will also offer, as an
option, an improved maximum take-off weight, thus providing a better
payload/range performance. Maximum take-off weight is increased by 4 t
(8,800 lb), to 573 t (1,260,000 lb) and an additional 190 km
(100 nmi) in range. This is achieved by reducing flight loads, partly from
optimising the fly-by-wire control laws. British Airways and
Emirates will be the first customers to receive this new option. Vietnam Airlines has shown interest in the
higher-weight variant.
A380-900
In November 2007, Airbus
top sales executive and chief operating officer John Leahy confirmed plans for an
enlarged variant, the A380-900, which would be slightly longer than the
A380-800 (79.4–73 m or 260–240 ft). This version would have a seating capacity of 650 passengers in
standard configuration, and approximately 900 passengers in economy-only
configuration. In May 2010, Airbus announced that A380-900 development was
postponed, until production of the A380-800 has stabilised. Airlines that have
expressed interest in the model include Emirates, Virgin Atlantic, Cathay
Pacific, Air France-KLM, Lufthansa, Kingfisher
Airlines, as well as the leasing company ILFC.
A380-800 freighter
Airbus originally accepted
orders for the freighter version, offering the second largest payload capacity
of any cargo aircraft,
exceeded only by the Antonov An-225.
However, production has been suspended until the A380 production lines have
settled with no firm availability date.
Market
In 2006, industry analysts
Philip Lawrence of the Aerospace Research Centre in Bristol and Richard Aboulafia of
the consulting Teal Group in Fairfaxanticipated
880 and 400 A380 sales respectively by 2025. According to Lawrence,
parallel to the design of the A380, Airbus conducted the most extensive and
thorough market analysis of commercial aviation ever undertaken, justifying its VLA (very large aircraft,
those with more than 400 seats) plans, while according to Aboulafia, the rise
of mid-size aircraft and market fragmentation reduced VLAs to niche market status, making such plans
unjustified. The two analysts' market forecasts differed in the incorporation
of spoke-hub and point-to-point models. In 2007, Airbus
estimated a demand for 1,283 passenger planes in the VLA category for the next
20 years if airport congestion remains at the current level. According to this
estimate, demand could reach up to 1,771 VLAs if congestion increases. Most of
this demand will be due to the urbanisation and rapid economic growth in Asia. The A380 will be used on
relatively few routes, between the most saturated airports. Airbus also
estimates a demand for 415 freighters in the category 120-tonne plus. Boeing, which offers the
only competition in that class, the 747-8, estimates the demand for passenger VLAs
at 590 and that for freighter VLAs at 370 for the period 2007–2026. At one time
the A380 was considered as a potential replacement for the existing Boeing VC-25 serving as Air Force One, but in January 2009 EADS
declared that they were not going to bid for the contract, as assembling only
three planes in the US would not make financial sense. As of February 2011 there were 244 orders for
the A380-800. The break-even for the A380 was initially
supposed to be reached at 270 units, but due to the delays and the falling
exchange rate of the US dollar, it increased to 420 units.
In
2010, EADS CFO Hans Peter Ring said that break-even (on the aircraft that are
delivered) could be achieved by 2015, despite the delays; there should be
around 200 deliveries by that time, on current projections. As of March 2010 the average list price of
an A380 was US$ 375.3 million (about €261 million or
£229 million), depending on equipment installed.
Orders and deliveries
|
Airbus
A380 firm net orders and deliveries
(cumulative by year) |
 |
Eighteen customers have
ordered the A380, including one VIP order by Airbus Executive and Private Aviation. Total
orders for the A380 stand at 238 as of 31 October 2011. The biggest customer is
Emirates, which in June 2010 increased its order by 32 aircraft to 90 total, or
nearly 40% of all A380 orders at the time. A total of 27 orders
originally placed for the freighter version, A380-800F, were either cancelled
(20) or converted to A380-800 (7), following the production delay and the
subsequent suspension of the freighter programme.
Delivery takes place in
Hamburg for customers from Europe and the Middle East and in Toulouse for
customers from the rest of the world.
|
A380 firm net orders, by year
|
|||||||||||||
|
2001
|
2002
|
2003
|
2004
|
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
2008
|
2009
|
2010
|
2011
|
Total
|
||
|
Orders
|
A380-800
|
78
|
0
|
34
|
10
|
10
|
24
|
33
|
9
|
4
|
32
|
9
|
243
|
|
A380-800F
|
7
|
10
|
0
|
0
|
10
|
−17
|
−10
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
|
Deliveries
|
A380-800
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
12
|
10
|
18
|
23
|
64
|
Commercial operators
Emirates is currently the
largest operator of the A380 with 16 in service of its 90 on order, itself the
largest amount of any carrier. The shortest route that the A380 flies regularly
is from Seoul Incheon to Tokyo Narita with Korean Air, although Air France has
also operated the A380 on the even shorter Paris to London route in mid-2010.
|
Airline
|
First commercial flight
|
|
25 October 2007
|
|
|
1 August 2008
|
|
|
20 October 2008
|
|
|
20 November 2009
|
|
|
6 June 2010
|
|
|
17 June 2011
|
|
|
17 October 2011
|
Incidents and accidents
§
On 4 November 2010, Qantas Flight 32, en
route from Singapore Changi Airport to Sydney Airport,
suffered an uncontained engine failure, resulting in a series of
related problems, and forcing the flight to return to Singapore. There were no
injuries to the passengers, crew or people on the ground despite debris falling
onto the Indonesian island of Batam. The A380 was damaged
sufficiently for the event to be classified as an accident. Qantas subsequently
grounded all of its A380s that day subject to an internal investigation taken
in conjunction with the engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce plc.
Other operators of Rolls-Royce-powered A380s were also affected. Investigators
later determined the cause of the explosion to be an oil leak in the Trent 900engine.
Specifications
Comparison
between four of the largest aircraft, the Hughes
H-4 Hercules (gold), theAntonov An-225 (green), the Airbus A380-800 (pink), and the Boeing 747-8 (blue).
Layout of A380-800, 519
seats total
|
Measurement
|
A380-800
|
A380-800F
|
|
Cockpit crew
|
Two
|
|
|
Seating capacity
|
525 (3-class)
644
(2-class)
853 (1-class) |
12 couriers
|
|
72.73 m (238.6 ft)
|
||
|
Wingspan
|
79.75 m (261.6 ft)
|
|
|
Height
|
24.45 m (80.2 ft)
|
|
|
Wheelbase
|
33.58 m (110.2 ft) wing landing gear
36.85 m (120.9 ft) body landing gear |
|
|
Wheel track
|
12.46 m (40.9 ft)
|
|
|
Outside fuselage width
|
7.14 m (23.4 ft)
|
|
|
Outside fuselage height
|
8.41 m (27.6 ft)
|
|
|
Maximum cabin width
|
6.58 m (21.6 ft) Main deck
5.92 m (19.4 ft) Upper deck (floor level) |
|
|
Cabin length
|
49.9 m (164 ft) Main deck
44.93 m (147.4 ft) Upper deck |
|
|
Wing area
|
845 m2 (9,100 sq ft)
|
|
|
Aspect ratio
|
7.5
|
|
|
33.5°
|
||
|
Maximum taxi/ramp weight
|
571,000 kg (1,260,000 lb)
|
592,000 kg (1,310,000 lb)
|
|
Maximum take-off weight
|
569,000 kg (1,250,000 lb)
|
590,000 kg (1,300,000 lb)
|
|
Maximum landing weight
|
391,000 kg (860,000 lb)
|
427,000 kg (940,000 lb)
|
|
Maximum zero fuel weight
|
366,000 kg (810,000 lb)
|
402,000 kg (890,000 lb)
|
|
Typical Operating empty weight
|
276,800 kg (610,000 lb)
|
252,200 kg (556,000 lb)
|
|
Maximum structural payload
|
89,200 kg (197,000 lb)
|
149,800 kg (330,000 lb)
|
|
Maximum cargo volume
|
176 m3 (6,200 cu ft)
|
1,134 m3 (40,000 cu ft)
|
|
Maximum operating speed
at cruise altitude |
Mach 0.89 (945 km/h, 587 mph,
510 knots)
|
|
|
Maximum design speed
in dive at cruise altitude |
Mach 0.96
(at cruise altitude: 1020 km/h, 634 mph, 551 knots) |
|
|
2,750 m (9,020 ft)
|
2,900 m (9,500 ft)
|
|
|
Range at design load
|
15,400 km (8,300 nmi, 9,500 mi)
|
10,400 km (5,600 nmi, 6,400 mi)
|
|
Service ceiling
|
13,115 m (43,028 ft)
|
|
|
Maximum fuel capacity
|
320,000 L
(84,600 US gal) |
310,000 L
(81,893 US gal), 320,000 L (84,600 US gal) option |
|
Engines (4 x)
|
||
|
Thrust (4 x)
|
310 kN (70,000 lbf) – GP7270
310 kN (70,000 lbf) – Trent 970/B 320 kN (72,000 lbf) – Trent 972/B |
340 kN (76,000 lbf) – GP7277
340 kN (76,000 lbf) – Trent 977/B |
Sources: Airbus A380
specifications[
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