Ten years ago the A380 took to the skies becoming an overnight sensation as a global audience of millions watched in awe. Since then, passengers go out of their way to fly it, while airlines such as Emirates count on it to boost revenues. Over 300 have been sold and in the coming decades the A380 will play an even more important role connecting the world’s major cities thanks to its size and technological innovations.
When the A380 was launched with its first customer Singapore Airlines, the aircraft was ground-breaking not just with its extra cabin space but innovations in the design and systems that included 380 new patents.
John Leahy, Airbus’s Chief Operating Officer -Customers said in an interview last week, “There are 13 airlines flying the A380. We have sold over 300 aircraft about half of them have been delivered. In fact one airline, Emirates has 59 A380s in operation today. In fact every 4 minutes an A380 is landing or taking off somewhere in the world. Thats every four minutes 24/7 an A380 takes off or lands somewhere in the world”
Mr Leahy contines to give an example of how both the airlines and pasengers a like benefit from the A380. “I hate to use examples for individual airlines but this is so obvious I am sure British Airways doesn’t mind. They had three 747s flying from London Heathrow to LA everyday and passengers were happy. They realized they could put 2 A380s on the same route. They made more money, the passengers were even happier, market share improved because the aircraft is comfortable and the seats are bigger. Its much quieter, so it’s a win-win. The airline is happy they make more money, the passenger is happy, he has a better flight.”
He continues “The A380 is about twice the size of a 787 or even our own A350 so we have A350s to compete with the 787. But no airline in the world would think that an A380 and 787 are comparable aircraft and could be substituted for each other. You would need two 787 flights to handle the passengers on 1 A380 and it would cost you more money and you would burn more fuel and you would make more noise. Thats not a win-win for anybody.”
On being asked why the US market has not picked up the A380 Mr leahy states, “I think its just a matter of time in the US market. The 747 hasn’t played very well in the US market. But as the US airlines move more into Asia and more into those big hubs we see around the world they will need the A380 and then of course the passengers will demand the A380. Traffic is doubling every 15 years . This has been happening since the dawn of the jet age. It will if anything accelerate. Parts of Asia are doubling every 10 years. People say well there are areas of the world like Africa where you will never use an A380 but I beg to differ. There are A380s flying to South Africa as I speak. The A380 will be flying on every continent with virtually every international major airline. Its just a matter of time.”
Of late there has been rumours around changes and the longevity of the A380 program to which Mr Leahy responds, “We constantly talk to our customers and there have been rumors out in the field about whether we are going to look at new engines on the airplane, new aero-dynamic improvements on the aircraft. These are evolutionary changes. They are part of the system of keeping an airplane alive for up to 40 or 50 years and this program will be around 40 to 50 years from now. No doubt in my mind about that.”
