Didn’t outlive the 747 by very long. But even though they won’t make any more, I’m glad the A380 will still be in service for many years to come. Fine plane - upstairs in business class, when I have the chance to fly business, very quiet, clean and up-to-date.
They don’t have to make a profit, because they can go to the taxpayers of Europe. That’s why they can engage in projects like the A380, which was really a stunt for bragging rights (worlds biggest airplane made by the EU, not the USA) to deliver incredibly large air castles to middle eastern sheikhs at subsidized prices.
I don’t know how long the major airports of the world will continue to maintain the special gate apparatus and setups they needed to build in order to accommodate the A380’s double-deck passenger boarding and deplaining setup. Probably not too long.
Meantime, the Dreamliner is racking up enormous fuel savings for its owners.
I had mixed feelings when it was introduced - several market “brains” said there just wasn’t the demand for the massive planes - especially with the requirements that many airports upgrade terminals to accommodate the monsters. Also - it was introduced at a time that most carriers were actually DOWNsizing there aircraft - with a shift more toward regional jets. At the same time, Boeing was rolling out their latest - smaller than the A380, but also significantly more efficient.
I hadn’t keep up much after the initial deliveries - but I traveled to Europe last Spring - and saw a surprising number of the A380 aircraft under a few different colors - at Charles de Gaulle Airport - and at Atlanta.
I still want to fly on one...
I’ve only flown on one of these once. My first impression is that it is a pain getting that many passengers on and off the plane. Takes forever. My second impression is that it did not have enough bathrooms for the number of passengers it carried.
The closest I’ve been to one is driving south on 280 near SFO. Watching those beasts fly right over you is incredible. They seem to be floating, struggling to gain altitude, but it’s just an optical illusion. I think.
Just as well, they’ll all be gone in 10 years anyway. It’ll take a lot longer going by train to Asia, though.
In short, the airlines realized the Boeing 777-9 has a better future. Lower seat costs and no need for very expensive dual-level jet bridges at airport parking gates does help things. Watch Emirates buy an additional 50 777-9 planes in place of the 30 A380’s they were going to order.
Fuel burn per seat mile is the name of the game. Boeing won the game with the 787. The A380 was based on long haul high passenger loads. If you can not fill that monster up on the long haul it loses money.
In reality it is a technological wonder. In the future the A380 will fly the sky for many years on long distance heavy loads as a freight carrier which it is most suited for. Boeing will fly the passengers in smaller and more fuel efficient aircraft.
Not surprising since air travel will be banned soon.
Despairbus
In the mean time Boeing has delivered over three times as many 787s.
After all that taxpayer money in subsidies, the Air Pig turns out to be a giant flop. A normal company would be driven into or at least very close to bankruptcy by such a fiasco - but Airbus will simply scream for more subsidies and will get them from Yurps desperate to feel relevant in high tech.
They would be better served getting a drone type car vehicle released. There are a couple companies that appear to have a viable model nearly ready for commercialization. If the govt gets out of the way.
Who wants to fly in an airplane that if it crashes, it would be the “deadliest passenger crash” in history?