Airbus A380 Super Jumbo Flying Titanic Set For Maiden Flight (10:30 AM Paris Time)

ATS Swiss News Agency | April 27, 2005

[BigSkyFreeper]

The world's biggest airliner, Airbus A380, a 555-passenger superjumbo twin deck aircraft, takes off to make its maiden flight at the Toulouse-Blagnac airport in southwestern France, April 27, 2005. Photo by Jacky Naegelen/Reuters

[MinuteGal]

I couldn't get on that lumbering dodo bird for all the coffee in Starbucks. It gives me bad vibes.

Leni

[reg45]

Cool video! When do we get to see the wings fall off!

[RayChuang88]

And I'd love to be there in person to see the monster fly.

Come to San Francisco in late 2006 and you might just see the A380-800 on Singapore Airlines' Flight 001/002 route between Singapore and San Francisco via Hong Kong--perhaps that airlines' most profitable route.

[soccer_linux_mozilla]

Boing should build an even bigger plane.

[Red6]

Boeing is building more efficient and smaller planes. Example 7E7 or 777.

The "Hub and Spoke" principal is dying (Long term). People want direct flights in Europe as well as N. America. N. America as well as Europe allow international flights to go into MANY airports today, versus 30 years ago. The A380 is marketed heavily in Asia where despite all media accounts it WILL be used as a cattle car, WITHOUT bar and pretty interior, carrying in EXCESS of 800 passengers.

With world oil prices going up and up, the more efficient planes by Boeing become yet more attractive.

Airbus is building bigger, when smaller is becoming the trend. Look at the sales of the 7E7, consider the Boeing is still quiet a bit further out from production.

We don’t need to build another “Spruce Goose”. We did that before.

Red6

[Red6]

How cramped a plane is depends on the airline and how they want to configure it. If you have the money, you can get a 737 with only one big Loveseat in it.

Red6

[Central Scrutiniser]

So, you are a fan of death and destruction?

Grow the hell up.