Plus, the military is looking at it as a refuling tanker that could refuel two aircraft at the same time and as a heavy lift cargo plane. Some at Boeing have resisted this plane but this new Airbus and slow sales of the 7E7 may change their mind.
Posted on 01/18/2005 7:45:22 AM PST by Happy2BMe
Airbus unveiled the world's biggest passenger jet in a glitzy ceremony in which the leaders of France, Britain, Germany and Spain hailed Europe's victory over the United States as the new king of the commercial skies.
The huge A380 superjumbo, which can carry up to 840 people on its two full decks, supersedes the ageing 747 by US rival Boeing as the biggest civilian aircraft ever made.
When it is put into service early next year, it will become the flagship of many airline fleets and offer unprecedented amenities on long-haul services, including, in some cases, gyms, bedrooms and bars.
For the countries which backed the 10.7-billion-euro (14-billion-dollar) development cost, the plane stood as a prominent symbol of European cooperation.
"Good old Europe has made this possible," German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder told a packed hall in Airbus's headquarters in Toulouse, southwest France.
That was a barely-veiled barb recalling the US dismissal of France, Germany and other EU states in 2003 as "Old Europe" because of their opposition to the war on Iraq.
Noel Forgeard, the French head of Airbus, made similar hints in his presentation of the A380 during a spectacle featuring computer graphics, atmospheric theme music and swirling colours.
"The European states -- so easily accused of weakness -- backed this fantastic challenge 35 years ago and have believed in the A380," he said.
The hubris on display was reinforced by recent figures showing that, for the second year running, Airbus has outsold Boeing and now holds some 57 percent of the world market for passenger aircraft.
The company, a majority owned subsidiary of the listed European Aerospace and Defence Company (with 20 percent in the hands of Britain's BAE Systems), forecasts that the A380 will extend that lead.
Thirteen airlines have already placed firm orders for 139 of the planes. Airbus calculates that by 2008 it will reach the break-even point of 250 A380s sold, and from that point it will turn out 35 of the aircraft per year to rising profits.
The catalogue price of the huge machine -- boasting a wingspan of 80 metres (262 feet), overall length of 73 metres (239 feet), height of 24 metres (79 feet) and maximum take-off weight of 560 tonnes -- is between 263 and 286 million dollars, though discounts are frequently applied.
French President Jacques Chirac called the project a "big success" and said: "We can, and we must, go further on this path of European construction so essential for growth and employment."
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said the plane was "the culmination of many years of hard work" and congratulated the workers across Europe who made it happen.
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said Europe was "unstoppable" when it pooled its efforts.
The plane, Zapatero said, "has turned this historic moment into a moment in which cooperation and globalisation are giving rise to more peace and justice."
The four EU leaders later lunched together, leaving industry VIPS to get close to the huge white plane sitting in its hangar.
Airline executives at the presentation were superlative in their praise, even though the A380 has yet to undergo test flights scheduled for March or April.
Richard Branson, the head of Britain's Virgin Atlantic, said his airline would pamper passengers on the six A380s ordered by including gyms, beauty parlours, bars -- and even casinos and double beds.
The last two features meant "you'll have at least two ways to get lucky on our flights," Branson joked.
The biggest buyer of the new plane is the Emirates airline, which has ordered 43. "The A380 will be the future of air travel," its chairman, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, said.
Airbus's success with the A380 is raising hackles at Boeing, which has won relatively little interest in its own new offering, a long-range mid-size plane called the 7E7 Dreamliner.
A bruising dispute over state subsidies between Boeing and Airbus is currently the subject of tense negotiations which, if they fail at the end of a three-month deadline, will blow up into a full-blown arbitration case at the World Trade Organisation.
UPS is there too.
Victory? They've eclipsed an aircraft introduced in 1970.
Excuse me if I don't want to fly on a plane with 839 other people.
I'm a free market capitalist, but I think America should start subsidizing Boeing and undercutting Airbus prices and then see where the market is.
Innovation would do more to show the strength of "Old Europe" than taking an American invention and making it bigger. The Soviet Union could do that.
Shalom.
It is one terrible shame, but the US aircraft industry is heading down the toilet just like the shipbuilding, textile, steel making, auto manufacturing, and electronics industries.
I AM embarrassed.
More likely, the airlines will stuff as many people as possible into these planes in order to increase profits. Forget the gyms, bedrooms and bars.
I think Airbus got their business model from the Underpant's Gnomes.
Phase 1: Build giant airplane.
Phase 2:
Phase 3: Profit!
It's got a cargo capacity of over 150 tons, a whole lot more than the 747. Fedex would be crazy not to be right there smack in the middle of it.
I'm often embarrassed.
"More likely, the airlines will stuff as many people as possible into these planes in order to increase profits. Forget the gyms, bedrooms and bars.
":
Yeah! Remember the launch of the 747. Bars, lounges with piano players, etc. Didn't take long for all that to go away, replaced with more seats closer together.
Any American airline that buys one of these beasts should look for their next financial bailout from Europe, not me.
Plus, the military is looking at it as a refuling tanker that could refuel two aircraft at the same time and as a heavy lift cargo plane. Some at Boeing have resisted this plane but this new Airbus and slow sales of the 7E7 may change their mind.
Maybe this will end up a turkey like the concorde ... there is nothing here that Boeing cant replicate, they just dont think it is the right strategic position for selling planes:
http://www.airliners.net/discussions/general_aviation/read.main/1903297/
think right now we are going through a period when A will be able to take advantage of the fact that there are no planes in the fleet inventories of any airliner the size of the 380. There is a fairly large fleet inventory in the 747 size segment.
In terms of selling today, money is going to the 380 size segment. Enough money to get the plane into the fleet and give airlines a full opportunity to evaluate just how well it performs - especially on the financial side.
After initial inventory levels are filled then airlines will be looking at other size segments. While A has the advantage in the 380 segment B has just as good an advantage (if not better) in the 747 segment. Shrinking the 380 (a plane designed to be stretched) is going to be very difficult if one is to beat the 747ADV economics. Moving some of the 7E7 technologies to the 747 will be far easier.
The key for me is that the airlines will not want to replace all of their 747s with a 380 size plane. They will look at different planes, including the 777/340, but the 747ADV will still have its size segment.
From a risk position, I think B has an advantage. The 7E7 is a proven size and the 7E7 will sell well for a long time. Technology from the 7E7 can go both up to the 747 and down to the 737. For the 380 airlines are going to need to look at annual load factors and may well move planes around, replacing some routes with a 747 or 777/330/340.
It's going to be an interesting few years with huge pressures on both A & B to exceed expectations for their new planes. For me, exceeding expectations is going to be critical for long term success.
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