Airbus A380: Age of the super jumbo

The Airbus A380 blasted into the aviation world as the largest passenger aircraft ever to hit the skies. Continuing its mantle as the biggest commercial plane on the market today, the hefty double-decker has the capacity to fly 525 passengers in a three-class configuration and up to 853 in a single-class configuration. With a range of 8300 nautical miles, the A380 also claims the lowest fuel burn per seat and generates less noise pollution on departure and landing.

Earlier last year, a confident Airbus increased the list price of its A380 by 8.4 percent to a steep $375.3m. According to the manufacturer, this hike is largely as a result of the aircraft’s previously underestimated revenue generating performance. With its huge capacity potential, the A380 can be used to reduce the number of flights necessary whilst maintaining airline capacity or even offering more capacity with fewer take-off slots.

Airbus promises that with the model due for overhaul and improvement in the future, its revenue potential will rise even further. Clearly the aviation industry is acquiescing as the manufacturer has seen demand for its superjumbo rocketing.

But what is it that makes the A380 such an attractive proposition? Richard Carcaillet, Airbus’ head of marketing for the A380, believes the aircraft has been a key contributor to the aviation industry’s growth. “The A380 offers 40 percent more seats than a Boeing 747 at a much lower unit cost and environmental impact,” he claims. “Besides achieving a sustainable growth for airlines, it offers more comfort to passengers thanks to the best cabin in the sky, providing more space and more silence contributing to the best travel experience in all classes.” With each of these benefits, the A380 has proven to be what Carcaillet terms ‘a passenger magnet’ from day one. “The airlines have reported higher load factors with respect to the aircraft it replaced, demonstrating that passengers are actively seeking the A380 flights for their trips,” says Carcaillet. “This ‘A380 effect’ continues even four years after the entry into service, since passengers who have flown it feel the difference and want to repeat the experience.”

At present there are 58 of the aircraft in operation, shared amongst seven customers — Emirates Airlines, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Korean Air, Lufthansa, Air France and China Southern Airlines. Top of the list, Dubai’s national airline Emirates holds fifteen superjumbos in its fleet, with Australian carrier Qantas following closely behind having taken delivery of ten of its twenty ordered aircraft. But this gap is due to widen sharply as Emirates has a staggering 90 of the aircraft on order. Airbus delivered fourteen A380s last year — one each to Singapore Airlines and China Southern Airlines; two for Air France; three apiece to Qantas and Korean Air; and four for Lufthansa. But its order sheet reflects the growing popularity of the aircraft with other global airlines, totalling 253 at the end of January 2012. Other big names keen to get aboard the A380 include British Airways, Kingfisher Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Skymark Airlines and Virgin Atlantic.

In the Middle East, all three Gulf carriers have snapped up the aircraft. Qatar Airways ordered five additional A380’s with options for five more at the Dubai Airshow in November.

The UAE’s flag carrier, Etihad Airways, on the other hand, has ordered ten A380s, with deliveries from 2014 onwards. The airline actually delayed the first handover to take advantage of recently-implemented modifications, with chief commercial officer Peter Baumgartner promising a breakthrough in terms of the aircraft’s utilisation.

Much of the A380’s allure comes from what Airbus pinpoints as its ‘unrivalled versatility’ in terms of segmentation and seating arrangement. So far, the existing aircraft customers have utilised the superjumbo’s spaciousness in vastly different ways. Although the capacity of the A380 is up to 800 passengers in an all-economy configuration, the average total number of seats across classes ranges from 407 seats (Korean Air) to 526 seats (Lufthansa).

The benefit of this extra space has also allowed the operators to let their imagination loose when it comes to interior design. Some have introduced lounges, bars, spacious first class suites and even, in the case of Emirates, fully-equipped shower spas.

“Definitely the unique, full double-deck cabin of the A380 is a masterpiece of interior architecture and design, offering the best experience for passengers and an efficient layout for airlines,” says Carcaillet. “With the increased floor space and architecture, innovative solutions are possible to help the airlines differentiate their product
and increase their profitability.”

Article continued on next page