Despite the time that has passed since this great plane began to fly, it's still impressive to see him land and take off ..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZbahrjQzY0
>>964145
It was also an extremely misguided program, is essentially sliding into death. Emirates is the ONLY airline that expressed interest in buying a stretched/reengined version of it, but talks fell apart and there's pretty much no chance it'll happen now. Plus, used airframes are already hitting the secondary market, undercutting new orders.
>>964301
No, it won't come along. It's now or never. They either make a neo now and get a bunch of orders (which won't happen since only Emirates wanted it and they broke off talks about it) or the production line finishes out current orders and shuts down. It's that simple.
>>964296
>It was also an extremely misguided program
It broke even. Long haul carriers wanted a long haul plane. They got it.
>>964374
Breaking even is an economic failure for Boeing/Airbus.
And there are versions of the 777 and A350 that have longer range, better per passenger economics, can use many more airports, and can connect more city pairs than the A380.
It was a good idea when it was conceived, but turned out to be horribly timed once it was actually ready for service in any significant numbers.
>>964145
I've flown in an A380 before but I still can't seem to comprehend its size. I see them flying overhead every so often and every time I do it still blows my mind. Would love to see a 747-8I at some point as well. And really looking forward to Boeing releasing the 777-9. Fucking love big planes.
wait till two of the monstrosities have their own "tenerife" moment...i am just sad that there are only two companies left making heavy haulers.
>>964463
The main advantage of the A380 is slot constraints. No wonder Emirates is its biggest client, since DXB is always experiencing capacity issues, as does LHR, which is a major destination for EK.
If they're gonna remarket used planes to major carriers like BA (which is also phasing out its enormous 747 fleet), then there's hope for a new A380.
>>967674
Smaller, more economical widebody airliners can alleviate capacity issues and slot constraints better than the A380 program can. And it's airlines and leasing companies selling secondhand airframes that they don't want, not Airbus.
>>964463
>It was a good idea when it was conceived, but turned out to be horribly timed once it was actually ready for service in any significant numbers.
Right, but that's a long way from "horribly misguided". It was a victim of timing and events outside of its control, much like the Concorde come to think of it.
>>967864
>the Concorde
Please re-read the SI Brochure
>>967874
"Concorde" is used when you are referring to the physical aircraft. "the Concorde" here is simply a short form for "the Concorde project" which is correct in both usage & grammar. You're welcome.
>>967824
>Smaller [...] airliners can alleviate capacity issues and slot constraints better than the A380 program can
How? They're smaller. They seat less passengers.
>>964463
>breaking even in an industry that is heavily subsidized is bad
That doesn't sound all that bad. At least the project didn't turn into a money pit like the Concorde did.
>>967885
Larger time buffer before/after take off and landing? I can imagine that a plane set to take off after an a380 would have to chill on the runway a bit longer due to turbulence. Also, a taxing a380 might be more time consuming for everyone involved. If it consumes twice the time slots of a plane half its size, it doesn't make any sense to use one. Just speculating here, I know nothing.
>>968472
Even if that was true, it doesn't matter if you usually perform flights which are 6-10 hours long.
AFAIK, the A380 doesn't need "double" time for a turnaround, it just needs a bigger crew (e.g. cleaning staff)
>>967885
They can use a much wider range of airports and gate facilities. The A380 needs dedicated, specialized facilities.
>>968882
But that's not the point in question here. I know the A380 can't land at any given airport, but its major appeal to Emirates was to optimize its landing slots, since you just can't land 2xB777 instead of an A380 at LHR.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-16/world-s-biggest-jetliner-available-for-rent-at-40-discount
>Used Airbus Group SE A380 superjumbos are being offered at a 40 percent discount to the $2 million-plus monthly rental rate for a new plane as leasing firm Doric seeks to spur demand for the second-hand jets.
>>964482
Where is that? Looks like AKL
>>968200
Breaking even for a business is generally bad to terrible, because that means you could've made more money by not doing anything at all and having it in passive investments.
>>969091
You're just proving how niche it is.
![25141234[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/pNMlnG9.jpg "25141234[1].jpg")
>>969144
It is AKL.
>>969729
why do you have 4 A380s in AKL?
>>969638
May I remind you the point was that A380 is used where there are capacity constraints? That's a huge pro.
>>969872
You're not actually countering anything. They require specialized gate facilities, so they are inherently constrained no matter what. Fact of the matter is that the program is in its death throes and production is going to end by 2018 or 2019. It's a huge indictment that more than half of all orders came from the Gulf states, which is the only niche it is substantially useful in. Using them means you effectively can't use secondary airports and that you have a very limited amount of gate slots at airports you can use, in fact far fewer than using a big twin like the 777 or A350. There's a good reason the program is collapsing.
>>969929
There is no point in using an A380 on a secondary airport. It's made for congested, capacity-constrained routes.
It doesn't need special gate facilities, airports are only required to be sure the taxiways' signage is properly clear.
Airports didn't need special restructuring to be compatible with the A380s.
The program is dying only because Airbus refuses to negotiate with Emirates as a sole client because that's never been done before (which is a ridiculous excuse ). The other carriers just don't want a jumbo jet (see: phasing out of the 744 and the even worse reception of the 748)
>>970028
It's not a ridiculous excuse at all. Neither Airbus nor Boeing would ever fucking start a commercial airliner program (clean sheet or refresh) if there was only a single interested customer. Emirates and it's special snowflake preferences (which don't have wide appeal to the rest of the industry) can get fucked.
>>969729
3 fly daily from DXB via Australia, and the 4th was used on the inaugural EK448 DXB-AKL non-stop at the start of March. That route is now flown by a 777-200LR though so won't be seeing that scene again any time soon.
https://youtu.be/s0xnF_q_SvY
>>970056
I don't know if it's a glitch, but if you go on emirates.com and input DXB-AKL during December 2016 the direct flight is scheduled with an A380 ;)
