Now that the pandemic seems under control, the great queens of the sky are making a comeback. Etihad, Emirates, Lufthansa, Qantas, British Airways and other airlines, including new start-up Global, are putting the A380 back to work.
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The A380 production ended with the departure of former Airbus CEO Tom Enders due to a lack of demand; the company had 17 orders in the backlog. After Emirates cut its A380 order by 39 aircraft, leaving just 14 on the backlog, the final decision was reached to terminate production on the A380.
Contributing significantly to this from pre-pandemic times till now is primarily Emirates, although British Airways was once a key player. The Gulf carrier used to, and still currently deploys its flagship Airbus A380s on all six daily flights connecting London Heathrow Airport and Dubai International Airport.
Sir Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline said: “The A380 is a truly special aircraft in so many ways. For Emirates, it gave us the opportunity to redefine the travel experience, efficiently serve demand at slot-constrained airports, and bolster our network growth.
On 16 December 2021, Emirates received its 123rd A380, which was the 251st and last delivered by Airbus. The A380's estimated $25 billion development cost was not recouped by the time Airbus ended production.
For now, the upper limit for current and proposed aircraft seems to be around the 400-seat mark. Many current A380s are likely to be phased out over the next decade, if not sooner. As such, it seems very unlikely that we will see another aircraft of its size any time soon.
The A380 in AsiaAlong with China Southern, Malaysia Airlines and Thai Airways have retired their A380s, but the double-decker still has a presence in the region. All Nippon Airways (ANA), Asiana Airlines, Korean Air and Singapore Airlines continue to operate their A380s, with 33 Asian-operated A380s in service today.
For one, the Airbus A380 has almost double the space onboard compared to the Boeing 777 series, thanks to its second level. This means the airline can afford to be a little more abundant with its first class and business class offerings onboard the A380 compared to the Triple Seven.
And something that most passengers don't know – the A380 actually has three decks! On the lowest deck there's a resting area for the cabin crew, with bunk beds and a private restroom.
Range and flexibility. Surprisingly, for all its size, the A380 can't go as far as the A350. The A350-1000 can travel more than 1,000 km (540 NM) further than the A380. Singapore Airlines has a special 'ultra-long-range' (ULR) A350-900, which operates on the longest route in the world, from Singapore to New York JFK.