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  • The beginning of the end for the A380...

    Airbus Group, which has failed to find a new airline buyer for its A380 superjumbo this year, is at a crossroads that leaves it with two directions: spend heavily to improve the plane - or let it go.

    Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/aviat...#ixzz3LWpKWXNU
    The superjumbo may not be around for long anymore, with airlines preferring smaller, more fuel-efficient planes and not placing a single order this year.

  • #2
    wow. will this go down as the shortest lifespan ever for a modern model?

    Comment


    • #3
      My Home airport has always been and will forever be my Home airport. I was born 14 nmi north of that airport.

      And that airport, which today is the third biggest in the re-unified Republic of Germany, which saw the LT Lockheed Tristar and the NW-B742,

      only saw this bird once. I was there, I have my photos when a LH-A388 came to EDDL, for... not longer than 5 hours.

      Don't let me say that this bird is too big (in comparison to my avatar) for the average intercontinental airport like EDDL.

      But men that are older than 35, don't they tend to be Boeing men? When I was a kid, a LH JU52 was on top of the EDDL Terminal B.

      The Japanese see the signs of our time, and even my dear LH knows a little bit. Both airlines do NOT operate their biggest a/c on EDDL.

      And my Canadian friends do no longer operate 1 single intercontinental double decker.

      DUS - MIA was permanently cancelled because obviously the 388 enroute FRA - MIA was not full enough.

      But my home airport has more than 21,2 Million fans (2013). And they all are happy without the 388, since 1927.

      Imho, what lars wrote is not a wonder. Sad, for Airbus fans, but true.


      PS: website administrators show their level of incompetence, when they change to a version that is not at all ready for more than 21,2 million visits per year (dus dot com). Also sad, but also true.

      I wouldn't say that if I don't run my own page. HEY EDDL, where is the previous, stable version?! More expensive graphic details on a website that does not have to contain more than the EDDL flight plan,

      plus 1 new free offer for all 22 million dus dot com visitors per year that REALLY needs bandwidth and servers that can handle an online flight tracker

      = dus dot com is down.

      My congrats. Come to DUS and see what less than 30 years of hardware experience are good for (I am not a poser). It is a shame!

      The only thing that is good that I don't work for DUS.

      PSII: Let me try to report on jp when my home airport is 100% online again. CYa.
      Last edited by LH-B744; 2014-12-11, 05:45. Reason: + spelling +... what the heck did they do with the website
      The German long haul is alive, 65 years and still kicking.
      The Gold Member in the 747 club, 50 years since the first LH 747.
      And constantly advanced, 744 and 748 /w upper and lower EICAS.
      This is Lohausen International airport speaking, echo delta delta lima.

      Comment


      • #4
        It may be a short lifespan but they probably would have attracted more customers if it wasn't so delayed. Right now we would probably have a 900 and FedEx would be receiving their first A380F
        I'm the guy... Porter Guy

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by LH-B744 View Post
          My Home airport has always been and will forever be my Home airport. I was born 14 nmi north of that airport.

          And that airport, which today is the third biggest in the re-unified Republic of Germany, which saw the LT Lockheed Tristar and the NW-B742,

          only saw this bird once. I was there, I have my photos when a LH-A388 came to EDDL, for... not longer than 5 hours.

          Don't let me say that this bird is too big (in comparison to my avatar) for the average intercontinental airport like EDDL.

          But men that are older than 35, don't they tend to be Boeing men? When I was a kid, a LH JU52 was on top of the EDDL Terminal B.

          The Japanese see the signs of our time, and even my dear LH knows a little bit. Both airlines do NOT operate their biggest a/c on EDDL.

          And my Canadian friends do no longer operate 1 single intercontinental double decker.

          DUS - MIA was permanently cancelled because obviously the 388 enroute FRA - MIA was not full enough.

          But my home airport has more than 21,2 Million fans (2013). And they all are happy without the 388, since 1927.

          Imho, what lars wrote is not a wonder. Sad, for Airbus fans, but true.


          PS: website administrators show their level of incompetence, when they change to a version that is not at all ready for more than 21,2 million visits per year (dus dot com). Also sad, but also true.

          I wouldn't say that if I don't run my own page. HEY EDDL, where is the previous, stable version?! More expensive graphic details on a website that does not have to contain more than the EDDL flight plan,

          plus 1 new free offer for all 22 million dus dot com visitors per year that REALLY needs bandwidth and servers that can handle an online flight tracker

          = dus dot com is down.

          My congrats. Come to DUS and see what less than 30 years of hardware experience are good for (I am not a poser). It is a shame!

          The only thing that is good that I don't work for DUS.

          PSII: Let me try to report on jp when my home airport is 100% online again. CYa.
          What?

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by TeeVee View Post
            wow. will this go down as the shortest lifespan ever for a modern model?
            Think of the A318, A340-200, 737-600, 747-8, etc
            The above are variants though. For an entire model family, perhaps.

            However, in numbers, it is certainly not the worst modern model. The A380(147 built, 318 on order) beats the IL-96(29 built) by a wide margin. It even exceeds the MD-11(200 built)

            Comment


            • #7
              I never get a grasp of LH's posts either.

              Comment


              • #8
                airliner. |ɛər'laɪnər|
                n. Airplane operated by airlines, flown by two pilots, with a fuselage of circular cross-section, low wings that are moderately swept, low tail, hydraulically powered and computer controlled flight controls, and two engines hanging from the wings, and that takes passengers or cargo from A to B at an altitude of about 40000ft and a speed of about M 0.78.

                --- Judge what is said by the merits of what is said, not by the credentials of who said it. ---
                --- Defend what you say with arguments, not by imposing your credentials ---

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by TeeVee View Post
                  wow. will this go down as the shortest lifespan ever for a modern model?
                  Yes, especially in its size...
                  "The real CEO of the 787 project is named Potemkin"

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by LUNN View Post
                    I never get a grasp of LH's posts either.
                    Me too!

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      There are only so many routes that need the A380's capacity and even fewer airports which can handle the whale, especially more than one at a time. IIRC, DFW can only handle one at a time, which is why Emirates and Qantas arrive morning and afternoon respectively.

                      If it wasn't for Emirates, the A380 would still likely be below the break-even number. It works for them because of, as the article mentioned, their route structure. Still, I don't see how people can afford to fly Emirates. An article recently about their A380 service to Houston listed the prices and it was nuts. First class was $18,000. And how many of those outstanding, non-Emirates orders will get changed over to the new A330 or A350?

                      The 747-8 will likely continue for a while as a freighter as the design excels in that role while the A380 doesn't. With the largest A350s, 777s, and 787s filling the role that was once the domain of the 747, and doing so far more economically, the need for extremely large, four engine aircraft is becoming a niche market.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by B757300 View Post
                        There are only so many routes that need the A380's capacity and even fewer airports which can handle the whale, especially more than one at a time. IIRC, DFW can only handle one at a time, which is why Emirates and Qantas arrive morning and afternoon respectively.
                        Apart from slot restricted airports - where else would the A380 be needed? More and more, airlines are realizing that when it comes to their real revenue makers (passengers in 'premium cabins') these passengers prefer the flexibility of greater frequencies than the allure of 'premium amenities'. If they can manage to take advantage of both, fantastic. However, the question posed originally by EADs (i.e. the justification of the A380's existence) has been answered and duly so against the idea.

                        Originally posted by B757300 View Post
                        If it wasn't for Emirates, the A380 would still likely be below the break-even number. It works for them because of, as the article mentioned, their route structure. Still, I don't see how people can afford to fly Emirates. An article recently about their A380 service to Houston listed the prices and it was nuts. First class was $18,000. And how many of those outstanding, non-Emirates orders will get changed over to the new A330 or A350?
                        Apart from (or, perhaps as you have astutely raised, directly in response to) the price of the tickets, the load factors of the EK's A380 DFW flights in October have been abysmal. Any other airline, given those factors would be screaming about product utilization. Given, it may be that the price of Premium Cabins is higher because there may well be a great demand for the product, and perhaps said cabins are full, while Coach is woefully light. Given again, it was only one month's reporting and not enough to merit a complete overhaul of the service - however, the new was not great.

                        Originally posted by B757300 View Post
                        The 747-8 will likely continue for a while as a freighter as the design excels in that role while the A380 doesn't. With the largest A350s, 777s, and 787s filling the role that was once the domain of the 747, and doing so far more economically, the need for extremely large, four engine aircraft is becoming a niche market.
                        To add, a continually diminishing niche at that. The newest iterations of the 777 and the A350 will continue to expand, encroaching further and further into the realm of the 747 and perhaps even into some of the A380's capacity.

                        Sadly, what may well suffer is the dreams of the A380's origin - where one could enjoy fantastic flying experiences not bound by the current physical practicalities of space. If we had ever experienced the stretch of an A380-900, the abilities to create innovative, and unparalleled amenities, comforts and realities.

                        For a carrier such as EK, their loss might be great - as the A380 (per their approximation) would be a cornerstone of their operation. Another great blow would be to QF, of whom despite being in financial woes at the moment, is currently using their A380s to near crazed utility standards. With the retirement of the 747s, the delay of their arriving A380s to far in to the future, no decision as to the 777 or A350 dilemma (and so, no pretty EIS dates) - they are going to face a severe capacity crisis if (as EADS has made it out to be) the production line closes in 2017 (a year before they plan to receive their next A380). A 747-8 order may be a saving grace, but that issues of 777 vs A350 needs a resolution soon.
                        Whatever is necessary, is never unwise.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          The failure of the A380 to capture sales was not so much so its own fault. It was, and will continue to be a fantastic product - however, it came to us during a time of incredible financial hardship (which kept many smaller clients away, airports from adapting, and passengers for paying a premium).

                          Unlike the 747-8, which was built upon an existing platform (and thus, came with significantly lower costs to design, produce and market) the A380 was a costlier option.

                          The future for EADS now lies in the greatest market - twins, and so the A380 will have to make way for the A350, the A330NEO and in the future, the eventual replacement of the A320 family.
                          Whatever is necessary, is never unwise.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by exswissair View Post
                            Me too!
                            He likes Dusseldorf, that's about all I can really sumize lol
                            I'm the guy... Porter Guy

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Well Airbus CEO Fabrice Bregier was quick to respond on ATW (i cant read the english article cause im not subcribed). But according to the Dutch news article Airbus is still has confidence with the A380 saying they are (still) working on a stretched version and a NEO version is still an option

                              Comment

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