The Wasatch Front: Airbus A380 Completes Maiden Flight

Wednesday, April 27, 2005

Airbus' double-decker, 555-passenger (with capacity for 800 passengers) successfully completed its maiden flight this morning.

At 2:34 PM, Nathan said...: Do you really think that our near-bankrupt airlines could afford such a beast? Why would they want one? Could they routinely fill it? Or would it be flying around half empty most of the time?
At 2:55 PM, Tyler said...: Actually, it's Airbus's safety record that worries me. They had been doing well lately, but they have a recent spurt of dramatic rudder and flap failures due to the composite parts cracking. Some believe that is the cause of the plane crash in New York City in October of 2001.

And this plane makes extensive use of composites.

Nate - as I understand it, the main use of this plane would be in transcontinental and transoceanic service, not domestic. That really plays to this plane's strengths - minimizing the cost per passenger. One plane can take two current planeloads of passengers on what are the most expensive fights to operate.

And in freight sevice, this plane can be very successful. UPS has 10 on order already.
At 2:58 PM, Charley Foster said...: Can you imagine how long it will take to get off the stupid thing? You're sitting in the back. It lands. And 800 people s-l-o-w-l-y get up to open the overhead compartments and s-l-o-w-l-y start pulling down their Tumi roll 0ns.