And that's it for the A380

Kinja'd!!! "facw" (facw)
02/14/2019 at 01:39 • Filed to: Planelopnik, A380, DEAD, Airbus

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This is probably about as flattering an angle as you can get for the A380, it’s not the prettiest plane ever to take to the skies

As expected, Airbus is ending A380 production after the A380's largest purchaser, Emirates, slashed its order of order A380s. Emirates has agreed to buy A350s and A330neos in its place. The last delivery is scheduled to take place in 2021, with 14 more planes being built for Emirates and 3 for ANA. The A380 is the world’s largest jetliner, but was a financial failure for Airbus, never reaching the sales volumes it needed as airlines turned their attention first to more efficient and lower maintenance twin jets for their long distance routes, and then again to lighter composite aircraft.

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DISCUSSION (27)


Kinja'd!!! For Sweden > facw
02/14/2019 at 01:47

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RIP big thirsty bois


Kinja'd!!! farscythe - makin da cawfee! > facw
02/14/2019 at 01:50

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man... i should buy a fleet of those... throw half the seats out and start legspace airways

got some change i can borrow?


Kinja'd!!! facw > farscythe - makin da cawfee!
02/14/2019 at 01:57

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Hmm, they probably are still a bit rich for my blood. This A340 for only $9M seems like a bargain though:

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https://www.controller.com/listings/aircraft/for-sale/1296807/1997-airbus-a340


Kinja'd!!! farscythe - makin da cawfee! > facw
02/14/2019 at 02:00

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noice :D

sooo... with $50 downpayment

i cans get a 60 000 month plan yes?


Kinja'd!!! Steve in Manhattan > facw
02/14/2019 at 02:02

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So what does Airbus do next? Something 787-ish?


Kinja'd!!! Wheelerguy > Steve in Manhattan
02/14/2019 at 02:08

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Something that can whoop the ass of the 777.


Kinja'd!!! facw > Steve in Manhattan
02/14/2019 at 02:20

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I don’t think they have any concrete future plans beyond what they are building now. However they have two competitive widebodies:

A350

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This is their most modern aircraft, built using mostly composite structures to create a very efficient airline. Similar to the 787, but a bit larger to also allow the longer versions to compete with the 777X. These have been out in the wild for a few years.

A330neo

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The A350, especially the smallest model, is apparently not as efficient as airlines hoped, so Airbus was convinced to also make revamped version of their long-serving A330 with new engines (neo is New Engine Option) to increase efficiency. It is a little smaller than the A350, more in line with the 787 , and not as efficient as either , but being based on an existing aircraft and using fewer exotic materials means that it is cheaper up front, making it appealing to airlines.

Probably Airbus will stick with these two for a while, as the costs of developing a new widebody are immense (they surely could design a new A380 sized plane that would be as efficient as these, if not more so, but they’d never sell enough to break even on it). Their short-haul A320 family is generally competitive, so there’s no need to rush anything there, and they took advantage of Boeing’s weakening of Bombardier to take over their C-Series program, so they now have a shiny new regional jet. That more or less fills all the roles right now, though if supersonic make a comeback or if the 797 (a new Boeing to finally replace the 757 slotting in between the 737 and 787) puts a damper on A321 sales, they might have to do something, but I imagine all they have right now are very long term plans, or incremental upgrades.


Kinja'd!!! facw > Steve in Manhattan
02/14/2019 at 02:25

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This is how A irbus sees the space (those are the old A330s, but the new ones are filling similar slots):

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They don’t have to worry about the 747-8, it’s nearly as doomed as the A380, and is basically being kept alive by freighter orders at this point.


Kinja'd!!! Nick Has an Exocet > facw
02/14/2019 at 02:31

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I’m not as sad as I was over the 747. The 747 is a legend and was always buttery smooth. The 787 is kind of mess and all these high efficiency planes feel like flying Nissan Altimas. I do a lot of international travel and the a330 / 737er always feel stressed out trying to keep up on those long trips.


Kinja'd!!! facw > Nick Has an Exocet
02/14/2019 at 02:38

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The 747 is still in production, but they have very few (if any) passenger orders outstanding (Boeing’s O rders & Deliveries page seems to be broken, though it shows 24 unfulfilled orders). In theory though, that means Lufthansa or some other 747 lover could still order more. It seems unlikely though, airlines looking for large passenger planes seem much happier with ordering the 777X. I’d assume that if Boeing gets any more 747 orders, they will be freighters.


Kinja'd!!! pip bip - choose Corrour > facw
02/14/2019 at 02:50

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bargain!


Kinja'd!!! Future Heap Owner > facw
02/14/2019 at 03:05

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How long do you think they’ll keep flying? Decades, right? I would like to fly in one at some point.


Kinja'd!!! gettingoldercarguy > facw
02/14/2019 at 03:09

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A lot of people thought this was going to happen. Boeing  really had the market forecasts nailed.


Kinja'd!!! facw > gettingoldercarguy
02/14/2019 at 03:14

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I mean, Boeing probably should have been able to see just from initial sales of the A380 that the market for the 747-8 was going to be really weak as well, and probably not proceeded with it.


Kinja'd!!! facw > Future Heap Owner
02/14/2019 at 03:16

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There’s always a chance they’ll be considered too expensive to fly and all get converted to freighters or retired prematurely, but I suspect they’ll be a staple on long-distance passenger routes between major cities for at least another couple decades.


Kinja'd!!! gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > facw
02/14/2019 at 07:25

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Freighter version. Would be even more expensive than s passenger version


Kinja'd!!! Roundbadge > facw
02/14/2019 at 07:40

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A340s don’t actually climb...they just go straight and the earth’s curvature does the rest.

Always liked that joke.


Kinja'd!!! ateamfan42 > Future Heap Owner
02/14/2019 at 08:02

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I would like to fly in one at some point.

I can say from experience, it is pretty cool.  It was interesting loading through 2 jetways simultaneously (one for each deck).


Kinja'd!!! gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > facw
02/14/2019 at 08:13

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Another aspect are the wings anew made in Wales and with brexit uncertainty moving is probably too  costly


Kinja'd!!! WilliamsSW > Roundbadge
02/14/2019 at 08:32

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  they also just hover and let the earths rotation move the aircraft to its destination 


Kinja'd!!! WilliamsSW > Nick Has an Exocet
02/14/2019 at 08:33

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I loved flying on the 787 - better than  the 777. 


Kinja'd!!! facw > gmporschenut also a fan of hondas
02/14/2019 at 10:08

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Air freight companies seem less concerned about efficiency, especially when they can get heavily depreciated planes.

I don’t know if they can logistically use such a huge plane with just the relatively small cargo door you see on other widebody conversions.


Kinja'd!!! gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > facw
02/14/2019 at 20:34

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should have included more expensive to operate. A problem for the A380 in addition to the doors, is that the internal volume of the a380 is too large. Going by the average weight of those shipping pallets, t he a380 would max out before fully filling up the volume. so it would be incuring a drag penalty without gain.


Kinja'd!!! Steve in Manhattan > facw
02/14/2019 at 20:35

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Thanks - that explains it.


Kinja'd!!! Steve in Manhattan > facw
02/14/2019 at 21:04

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Thanks for that - I understand it - signed, Knows Nothing About Aircraft.


Kinja'd!!! Nick Has an Exocet > WilliamsSW
02/15/2019 at 00:29

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787 is okay. It’s weirdly flexy in turbulence .


Kinja'd!!! WilliamsSW > Nick Has an Exocet
02/15/2019 at 00:47

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Depends on where you sit. The very front or back of a 747 is weird too. I’m most always right around the wing, which minimizes turbulence