Hot take:

"Spanfeller is a twat" (theaspiringengineer) 04/28/2019 at 16:10 • Filed to: ETOPS ME THIS

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The A380 and the A310 were ahead of their respective time

If the regulatory climate, and engine reliability were better, the a310 would’ve been the B787 of it’s time. As for the A380, the air travel market still can handle mid-size jets, but in a few decades that might change

WilliamsSW > Spanfeller is a twat 04/28/2019 at 16:30

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Counterpoint: the A380 was actually 30 years late.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Spanfeller is a twat 04/28/2019 at 16:46

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A380, 2big2late episode 7.

The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock > Spanfeller is a twat 04/28/2019 at 18:43

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Can Air Transat be grounded forever. 

Ash78, voting early and often > WilliamsSW 04/28/2019 at 20:07

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And unlike the 747, it wasn’t a “plan B” for a cargo plane.

Put another way, if they had built it with a proper cargo door of some kind, they’d have their own plan B right now.

WilliamsSW > Ash78, voting early and often 04/28/2019 at 20:14

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Companies should always listen to their customers*.

*Unless Emirates is your customer, ignore those idiots

wafflesnfalafel > Ash78, voting early and often 04/28/2019 at 21:23

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with a better wing, but shorter structural life span...

Ash78, voting early and often > WilliamsSW 04/28/2019 at 22:00

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*Dubai, 2012*

“See that building going up ? Ridiculous. Fiscally illogical and egotistically driven. Can we have a plane like that?”

WilliamsSW > Ash78, voting early and often 04/28/2019 at 22:50

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I was working on a business deal in Abu Dhabi/Dubai in 2007-08. Their approach to financial decision making was a bit different than what we’re used to in the US.

The Burj Dubai (Burj Khalifa now) was under construction then, and I recall taking off from Dubai, looking at that building. It was weird because most skyscrapers are surrounded by other skyscrapers- the Burj Dubai was surrounded by nothing really. That really made it look even taller.

But there was all kinds of craziness going on in Dubai then— and Abu Dhabi was trying to play catch up and surpass them, too.

Ash78, voting early and often > WilliamsSW 04/28/2019 at 22:59

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The buildings around, we refer to then as pubic hairs. No reason.

WilliamsSW > Ash78, voting early and often 04/28/2019 at 23:00

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So apparently they like clean shaven in Dubai then

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > Ash78, voting early and often 04/30/2019 at 00:12

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Even with a door, the a380 there are other issues. when you look at the typical range of air cargo density, and compare that to the a380, it would hit its max weight limit before its max cargo capacity. It would be lugging around extra volume incurring a drag penalty

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Ash78, voting early and often 04/30/2019 at 01:40

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There’s no way to make a double-decker into a good cargo aircraft, cargo door or not. Look at what makes a good cargo aircraft - single floor, high ceiling. Extra floors means extra pallets and thus more non-revenue tare weight and longer load/unload times for a relatively small increase in capacity, if any, compared to something like a 747 or MD-11. The A380 might have made a good hauler for low-density parcels, but it would have been just a niche player at best, and why you’ll never see one converted into a freighter when they are retired. They’ll just become beer cans, with the other parts keeping the rest of the fleet alive.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > WilliamsSW 04/30/2019 at 01:50

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Emirates has a geographic advantage that makes the aircraft work for them, something most other carriers lack. Other than a few high-density routes on other carriers (LHR-LAX, for example) the aircraft is just too big.

But the airlines did listen to their customers when they said that they wanted to go from point to point instead of through hubs. Just look at the scores of new routes opened up by the 787, routes not really possible in years past. In addition, those new routes didn't require airports to redesign terminals and taxiways or require special handling.

WilliamsSW > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 04/30/2019 at 08:01

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Emirates’ geographical advantage only exists in a hub and spoke system. And they spent a lot of effort trying to convince other airlines and Airbus that they were right and everyone else was wrong.

If the A380 was going to succeed anywhere, it would be in Asia, but it didn’t.

Living in Chcisgo, I’ve been pretty spoiled by P2P my whole life, and it’s nice to see even more European destinations open up with smaller aircraft.