Airbus A380 makes its maiden flight

And it is off... Singapore to Sydney.

BBC article: A380 superjumbo lands in Sydney

Related topic: Airbus A380 visits Munich, see photos

And it got there. Now where was that post from some misery saying (hoping) that flight would be cancelled and replaced by a B777?

Just read that some tosser paid $100k for the pleasure...got to have rocks in his head..

I believe the seats were auctioned off for charity.

i also believe you can have a private suite!! i guess that'll be what they had. i bloody hope so at that price.

Cool, an airplane with a "Champaign room"

Now let's see if Singapore Airlines will make any money back after investing so much money on this plane.

1) They got that one "for free" (no link to prove this...)
2) They are no fools - nor are Emirates who I believe will be the second airline to receive a plane.

Yes, the top bidder got the first class suite with a double bed.

So he spent $100k to have kip in a double bed...hmmmmh

Cool! Do they have an Urbana room as well?

Checkout the SQ A380 Cabin Videos here

Click the link, then the big A380 Image at the bottom.

It's nice that Economy Class is no more than what it costs on other flights. I believe I saw 430 Euros as the price for that class of travel. I hope the other airlines to receive the A380 will continue this policy.

And the B777? That's Boeing's "plastic airplane" isn't it?

Last time I checked, that plane was still on the "drawing boards".

Q

Nope The plastic plane is the 787 Dreamliner..

Why should it cost more?


The B777 is made from conventional materials and has produced a fleet of over 650 aircraft. It was originally the MD11 stretch before Boeing bought McDonnell Douglas company. The 777 is an excellent aircraft which is very quiet - very unlike the football sized waiting lounge of the A380 with screaming kids all around...


I think you're confusing the B787 with the A350.

You're right. I did confuse the two. Thanks for clarifying

Oh wucking funderful; if Qantas or Lufthansa start operating those on a Sydney-Munich route they can get twice as many Aussies to the Oktoberfest

Frankfurt is the main Germany/Sydney route hub. Still just a 45 minute flight away..

I read that there are 12 private suites a/k/a first class seats that will go for around 5 thousand euro each on normal flights, complete with bed, comfy chair, table, and Givenchy tableware, crystal, and linens, plus Ferragamo toiletries... 60 business class seats and the rest economy with less legroom than some or all other Singapore economy seats. Though fortunately it's still a comfy airline no matter where you sit.

Just what you want after a long flight - clear customs with 600 people.

The B-787 is no more plastic than the A-380. They are both made partly out of composite materials. Airbus has had some problems with the composite tails on some of their airplanes.

As it stands now Airbus still needs several hundred more orders to break even on the A-380.

May i ask upon what basis you make the statement of several HUNDRED more to break even?

Anti-Euro bias anyone?

@TexMunich
The A380's fusalage, wings and other key components are metal. The 787 is Entirely composite. There are Investigative TV show videos and reports on these 2 planes. Have a google search.
There's an entire Discovery channel series called Building the A380 which covers manufacture from end to end. In it you will see them grinding down, riviting and polishing all the metal parts, and many other steps needed to build the Super Jumbo.

From the Register:
Airbus parent company EADS has announced a new break-even point for its troubled A380 programme - 420 aircraft as opposed to the previous 270

From Wikipedia :
Total orders for the A380 stand at 190, of which 165 were firm as of 30 September 2007

AIRBUS needs to win orders worth approximately $78 billion (£40 billion) before its troubled A380 superjumbo project breaks even.

Airbus, which is a division of the European aerospace and defence group EADS, has increased the break-even point for the project to 420 aircrafts from last year’s forecast of 270.

420 BE - 190 orders = 230 (gap).

Several
–adjective
1. being more than two but fewer than many in number or kind: several ways of doing it.

Holy shit, maddul and I think alike!

Try reading the internal mail and you will see a different picture.

As Darknight said the entire manufacturing philosophy of the 787 against the 380 is totally different.

Yes, there are composites in the build, but the A380 design is essentially still an aluminium aircraft, trust me.

The 747 damn near broke Boeing at the time of launch but has proven to be their saviour, i confidently predict the A380 will do the same for Airbus.

Nope, see responses from others above. Nice try though.


Nope again. Airbus is made from metal and composites. The Tail is a key component made from composites. Other areas from composites are depicted below.



Link to the full slide presentation.

http://www.msm.cam.ac.uk/phase-trans/2001/stef/img11.htm

For further reading.

http://composite.about.com/cs/aerospacenews/a/bpr_hitco.htm

http://www.content.airbusworld.com/SITES/C..._08_adva380.pdf

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb52...01/ai_n20432462

What? Break them or be their saviour?

Come on Tex ferchrissakes, the A380 is still essentially an aluminium aeroplane isn't it?

Yes, it has composites but the major part of the structure, ie the fuselage is aluminium.

I have spent many years working on this aircraft and therefore know what i am talking about.

As for saviour or broke, being obtuse does you no favours.

Both are good aircraft in their own right and are not directly comparable with one ( A380 ) favouring the hub concept, against the 787 favouring the point to point option, the 747X was the only direct competitor to the A380.

I get the same internal mail. I'm convinced they're issued by the same spin-machine that made these:





A pack of cigs and a meter of hose would be a far more effective way of blowing smoke up our asses.

DW, you and i have been on enough programs to know that the whole thing is spin, BOTH aircraft.

A380 2 years late due to wiring problems . . . . oh really?

787 FAA major doubts on crash worthiness and fire retardant problems . . . is that so?

All i'm saying is people quoting stuff directly from the Press or intarweb have no idea what is really going on inside the industry, just as with any other business sector.

The Europe v USA slant doesn't help either.

We ALL, let me say that again, WE ALL need a healthy industry and competition on both sides of the pond!!

To be clear, I'm not being anti-Euro in any way. Remember, I am employed by the European aerospace industry.

It would be silly anyhow, the USA makes more money on the sale of each Airbus than any other country:


My guess is that that number has gone up since the whole Spirit AeroSystems/BAE deal but I'm really not sure.


True, however internal mail tends to paint a rosy picture for employees - morale and all that. The truth lies somewhere in between.


That goes without saying.

Back to the A380, it's a shame that Singapore was the launch airline. Their paint scheme is FUGLY. The A3XX scheme made for a much prettier airplane.

I agree the fuselage is aluminium, but the tail is not. As a pilot who has flown large transport aircraft (>700,000lbs or 317 Metric Tons) I consider the Tail to be a major component. Considering the Tail is what? 24 Meters high. It better be tough, composite or metal, to handle the side loads placed on it during turbulence and takeoff & landing crosswinds.

Both are good aircraft serving different segments of the market. I just wouldn't want to evac the A-380 on the ground.

The evacuation tests took place in Hamburg & within the time limits. One of the girls (young ladies) in our flying club works there (in fact a number do) - she took part in the evacuation tests exiting from the top deck...

No arguments there.

Quite like this Qantas one myself.

I was thinking more of your average passenger, not a volunteer, having to be pushed out when they stand on the top deck and look down the slide.

If/When your ass is on the line, when push comes to shove, your going to jump down that slide. No questions asked.

Yeah my girlfriend works in the industry as well. She reported several people had broken legs!

I heard that just one person suffered a bone injury. Still - in an evacuation the name of the game is to get out alive and not necessary with full dignity...

Times article: Singapore Airlines: don't bonk in our beds.
The readers' comments on there are quite, quite brilliant.

Fantastic!

The first commercial flight for the A380 to the UK lands in Heathrow today. It will be interesting to see how Heathrow copes with so many people in one go. Assuming it's full of course.

So the third A380 was delivered... Apparently Singapore are very pleased with the aircraft they have...

I flew the A380 from Singapore to Sydney at Christmas and was surprised that the boarding and disembarkation were no worse than for a jumbo. You board through two separate entrances, - one for the upper deck and one for the lower deck. Now that i think about it the boarding was probably smoother than most jumbos i've boarded.

For the airport its the same as handling two jumbos at once. I didn't notice any difference in Sydney from getting off a jumbo flight.

Here are 2 parked at Changi airport, this was taken last Monday.