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Emirates CEO Says “The Airbus A380 Is Over”

Soumis
 
Emirates CEO Tim Clark has said that the Airbus A380 is over. The comments came today from the boss of the world’s largest Airbus A380 customer as the industry experiences its worst crisis in history. (simpleflying.com) Plus d'info...

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KlausFrank
Klaus Frank 6
According to sources from the EU parlament, it will be opposite! The smaller the planes the less they will be needed! Seat distances will be changed and max occupancy will be limited per plane... So the cost per seat will skyrocket for smaller planes!
Moviela
Ric Wernicke 2
What happens if a vaccine is developed in the next year and this virus is put to bed? If we can ditch the masks and gloves, airlines will have us sitting shoulder to shoulder again. Those supers will be popular once again.
FrederickCahn
Frederick Cahn 6
It was obsolete the day pen was put to paper. No one will ever build an aircraft like that again.
speshulk99
john kilcher 9
I'm sure you are correct, but what an experience, even in economy. Best international flight that I've ever flown on was on this "dinosaur". Sad but true.
srobak
srobak 3
they said that about the 747 and the C5, as well as the AN124 and the 777. Yet the 380 came to be, the 777 is still being produced, and the 787 came to be as well.

Sorry - but this not the end of supersized aircraft. There will be another double decker, or another super-widebody, or a longer one in our lifetimes.
Archangel
Andre Williams 7
No. Airbus played the “Mine is bigger than yours” game and lost. Aircraft of the future won’t be able to be that big again because we are slowly moving toward electric power. It’s far down the road but hybrids will be first. Plus this pandemic kind of makes people think twice about cramming into a tube with 500 plus other people. The 747 was the right plane at the right time, the A380 was just a vanity project.
williambaker08
william baker 13
Upsetting MH370 or at least trying too lol
JainaBrown
Jaina Brown 4
the fastest, most comfortable 16hr flight I have taken was DXBDFW on an EK AB380.
NormanMartin
NormanMartin 4
Too Bad. I'm a Boeing fan myself, but its sad to see such a feat of engineering & manufacturing become unviable....no matter whose talent & capital it is.
IanHickling
Ian Hickling 2
I was lucky enough to fly in First Class on Emirates several times. The A380 was absolutely gorgeous. Not only the exceptional service but the showers made it the pinnacle of any flying I have done. On the routes that were B777, it was a noticeably less luxurious flight solely because of the lack of showers. A flagship service and I'm sure the A380 doesn't make sense, but to me the showers defined the Emirates product
nigelites
Nige Lites 2
As a longtime EK passenger I have often flown in their B777 and A380 as Economy (cheapskate clients) and Business (Skywards miles or status upgrades), and I would always favour the A380 if I could make it work with my route and schedule.

Pre-C19 Sir Tim was quite pro-A380, and it seemed to work specifically for the EK Hub-n-Spoke model; what better for high demand trunk routes to slot constrained airports such as DXB-LHR/LGW.

Post-C19 I guess the B777 will be first out of mothballs, but if I have to fly UAE<->UK and there is even one A380 still being used going to LHR/LGW, that's the plane I will be on, however I have to juggle my plans to suit.

For as long as EK still have A380 flying in their fleet I'm sure I'm not alone in wanting to choose it as my preferred option.

That's a purely my selfish passenger perspective.

Sadly, I get it that Sir Tim has to look at a new reality and do what's best for the airline, which means in the near future the A380 has gone from Flagship to Millstone.
And I will have to resign myself to being just that little bit more cramped and slightly less comfortable on their B777 for most of my flights.
Archangel
Andre Williams 3
If US airlines had the A380 it would be just as crammed as the 777. Don’t let that cheap oil and labor fool you.
nidsil
NIHAL DE SILVA 2
A380 is my favourite plane. 350 is poor replacement for this great aircraft. sad to see it being discontinued.
vertgreen
Lawrence Green 2
The reality of the drastic dire situation that all airlines are faced with today. The A380 was too large for the reality of coping with the pandemic that is an international disastrous problem.
ADXbear
ADXbear 6
Dead before they built first one..
stratofan
stratofan 3
Whomever said that just because you can build something bigger than the other guy, does not mean you have to, was right on the money. While I credit Airbus for pulling off the feat of building a super jumbo, they were disingenuous when they said the original break even point was 120 aircraft. I remember the first time I saw a Korean Air A380 taxi at ATL. They had to use a dedicated gate. and hold traffic while they taxied. Hardly a smooth flow of traffic compared to other widebodies. I still think Airbus should have done a cargo version, then the production line may have stayed open.
srobak
srobak 4
I've watched the Lufthansa 380 come in and out of KMIA so many times and park at their gate from a balcony across the lagoon from the airport it would make your props spin.

Easy peasy. In, out, no issue, very smooth and quick. They park it right in the middle of their intl terminal too, and at the east end of the runway. It's all on the ability of the ground crew to manage it. Not at all the aircraft's fault.
bigjulie
Airbus were considering a freighter version of the A380, but the two main cargo airlines pulled the plug on their orders, before the A380 went into production.
Quirkyfrog
Robert Cowling 1
And yet they are milking 747's for all they are worth. Odd... But physics does have its limits. How much can you stick into a plane, and have it stay in the air.

wopri
Let’s not forget that many design elements of the grand lady were carried over from a proposal for a large military transport, therefore making a freighter version was relatively easy.
bentwing60
bentwing60 7
If you call providing an unmatched product in the true bulk, heavy freight role, " milking 747's for all they are worth", then your true talents lie on another site. To not realize that the 74 has been the heavy hauler in the greatest numbers for years is a myopic and unforced error.
ddsteele
Dave Steele 2
747 freighters have a built-in advantage over the A-380: it can be used as a freighter with simple mods (side cargo door opening) and NO need to reinforce an upper cargo floor to maintain structural rigidity.

The upper deck (hump) behind the flight deck is used for pax/crew rest and that’s it.
srobak
srobak -1
@Robert Cowling

Why don't you ask the C-5 Galaxy? :)
wopri
Or better yet, the AN255.
jhakunti
jhakunti 0
I heard something different like the design requires the floor that separates top and bottom floors for structural integrity. And the main purpose for operators would have been the cabin volume without that floor. Also with the floor the weight of the pallets would be hindered as well as no opening nose like the 747. But it's what I heard, I didnt check into it.
bentwing60
bentwing60 3
"A modicum of homework on the possibility of the a380 ever becoming a "true cargo" hauler need only reveal that ab themselves only really pitched it to, and as, a "package freighter". Those package (Box) haulers that actually placed orders for same cancelled same when it became apparent that the delays for the actual cattle car had derailed the development for the Box hauler. The true "Cargo" guys such as Atlas, Kalitta, et.al. never considered it because of cost to procure, operate and maintain, and that little hobgoblin issue of no possibility to reinforce the upper deck sufficient to carry heavy, dense cargo and the heighth limitation on the lower deck for large bulk cargo because of the upper deck. No opening nose for loading in the cards might occur to some as well. Time has reshuffled the deck, but the cards come out the same."

AB cognosenti felt there would be no need for an F version of the airplane and specifically ignored it till the package freighter boys actually showed some interest and orders. History is very short these days.
watermarker
Iam McKenzie 3
A magnificent aircraft to be a passenger on, I will be sad to see its demise.
watkinssusan
EMIRATES used to fly into the international airport about 20 miles from my home..my home is in the flight path for the airport and periodically,the emirates aircraft,which was i believe an airbus(not sure which configuration),flew directly over and you could see the word"emirates" in large letters on the bottom of the plane..it has been a while now since I have seen any aircraft at all, because of the covid issue,and its noticeably pretty quiet!
Quirkyfrog
Robert Cowling -6
We just had a big loud something leave from the local 'International' airport. It rattled the windows. Thought it was military.
vertgreen
Lawrence Green 1
Air France joins the retirement of A380's. Aurevoir.
srobak
srobak 1
This is an incredibly short-sighted move. This lull in global travel is going to be ramping back up very quickly - and right up until just before the outbreak, international travel was at it's peak in history.

Killing off the 380 will whack their fleet in half - and if that happens then the airline is done as a whole. They still haven't even taken delivery of their final 380s yet. Something isn't adding up here.

I have never understood why so many airlines are going for smaller planes with more frequent trips over the past 20 years. Both domestic and international. That is terribly inefficient and causes massive amounts of congestion both in the air and on the ground. Larger aircraft with more infrequent flights are more efficient, more profitable and less congesting all the way around.

EA needs to expand it's international destination map - and change them up to be able to operate between different countries - not just to/from their own. This will keep those aircraft full and in operation.
Archangel
Andre Williams 1
Doesn’t matter if you understand it or not, Boeing for it right with the 787 while Airbus was playing the “Mine is bigger than yours” game. They lost. Likewise Boeing messed up with the Max where Airbus hit it big with the Neo.

[This poster has been suspended.]

Neatair
Edw Sanderson 7
How old are you ?
srobak
srobak 4
Name one aircraft that wasn't behind schedule and over budget. We'll wait while you do this.
bentwing60
bentwing60 10
P51 Mustang!

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