Airbus A380

[mysterious]

I wouldn't pass my take on that at this point in time cuz as I said both Boeing and Airbus are doing well (given their different approaches) so its really hard to say which direction the commercial jet industry would head in to. For now, there seems to be ample demand for Boeing's smaller jets as well as Airbus' larger ones. Its going to be a close call when the time comes for one party to take the lead.

 

[P.A.F]

in the near future when airbus a380 comes into service the boeing 747 will slowly but surely be phased out. i am going to miss that jumbo jet as it is my favourite passenger jet at present.
answering your question armage. i would have my money on boeing to develop the next generation space craft. but nothing can be said yet

 

[P.A.F]

The A380 super-jumbo passenger jet, due to be officially unveiled next week, was wheeled out of its hangar in southwestern France for the first time on 11 of january 2005.

 

[Red aRRow]

Here ya go peeps. All pictures are courtesy of Airliners.net and are copyrighted to them.

This is a prototype for fatigue testing. Poor bird won't have a chance to fly.

 

[P.A.F]

doen't it just look great . thanx for the pics RA

 

[SABRE]

Its out & ready to fly

"Control tower this is A380, we r ready for take off"

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/050118/481/tou13801181540

LockHeed-Martin's F-22 started new era of military aviation & AirBus' A380 has started new era of Civilian Aviation. Lets see what Boeing has got for an answer.

PIA should atleast purchase 2 or 3 A-380s for its long non stop flights to US,UK & rest of the Euorpe & to Australia, regain its 1970s position in the world.

 

[P.A.F]

did u know PIA is selling all of it's 747-200's. they want to purc`hase more 777's . why not go for this. this aircraft is big business for Emirates

 

[SABRE]

did u know PIA is selling all of it's 747-200's. they want to purc`hase more 777's . why not go for this. this aircraft is big business for Emirates

U cant buy A-380 to travel to UAE, its only 45 mins or an hour at max flight from Karachi (or any where from Pakistan) to UAE. This is for longer journies. UAE is definitly going to buy this so no point for PIA to even make a transit stop there & pick more ppl from there. This AC is pnly good if PIA takes longer roots like from Karachi to Londo to NewYork back to london & back to Karachi. Or fly during Hujj season from Karachi to different ME & Muslim countries & take them to KSA, than its going to be huge profit. But PIA already has made commitment to Boeing for a long term & long run purchase. If boeing comes up with some thing similar than we'll c if PIA is willing or un willing to purchase such aircrafts.

A-380 is beauty though. I'll fly it when it comes out in the next microsoft flight simuliator

 

[XEROX]

This is the beast of the skies, wow!!!


No American passenger carrier has signed up

 

[mysterious]

And Emirates is the leading A-380 customer! Emirates rules!

 

[SABRE]

And Emirates is the leading A-380 customer! Emirates rules!

danm !!! PIA was the one to lay down the setup for Emirates & Malaysian Airlines & look at the Emirates now & the PIA. Anyways PIA is back on track again. I hope it regains its possition.

 

[highsea]

This is the beast of the skies, wow!!!


No American passenger carrier has signed up

True, but Fedex has ordered some freighter versions I believe. It will be interesting to see how this shakes out. The A380 really only fits long haul routes. Most airports can't handle her size, and probably will not modify to accept her. The Asian and Trans-Atlantic markets are where the most potential lies for this type of jet.

I wonder how long it will take to load and unload the plane at the gate. 550 people and their carry-ons is a lot of inmates to move through one door single file. And the planned stretch version is supposed to be able to take 800! You would really need two gates to service the plane, or it will take two hours to turn around at the gate.

Virgin is promising luxury A380's, with bars, restaurants, bedrooms, etc. That would never go over in the US, as the average traveler wouldn't want to pay the price. Our airlines cram in as many seats as possible to get the most dollars per flight, and keep the ticket prices to a minimum. Hell, you can fly from Seattle to Miami for $99.00.

US travelers are sick of the hub and spoke system, and want shorter travel days. Smaller, cheaper, faster planes that fly direct routes are what the flying public is demanding, so Boeing is betting on the 7E7 as the next big thing for the US market. Even the 747 is slowly disappearing from domestic flights, and is being replaced by smaller planes with faster turnaround times.

 

[XEROX]

True, but Fedex has ordered some freighter versions I believe. It will be interesting to see how this shakes out.

Your right highsea, the one FedEx has ordered, the A380F is planned for 2008, its unbalivable man it carries 150 tonnes over 10,000km

The A380 really only fits long haul routes. Most airports can't handle her size, and probably will not modify to accept her. The Asian and Trans-Atlantic markets are where the most potential lies for this type of jet.

Again regarding the size of the aircraft the airports will have to modfy to accept her, London Heathrow is planning to spend 450 million pounds ($838 million), that is a huge amount, you know Los Angeles, New York and Chicago have said they are planning upgrades to handle her to

I wonder how long it will take to load and unload the plane at the gate. 550 people and their carry-ons is a lot of inmates to move through one door single file.

The plane does have four-aisles, even if they all have to get out through the same door

Virgin is promising luxury A380's, with bars, restaurants, bedrooms, etc. That would never go over in the US, as the average traveler wouldn't want to pay the price. Our airlines cram in as many seats as possible to get the most dollars per flight, and keep the ticket prices to a minimum. Hell, you can fly from Seattle to Miami for $99.00.

Casey, you forgot to mention that Virgin also want a casino on the beast, btw dude you can fly from the eastside to Jamaica / Bermuda for $99.00, thats very cheap, even though it is in cargo-class

 

[P.A.F]

80 meters from wing tip to wing tip and 79 meters long. and 80 feet high. thats like 7 stories high. now that is big business:dance2 . boeing is going to counter this with the 7E7 which is smaller and faster.
the europeans think it's all about the big aircraft and the US think it's more to do with small aircraft.
regarding pakistan and this aircraft. well a PIA official was at the opening ceromony. also the airports in pakistan can no way facilitate this mother ship. noway. unless the new gwader, mirpur and islamabad airports being build are big enough. the a380 needs less runway to take off and land compared to the 747 jumbo jet.

 

[P.A.F]

virgin plans to have a gym, restarant, beds, shower, bars, play rooms on board. a bit extra i think.

 

[P.A.F]

more pics of this beauty.

this model is at clifton beach , karachi.

 

[P.A.F]

more pics

 

[adsH]

guys these hangers are like assembly lines they each have Modules that they integrate in each hangers instead of the older style of construction where the whole ac is done in one hanger i.e. Boeing style(old style). ).

 

[highsea]

Again regarding the size of the aircraft the airports will have to modfy to accept her, London Heathrow is planning to spend 450 million pounds ($838 million), that is a huge amount, you know Los Angeles, New York and Chicago have said they are planning upgrades to handle her to

All of the main International airports will modify to take her, but the hub airports may not, at least for a while. The issue isn't weight, as the actual landing gear weight per wheel is no more than a 747. And as PAF mentioned, it doesn't need a longer runway. It's about width, taxiways will need to be widened, and gates will need to be extended to accomodate the wingspan.

An interesting anecdote about the first 747-400. The plane's maiden flight was to Tokyo. They filled it up with executives from JAL (the first customer) and Boeing, some mid-level diplomats, etc. It was a big media event for Boeing and JAL. When they got to the gate, they found that they couldn't reach the plane! Lol, no one had thought about the larger wingspan, and the extending ramp was too short. They had to get one of those mobile stairways and drive it up to the door so everyone could leave the plane. That was the first time the airlines had encountered that problem, so they learned their lesson. The gates will be modified before they try to park an A380.

 

[SABRE]

I drive around it almost every day, even saw it being put up there, being painted & saw stickers being stuck on it but not even once realized it is A-380. This was put up 5+ months ago.

& P.A.F its not at Clifton beach but near it. U can c the beach clearly from its point but its far off coast.

Seeing A-380's inside, I believe about 50 yrs from now, we may launch STAR-SHIP ENTERPRISE.

& this is my 777 posts. M going BOEING. lols