What's the point of having the A380?

Question

Ok, from a design, technological, and flattering standpoint, I think that the A380 is a cool and interesting plane.

However, not many airports have the long runways to allow the A380 land on.

It's a very big plane. Is it really cost and fuel saving or efficient?

Just some thoughts.

What are yours?

Answer 1

I agree with you that the A380 is a stunning achievement in one-up-man-ship by Airbus.  Boeing has resisted extending their 747 upper deck for years because it felt the market for such a large capacity airliner was just not out there.  With only around 200 examples of the A380 being sold Airbus is still 100 short of the number the company claims they need to break even on the project.  Industry insiders put that number much higher especially with the two year delay.  Airbus says they see a market for 1000 of such craft worldwide.  Any sudden downturn in world air traffic could spell doom for the A380.  Airlines will be selling them off or leasing them out, further hindering sales.  

The air transport industry works with a figure called seat mile cost.  How much does it cost to move your seat one mile.  The more seats, the lower the seat mile cost.  This ultimately depends on selling every seat on a given flight. An A380 with every seat filled would have a lower seat mile cost than a 747-8.

Answer 2

>>  Is it really cost and fuel saving or efficient?

The theory was that if they could increase the capacity, then it would bring down the cost and increase the profit.

But apparently I think they guessed wrong.

good Luck....

Answer 3

I think its great!, fuel efficient and can support longer range distances & is eco-friendly!

It can carry more passengers therefore decreasing the number of planes in the air :)

I think airlines will be having a laugh and a half when they get there hands on this,....at this current moment its the best time to invest in a A380 due to aviation fuel costs lately and oil prices..

Answer 4

more seats = more passengers= more moula any questions as for fuel efficient probably not so much

Answer 5

It is more efficient and fuel saving tech wise and simply because it can carry lots of passengers. ie: same distance but more people per trip, and 4 engines that are more efficient than existing ones

The A380 will mostly be used by airlines of quickly expanding, highly populated countries like India, China, etc etc. where there is enough riders to fill an A380, thus increasing further the efficiency of the aircraft. Runways aren't a problem. The A380 was designed to require only the same amount of runway as the 747 and only require a few airport enhancements like extra jetways for faster boarding and maybe larger lobbies and waiting rooms. It was designed to make sure that airports will not need to harden runways and taxiways to accommodate it. So, from an airport accommodation point of view, there is no problem.

Because of its size, influenced by the hub and spoke system of our air travel system, it also lessens air congestion at and around the airport. So, in all, it also heightens efficiency of and at the airports.

Cost saving? Yes, to a point. New aircraft are always less expensive to operate and maintain because it is new and because of th new tech incorporated in them.

Is it actually profitable? We do not know yet. Especially because of rising gas prices and post 9/11 security.

Answer 6

It does not require a longer runway than other large planes, actually. It requires reinforced ones to cope with the weight, and it needs wider clearance at places (taxiways) and adjusted accommodations in the loading ramps.

Why bigger? Because of economy of scale. Make a plane twice as big, and you have twice the capacity; BUT (and that is the interesting part of it) there are things that get proportionally smaller as a result. A weather radar is the same size and weight, irrespective of how big a plane it is attached to. Same goes for the number of pilots, the avionics box (autopilot, radio, navigation computer), so in the end, a larger airplane is proportionally more efficient. Larger engines are also more fuel efficient than smaller ones, i.e. one large engine takes less fuel (and weight less) than two smaller engines of half the thrust each.

From an operational point of view, one large plane takes only one "take off" slot while two planes with half the capacity would take two; this reduces the number of required movement around an airport, a welcome relief in the busiest of them. This effect is however mitigated by the current 3 minute separation (instead of the usual 2 minute) imposed on smaller planes following an A380, since the turbulance caused by such a big plane could really shake a smaller plane following too close.