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A380 Cancellations by Qantas Raise new Questions About the Superjumbo's Future

posted by chromas on Monday February 11 2019, @06:02AM   Printer-friendly
from the wings-and-prayers dept.

martyb writes:

A380 Cancellations by Qantas Raise new Questions About the Superjumbo's Future:

Australia's Qantas (QABSY) said Thursday that it had scrapped longstanding plans to buy eight more of the double-decker planes

The A380 has been a major disappointmentfor Airbus ( EADSF) , racking up less than a quarter of the sales the European company forecast when it first introduced the giant jetliner more than a decade ago. The underwhelming demand has fueled questions about how long the manufacturer can justify continuing production of the iconic aircraft.

[...] Other airlines including Virgin Atlantic have ditched plans to buy the aircraft in the past year. Airbus now has only 79 firm orders for it, according to FlightGlobal data.

The program's future could hinge on Dubai-based Emirates, the largest A380 operator with more than 100 of the aircraft in service. The Gulf carrier last year ordered a further 20 of the superjumbo jets, with the option to buy an additional 16 on top of that.

But Airbus said last month that it was renegotiating the deal with Emirates following reports that the airline was looking to switch its orders to the smaller and newer A350.

According to Wikipedia, an A380 has seating for 575-853 depending on variant and configuration.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 11 2019, @07:25AM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 11 2019, @07:25AM (#799428)

    Fleet size is not at all comparable.

    Ok. Let's take operational problems on 787 [wikipedia.org] then
    - fuel leaks - to the point of "Footage of the leak taken by passengers shows fuel gushing out of the left wing of the aircraft. The leak became known to pilots only after it was pointed out by concerned passengers" (oh, goody! Quality American avionics? Passengers with iPhones!)
    - parts reliability issues
    - nose gear collapse
    - in certain weather conditions "erroneous low airspeed may be displayed ..."
    - Lithium-ion battery problems [wikipedia.org] - "three passengers received minor injuries during the evacuation. Inspection revealed a battery fire."

     

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 11 2019, @05:13PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 11 2019, @05:13PM (#799610)

    a. You switched planes.

    b. There is still a fleet size difference. Boeing is making crazy numbers of the 787. The 380 is rare.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 11 2019, @06:17PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 11 2019, @06:17PM (#799659)

      The 380 is rare.

      Thank goodness for that! Let's hope it goes extinct! It's a giant step backwards in sensible aircraft design. It's a *Brooklyn Bridge for sale*. Emirates was told to buy, or be invaded.