Today's article from ATW below by Geoffrey Thomas addresses the A380 v’s B747-400 ‘efficiency’ discussions and their respective dispatch reliability records in the first year of operation. Of course it represents the views of the A380 Director-Product Marketing . . . (my bolding).
Singapore Airlines A380s stealing market share, Airbus claims
The A380 is proving a winner on medium-range routes and is lifting passenger loads by up to 8%, Airbus claims. Speaking exclusively to ATWOnline in Singapore, Director-Product Marketing-A380 Richard Carcaillet said Singapore Airlines is delighted with the aircraft's performance on the medium-range Singapore-Hong Kong and Singapore-Tokyo Narita routes.
On the Narita service, SIA, the dominant carrier on the route, has lifted its passenger count by 8% after introducing the A380 while all other airlines have experienced declines, according to Sabre booking data analyzed by Airbus and supplied to this website. ANA dropped 13%, JAL 19%, United Airlines 22% and Delta Air Lines 7%.
While some of the decrease can be attributed to the economic downturn, these figures, which heretofore have been confidential, cover the period of May-December 2008 before the full impact of the downturn was felt. SIA and Qantas are averaging an 83% load factor across their A380 flights, Airbus says.
Carcaillet also told this website that SIA's A380s are achieving a 20% reduction in fuel burn over the 747-400. He said this supports Airbus figures that show the A380 with 525 seats has an 8% fuel burn advantage over the yet-to-fly 405-seat 747-8. Airbus has adjusted its seating figures to reflect the new business class flat beds, while Boeing claims there is just a 100-seat difference between the two jets.
On reliability, Carcaillet said the A380 had a 97% technical dispatch record in the first year, which compares favorably with the 777 at around 98% and is well ahead of the 747-400, which swung between 89% and 93% when it entered commercial operations. Airbus is targeting 98% reliability for the A380 this year. The first major batch of software upgrades was introduced on Ship 33, the first for Air France, and these are "making a difference," he said. The upgrade is being refitted to the other 26 aircraft in service. The A380 has generated approximately 100,000 revenue flight hr. on 10,000 flights.
On the production front, Carcaillet said Airbus will deliver 20 aircraft this year, including three that were supposed to have been delivered in 2009. "We are at 1.5 aircraft a month and moving up to two a month by year end," he noted.
by Geoffrey Thomas