A380 Rumour
 

Heard a rumour today about CX purchasing A380s. I am sure many have heard something of this nature before, but the details of it is that 10 have been purchased from Emirates, and the first two are "free" in the deal that has been allegedly done.

Maybe that is where our SLS went...:}

Oh man, lets hope not. 748 pax seems to make more sense.

Sounds like an ideal opportunity to switch to manufacturer's SOPS! I know, dream on... :ugh: Im sure CX already knows better than Airbus on how to drive a 380... "All switches normal!"

But I must admit, the 380 will look pretty good in KA colours running up and down to PEK and PVG! :ok:

Airbus Desperate
 

Airbus have cut the production rate and are desperate to find an alternative to Emirates, can you really see them taking all their order?
I heard a similar rumour that CX and BA have combined to squeeze airbus' nuts as hard as they can. BA may even take a couple next year.

A friend in EK told me this story too

Subsequently heard that John Leahy has been in town and camped out on the 9th floor - the question is if TT is allowed to sign the cheque or if Adrian S has other plans..... mmm where there is smoke there is usually a fire they say.

AFL

Alpha floor...elaborate on other plans.

This is not yet a done deal and Emirates may or may not be involved at the end of the day. However it seems the price is low enough at the moment for them to seriously consider buying up to 10 aircraft which they want sooner rather than later which would mean taking slots currently assigned to other carriers.

Oh no! Think of all the fruity-accented 747 Barons in long-sleeved shirts falling all over themselves to fly what will be the biggest and the best! And to 65!

Tell me it ain't true :uhoh:

Plenty of Airbus Captains to go round.

i loved that part of the rumor, "as its the biggest aircraft the senior fleet aka the -400 fleet will need to operate it.." i would love to see some of the old guys that have only flown Boeing grapple with the technology.

Personally i would love to fly it but not on the CX roster. every month it would be a choice of LAX or LON, it would fast get pretty boring, i think i will wait for the 350-1000.

yea...us 'old' guys are really, really scared of 'all' that technology! ...where's my cufflinks...? :ok:

Mr Kiwi
Old guys don't 'grapple with technology' - 'technology' makes life easier and easier. Ask the Classic Fleet to let you have a 'grapple' in their Sim before it goes.
Old guys don't 'grapple' with much actually - more's the pity!!!:O

Another amusing and arrogant post from the Jagster.

Considering what a mess the 'olds' made of their 'Classic' re-conversions and SIM checks your aving a laugh mate!

From what I hear, their responsible for the very average results and incidents for the last couple of years - nice one. :D

Back to the E type and the Oxfordshire countryside old boy!

I understand the A380 will not even make it from LAX to HKG, so I doubt you would see it on that route. Without an ability to do NA, EUR is the only other option.

I far prefer the rumour that Cathay have secretly order some 748s, and not the Hawker Sidley version.

Sounds like you don't understand much. How can Qantas use it to go non-stop from Sydney, or even Melbourne, to LAX?

Pretty sure that it could do HK, as it is 300nm shorter than going to Sydney. :hmm:

Airbus 380? CX have done some idiotic things before but they're not that stupid.

Why would any pilot want to fly an aircraft they dont even get to land manually, apart from an emergency? Boggles the mind. :ugh:

Enjoy the autolands!!

Who says that you do not land the A380 manually? Squak7700, what about the winter headwinds coming back from LAX?

A bit of objectivity, for a change...
 

In its current configuration, the A380 can fly 8200nm still air with a full load of pax. By 2010-12, improvements to the frame will allow it to fly 8500nm with the same load.

It can currently do Lax-hkg wintertime with about 60T payload (out of a max payload of about 85T), or 20-25 more than the 744, meaning it can take full pax load (500) +10T cargo compared to full pax load +almost zilch cargo for the 744. That's also 10T more than the 748, or 50 pax + 5T cargo. And that's before the planned improvements.

Despite what the Boeing lover's cult (and their fleet office guru) say, the 748i will only fly farther than the A380 if carrying less than 40T payload. (In which case you're better off with a 777). The savings from the lower operational weight do not cover the revenue loss from the extra payload of the Airbus, and since by that time CX will be able to fill those to most major long haul destinations, it makes a lot of sense. Especially if they can get them cheap...

Although the 748 freighter does wipe the floor with the competition, no question there.