Last A380 Leaves Assembly Hall
 

As per the title, apologies if this has already been covered elsewhere....

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I imagine this thread will be moved to the Aviation History and Nostalgia forum.

I doubt the proud new owners even want it. Such a shame.

Why is it a shame? It wasn’t needed and the builders knew it wouldn’t work but like WW1 Generals they pushed ahead regardless.

Google Saunders Roe Princess. History DOES repeat itself.

They went ahead with this project knowing it would fail. It doesn’t even look right. It’s an ugly aeroplane and I’m glad they’ve stopped making this eyesore.

I would be interested if you could document this .

Copied from Forbes

Many, many aircraft manufacturing experts, airline executives, industry consultants, airport planners, travel marketing and planning executives, tourism promoters and chamber of commerce-type officials around the globe, and yes, a whole bunch of reporters and pundits did, in fact, advise Airbus leaders in the 1990s not to do it as they were considering whether to build a mega-jet even bigger than Boeing’s 747

Just google “why did the A380 fail”

By all means: if the reporters told them... they should have listened! We all know they unbiasedly report the FACTS!

Well the facts are they’ve stopped making it because it didn’t work.

There was a TV programme about the design and building of the A3XX/A380 made in 1997...An "Aviation Journalist" was interviewed at Farnborough 96, and said "I am not convinced there is a Market for this Aeroplane"

Guess I was right!

The root problem is not the size but it's engine generation that is lagging behind at least half a generation compared to what the latest twins have installed. This is why these smaller aircraft at lower economical risk can match the cost per seat of the big ones. Install the same engine generation and the economies of scale are back again - well that is if corona isn't ruining demand.

srjumbo747, seen your pseudo, I find it ironic to be sarcastic about the final days of the A380 at a time where nearly all the pax 747s are being flown into the desert to die.
Yes Airbus gambled and lost As to telling entrepreneurs what they do will never work , history is full of them , They were plenty of them saying this to the Wright brothers too..

srjumbo747

You might think it’s ugly but I’d far rather be sitting in an A380 for 11 hours than a 787. I remember going to Johannesburg in 1972 on a 747 and it was brilliant, I did the same trip 2 years ago on a 747 and it was a dog, The 380 is a good aircraft for what it was designed to do but times change just a shame it couldn’t be converted to a freighter.

For me, as SLF, I am disappointed that the 380 has gone along with the 747.
Soon there will not be a decently comfy large jet to travel in.

The A380 was not a commercial success to put it lightly. True.

But it was and remains an amazing achievement for Airbus. We are all the richer for it’s existence . I am still waiting to fly it .

The Concorde was not a commercial success either but it was an amazing achievement and we are all the richer for it’s existence .

The A380 has it’s place in aviation .

It does not have the speed and the beauty of Concorde. Nor the romance and passion it instills in many.

It does not have the grace and beauty and the timelessness of the 747. And will never take away anything from the Queen of the skies.

But even though it’s reign was very short and it’s passing untimely it was for a time The King.

it was the ultimate in what could be in the skies . A private apartment with a butler for the lucky very few , showers too.

In it’s way the A380 will never be surpassed ...ever .

it is a tribute to its designers and builders in that you can dream BIG and accomplish BIG things even if it costs you.


a Salute to its expert designers and to those who dreamt BIG and dared to do so.


a Salute to Airbus for making it happen !

Never will we see such a plane again in aviation.

esa-aardvark

Well if you cannot find a large jet to be comfy in that is the fault of passengers who are unwilling to pay.

The race to the bottom was not started (or led) by the airlines - blame people who book the cheapest ticket on kyak.com or a gazillion other comparison websites.

It’s an aeroplane or an airplane but not a plane.

Saunders Roe made another ‘white elephant’, three of them, in the forties.

“passengers were transported within an unprecedented level of comfort, being provided with luxurious first class accommodation, including a promenade, sizable galley, separate bathrooms for men and women, and individual cabins for passengers.”

So we have seen this before and will see it again.

The people in charge then thought they were right as did the people in Airbus and history has repeated itself yet again although the Saunders Roe Princess was a beautiful aeroplane unlike the A380!

The customer decides what he wants to pay for. Some people pay more to go at the time of their choice in the morning, at noon or later compared to one daily flight with some very big aircraft.

It is interesting the comparison with the Concorde - I thought Concorde was cramped and noisy but that was offfset by the time saved and the nice lounge. The A380 used the same lounge as everyone else and had a cabin that was OK but nothing different from anyone else. The A380 didnt have a USP (unlike Concorde)

But both types failed commercially because they were based on the wrong economic reality.

But it's got a very nice wing.

Jet II

Have to disagree with you. First class on the 380 was excellent , spacious and comfortable and even a shower or two for the fortunate 14 pax who were seated there.
A decent lounge bar in the business class area
and depending on the carrier ( not BA) an excellent wine list and entertainment system.

It is, or was undoubtedly the most comfortable aircraft for a long haul trip available. The B747 was comparable back in the day , again depending on the operator .

Economically it will be viewed as a failure but that doesn’t detract from its place in aviation history as a great Engineering achievement
and a fantastic place to endure a really long haul flight. Which sadly won’t be bettered in my lifetime as we rush toward low cost mediocrity in all things.

Like the 74's.. Why burn fuel in 4 gas turbines when you can get 2/3rd of the pax across with 2? Work the maths out the 4 donk drivers. 2 Engines carrying Zero Squared at the mo is also cheaper that 4..

The opening of factory space allows wings from a 3rd party country to be built in the EU. Watch that space.

Jack D

What was the great engineering achievement? Other than size, it seemed to be a pretty conventional aircraft to me and was not that much better than the B-747 which has been in service for 50 years.

The reasons why it is a fantastic achievement are many and varied. Are you from the USA by any chance ? as consolation I feel the B747 was also a great aeroplane, and a real gamble at a time when the future looked to be set fair for supersonic transport aircraft to take over the world .

srjumbo747

Plane as a shortcut to saying airplane comes from the fact that a wing is fundamentally an inclined plane, not a wood plane....I say plane all the time.

Jack D

I'm still waiting for a specific example of the "great engineering achievement". Don't get me wrong, I think that the A380 is a fine aircraft, but I fail to see it as a 'break through" design of any sort.

Em, no; this thing called Covid killed an industry.If Covid hadn't happened they would have kept going for a while. If anything killed 4 engined aircraft it was twins and ETOPS

They had announced the axing of the program before Covid,.

Still the most comfortable and quietest cabin in the sky, albeit the A350 comes close on the latter point.

srjumbo747

Ugly? Not from the inside, and economy London to Sydney in an A380 knocks spots off travel in a B777 or B787 in my opinion.

Today many aircraft are too big for the current market including big twins. Airbus had no GE90-115B available so they went the quad route.

My two A380 flights LHR-FRA and back changed my resolution never to fly long-haul again, as long as I could do it on an A380. Not that I have, yet.

As a mere SLF (and not a particularly well-heeled one at that!), the A380 is easily my favourite commercial aeroplane I've flown on. One flight that stands out was LHR-YVR a few years ago, sat towards the back of the upper deck. Whisper quiet, and very comfortable for economy.

Never really understood the comments about it being an 'ugly' aeroplane. It might not be the most visually attractive of all-time, but it's fine, and quite a sight to at take-off and on approach.

I’m with DP. Great aeroplane for the SLF. When travelling Sydney to the UK we would make sure that we flew on an A380. Quiet, spacious and one one memorable occasion when we had accumulated a few frequent flyer points, we had a shower in the air! No other aeroplane can do that.

Love paxing in the 380/350/747 vs 777/787 from a comfort perspective.

Still mass long haul is dead for a while so we’ll have to make do with what we can afford/what’s left when things open up again in a couple of years or so.

Jack D;

Well a couple of points - First Class on the A380 was good, the showers were a gimmick that I never bothered with. But First Class on all major airlines is good - the only thing that made EK's First Class stand out was the individual cabins and they have those on the 777. The bar area was good but they were not the first airline to have a bar, Imperial Airlines had one in the 1930's.

The A380 didnt have anything that other airlines or aircraft types had - that is why compared with Concorde (or the 747) it was not a revolution, or even evolution, in air travel.

I wish it were so that first cl on all major airlines is good , sadly that really isn’t the case. Try any US carrier and prepare to be disappointed

As for cabin innovation , bars showers etc.I agree nothing new , but also nothing else has them at the moment , and the comfort and low noise levels, both inside and outside,are exceptional.

The achievement lies in a company, which was only founded in the early 70,s , building, assembling and successfully launching the worlds largest passenger aircraft . Allegedly there are more than 400 technological advances on the aeroplane , which imo counts for something .

snrjumbo 747
Who really cares about what the A380 looks like , it's not a fashion parade where looks count it's built for passengers to enjoy flying and it succeeds handsomely.
Over my many years in aviation I have travelled in an awful lot of aeroplane types in all 3 classes but in the last 10 years either first or Business class.
Without any doubt whatever the A380 wins the comfort and enjoyment as a passenger by a very long mile!!!
The B747 was very good but nowhere near as good as the A380 as far as passenger comfort goes.
The B777 and B787 are not very nice at all , bloody noisy and uncomfortable.
The A350 is IMOP the next best thing to the A380 and the others don't come anywhere near it, it really is a most pleasant aeroplane to passenger in.
It's very sad to see such a wonderful passengers aeroplane as the A380 virtually disappear from our skies.
One can only hope it returns post Covid.

In the very early days of flight they didn't say "to fly", the phrase used was "to plane", pity the easily searchable early copies of "Flight" are no longer available so you could see the use of the word "plane" in context. Then the US Navy has a person called a "Plane Captain", not involved in carpentry, but responsible for the maintenance of a particular aircraft, the airframe "belongs" to him, and aircrew get to have a lend of same.

Boeing killed the 747 and the all other 4 engine pax aircraft when they built the triple 7.. or rather the regulators did when they gave it 3 hours ETOPS... yet Airbus still went ahead with the whale... not a good looking aircraft by any standards, and was never going to compete with the 747 because it cant be converted into a freighter...it was never going to be a success, it might fly nice ( but how would a pilot know unless he turns off the playstation controlling it :) !!! ) French arrogance ( or a few high high ups at AB) , pushed it though because they thought anything Boeing can do we can do worse, i mean better, and it has its time and place in history...... I bet all the city's and airport authorities who spent millions upgrading runways and terminals are thrilled they wasted all that cash