3 Greens,
there was no mention of Boeing in the thread so far,where did you get that out of??????:confused:

I say good for Airbus,orders for the 380 are badly needed.

If BA do go A380 maybe they do what Qantas did and take some A330's first to get experience of large Airbus aircraft?

To me the A330, A350, A380 option has aways seemed the most suitible for BA as larger aircraft = more preimum capacity which is their stated operating model.

A330 next year (on lease from Airbus a'la singapore air) for growth and to begin 767 replacement, option to be replaced by A350 in the future, A380 soon to take up some of the defered aircraft (to get them off of the airbus lot) has to be a sensible deal for all involved.

Yup
 

I may confirm that BA is ... seriously interested. There should be some BA pilots around that know more about it.

Current rumors on flight deck fm are that the 380 no longer fits in with Branson's long term vision and BA could take on Virgin's 6 orders and that Airbus are offering Buy a 380, get a 330 free.

Large pinch of salt and all that...

I don't doubt that if "the price is right" BA would buy a small fleet of A380s. There are a handful of routes that have (or potentially have) high volume and/or are restricted by aircraft slots or night bans. Jo'burg, Hong Kong, Sydney and India come to mind straight away. I think Airbus will provide some very keen pricing/deals because if BA gets it, many others will automatically follow suit. (Whatever you might think of BA, this is true.)

We'll find out for sure in a couple of weeks...

BA + Boeing and Airbus

Usually Boeing first and then Airbus
regards
BM = Boeing Man

Can anyone tell me who was the last airline to order the A380 and when?

I havent heard much about recent sales.

Mutt

At Le Bourget EK increased their order by 10 aircraft to 55. (according to the CEO also looking to doubling their current order......wonder who's gonna fly them:bored:)

Details on another website, planespotters.net I think.

Seen that Roman Abramovich has ordered an A380 "Flying Palace"!!!

It's just makes more sense than a BBJ!!!!!:E

Willie is in my building today. I'll nip upstairs at lunchtime and ask him.

This rumour is oft discussed on the flightdeck - on some routes eg HKG where we have 3 services a day I believe, it would make sense to have 380s. My own view is that we should wait a yr or 2 to let the ac bed in with other operators - I think there will be numerous gremlins/problems to iron out - with the ac itself but also form a ground-handling viewpoint. Just my own thoughts...............Personally, I'd love us to get some 330/350s.........

sidtheesexist,

The A380 has several years of order backlogs, BA would not be getting them in the first 2 years anyway, they are going to SQ, QF, EK.

The EY aircraft could be used, they have delayed delivery.

:cool:

Given BA's affection for Boeing products, I reckon that BA will order the new 747-800 pax version. I can't see BA buying the A350 either as its still on the drawing board and has been rehashed so many times. Also, the folks at BA should remember that being an Airbus long haul customer is not the easiest thing in the world-just ask LH and EK about their A340-600's. Even if BA get the A380 at + 2 years from now, due to the slow production schedule, not that many will have been nailed together and so I would be surprised if they would have cured the bugs in this time.

No chaps; if you want a long haul plane you go to Boeing.

Actually...
 

No chaps; if you want a outdated long haul plane you go to Boeing but remember to bring your own "nails"!!

:}

Dan Air 87,

"just ask LH and EK about their A340-600's."

EK do not operate the A340-600. They have recently increased their order of A380s to 55 aircraft. Recent new articles indicate that they are talking about doubling that order to over 110 total A380 airframes.

LH less than a year ago placed a follow on order for A340-600s on the same day they ordered the 747-800i. Recent rumours is that LH is looking at converting their 748i into 748Fs. If that goes ahead, no airline will have passenger version on the books, just a few VIP aircraft.

"due to the slow production schedule"

On top of aircraft to be delivered this year, 13 A380s will be delivered in 2008, 25 in 2009, 45 in 2010, which is about half of the order backlog. Production has not stopped, it is ramping up, QFs MSN 26 (the first with all new wiring harnesses) is well under way and should be powered up before the end of the year.

:ugh:

Zeke....
 

.....well said.

There are still guys around who compare the 748 to the 380. This is a complete different segment, like the smaller 787 and the 350 btw.

In a few years time, BA is forced to order the 380, simply because all its competitors operate them. It's basically just about 20% bigger than anything else, so the only chance to spread fix costs on bigger pax numbers is flying bigger machines - on the volume market.

See LH, they ordered the 748 and the 380, saying exactly what I stated above. SQ ordered the 787 and the 350. I could go on and on.

Dani

Here's why BA will take the A380
 

Why I'm posting this link I don't know as it will make me look pretty dumb in two weeks' time if I'm wrong. But hey, just a bit of fun.

http://www.flightglobal.com/articles...ong-hello.html
.
The above link is worth a read

A380
 

Does anyone have any idea when the A380 is entering service in the UK? Or has it not yet been announced?

thanks

Pibby