Is Airbus A380 A Failure?

Airbus A380, the world's biggest passenger aircraft has been catching eyes of flyers across the globe for nearly a decade. Though, the reality is totally different for operators of this humongous airliner.

Emirates A380 at Dubai Airport

Major Operator of Airbus A380 is Emirates Airlines based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Current fleet has 97 A380s and 45 A380s in order. Thus, making it the largest operator of A380-800. Other operators include Etihad, Lufthansa, Qatar, Singapore, Malaysia, Korean, Qantas, and a few others. But they have significantly less number of A380s than Emirates. As of November 2017, 218 A380s are hovering in the sky and 49 orders are pending.

In 2016, Airbus received not even a single order for it. Looking at maximum capacity of 853 in all economy configuration, this aircraft is well ahead of its time, by at least 10 years. The aviation industry is booming. By 2027, such aircraft will be perfect for traveling keeping in mind the demand and easy handling and thus reducing time as one A380 can be used instead of two normal airliners. This also helps in reducing traffic at the airports and landing-takeoff slots can be efficiently managed. Emirates is somewhat successful by using this plane because it has carefully chosen hubs and routes accordingly. Dubai became a major hub for all the long haul international flights giving the major advantage to Emirates.

RASM (Revenue per Available Seat Mile) for A380 is not that great. This wide body double-decker has four engines making it way much costlier in terms of fuel consumption. At the end of the day, airlines are not making much revenue from the A380. Thus, it is less preferred and so they are using planes like Boeing 777 for long haul international flights.

If you are interested to know about current operators of Airbus A380, then visit Airlines Operating Airbus A380 Family.

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