Lufthansa's BIG Plans For Airbus A380 Just SHOCKED Everyone! Here's Why
Winners & Losers of the 2023 Paris Airshow
After 2 decades: Ethiopian Airlines marks Karachi comeback with May 9 flight
Uncover the Design Secrets of the Piaggio P180 Avanti
Honeycomb Heroes: Making Composites for Aerospace
Post-Pandemic Recovery: Which Airlines Are Currently Recruiting?
10 Airlines That Will fly the A380 in 2023 + Fleet Status
First retrofitted Emirates A380 Enters Service
Aeroflot Buys 10 Leased Boeing 777s That Won't Be Returned
Rolls-Royce To Ground Test Its Biggest Engine Yet In 2022
Rolls-Royce Sets New Record for World’s Most Powerful Aerospace Gearbox
The Norwegian State will not provide further support to save Norwegian Air Shuttle
What Is A Fifth Freedom Flight?
The Airline Booking Trick Savvy Fliers Use to Find Cheaper Fares and Nicer Seats
Fifth Freedom Flight Feature: Singapore Airlines
Confirmed: Etihad to Re-introduce Four A380 to the Fleet
China Eastern Takes Delivery Of World’s First COMAC C919
Final Boeing 747 Airplane Leaves Everett Factory
Miracle On BA009 – How Pilots Landed a 747 After Losing All Four Engines?
A plane that ACCIDENTALLY flew AROUND THE WORLD: The Boeing-314 "Pacific Clipper" Story
Boeing 777-X folding wingtip market killer
Proposed Special Condition on Folding Wing Tip on CS 25.415, 25.703, 25.1385 at Amdt 18
Emirates Converts Airbus A380 Order Into A350s
Airbus was correct in one prediction. It envisaged that flights would continue to be hub-to-hub, involving passenger transfers in major airports. (Think of a flight from Europe to Japan, for example, that requires a stopover in Dubai.) Boeing, in contrast, positioned its 787 as a hub-bypass, made for direct “point-to-point” flights. Here, it's Airbus that has been proven correct. As a Centre for Aviation study puts it, “hubs dominate, yet most airlines prefer medium/large aircraft and not the very large aircraft category, consisting of A380s and 747-8s.” In Boeing’s case, figures show that in 2016 a whopping 73 per cent of 787 flights were made between hubs. Yet, for the reason Mason outlines, this has not been enough to save the A380.
In fact, the sheer lack of demand for the A380 is astonishing, says Grant: “Today over half of all fights operated on the A380 are operated by Emirates and less than 20 carriers globally operate the aircraft type. That in itself tells you how little interest there was from other airlines ” In the end, Grant argues, the “egos” of Emirates and Airbus got the better of sound business decisions. “They got carried away in placing too much emphasis on this idea when others, such as Boeing, felt that we would see longer, thinner long-haul routes emerge with new aircraft technology.”
Tom Enders, Airbus’s chief executive, said the decision was “painful”, but promised customers that the A380 will still “roam the skies for many years to come”. Little over a decade ago, the A380 was seen as the future of aviation. But for Airbus, and the airline industry it relies on, the numbers no longer add up.