Even an aircraft deserves multiple birthdays….

The Airbus A380 made its maiden flight on 27 April 2005, after three years of development and testing. So, we’ll take a look at its history and inception.

The aircraft has a record-breaking seating capacity, wingspan and height. Living up to its Super Jumbo name, it is the largest commercial airliner flying to date. Conceived as a direct competitor to the B747, with only its 72.72 m height less than that of the Boeing 747, at 76.3 m.

After extensive testing and modifications, the first deliveries began in 2007. As the type's first customer, Singapore Airlines (SQ) first operated the Super Jumbo on Flight SQ380 SIN-SYD.

As Airbus introduced the hub-to-hub concept, it envisaged the construction of specific satellites for transit of the A380; specifically with terminals dedicated only to type and most importantly, with four finger jet bridges.

Airbus developed the A380 to go head-to-head with the B747, which had dominated the ultra-high-capacity aircraft market for long time. The A3XX program was formally accepted and renamed the A380 by Airbus' board of directors in 2000. Six airlines had already placed orders for the new aircraft and Airbus had already received 50 orders. The concept was completed by 2001, development began in 2002. Logistically, the Super Jumbo production was one of a kind since sections had to be transported by air, sea and land from Germany, Spain and the UK.

Airbus constructed five test A380s. The first out of Airbus's Toulouse factory carried the registration F-WWOW.

The first flight drew a large number of aviation journalists, as all eyes were anticipating the arrival of an aircraft set to redefine the passenger experience. The maiden flight took off at 10:29 am local time with six passengers on board. Claude Lelaie and Jacques Rosay, the two co-captains. Also on board were Airbus engineer Fernando Alonso, Jacky Joyce, Manfred Birnfeld and Gérard Desbois.

During the flight, every item on the primary flight test objectives list was checked off. After 3 hr and 54 min, the flight landed back at Toulouse's Blagnac International Airport (TLS).

Of the A380's performance, Lelaie commented “as was evident during the initial ground checks, the A380 performed as well as any other aircraft on the ground”. For his part, Rosay echoed Claude's remarks, saying, "Within the first minutes of the flight, we were struck by the aircraft's ease of handling."

Although the test programme was carried out smoothly and efficiently, it still threw a few curve balls that were not always very pleasant for the crew. "It's the very nature of testing!" said one pilot. "Sometimes things don't go as planned, even on the A380. During the first flight, the landing gear failed to lock. We had to adapt and switch to plan B. During another flight, the temperature dropped to zero degrees in the cabin, enough to cool the engineers who had forgotten their little woollen jackets,” Lelaie recalls in an Airbus press release commemorating the maiden flight.

The A380 is a modern symbol of aerospace engineering, one that has carried over 190 million passengers on more than 500,000 revenue flights. This included, at one time, over 300 commercial flights a day that took off or landed every two minutes all over the world.

The aviation industry has a new level of luxury, allowing airlines to convert aircraft into a flying hotel, spa or cocktail lounge, as SQ and Emirates (EK) did. Emirates remains its biggest customer. Flying on the A380 is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience new levels of in-flight luxury, from first class to economy. The cabin of the world's largest and many say the most comfortable passenger aircraft, allowing passengers to stretch out in the widest seats in a quiet and relaxing atmosphere.

However, the glory years ended earlier than Airbus had expected. The company announced the programme cancellation on 14 February 2019. Due mainly to its high fuel consumption and high-profit margins, the Superjumbo only flies on a few routes.

The retirement of the A380 subsequently boiled down to a lack of a substantial backlog, with Airbus having no basis to continue production. The A380’s demise also sped up by the pandemic.

Emirates took delivery of its 117th A380 in mid-December 2020. The aircraft left the Hamburg Finkenwerder plant on 11 December. Its final destination DXB. There would be more to come. The 251st aircraft, the 123rd delivered to EK, marked the end of the superjumbo-building era at Airbus.

Air France remains the first airline to retire its A380 fleet. Some observers noting that perhaps the flag carrier didn’t know how to use them efficiently. TG followed suit, although their reason was financial survival. Lufthansa reversed their decision on total withdrawal. SQ, QR, EY, QF and BA still operate the A380. However, their fleet size is nowhere near that of EK.

One final point to note. In its commercial flying history to date, the evacuation chutes have never been deployed!

Other A380 related news….

Global – after much speculation, their only aircraft has visited some European and UK airports, either overflying or on the ground. Seats were also launched for their first flights from GLA and MAN. Many described the initial prices as extortionate compared with VS and BA. However, these were not direct comparisons as BA only serve JFK from LHR and LGW! In the past few days, Global have reduced their prices so it will be interesting to see their passenger load figures….

And finally….

It’s always sad when aircraft reach the end of their useful life and are sent to the breakers yard. However, there are enterprising companies who sell parts especially for aviation enthusiasts. These can be aircraft skin made into key fobs, windows etc as wall art and other memorabilia. Two such UK based companies are Aerotiques and RunwayReady. Their websites carry many interesting items, with shipping available outside UK. Having recently purchased a small piece of G-LSAC (Jet2 B757), I didn’t appreciate how heavy it could be!

Information courtesy of Airways, Global Airlines

Images courtesy of Global Airlines, RunwayReady

©TPSC, LadyJet2 and photo/diagram suppliers